What is causing Google Chrome to open Automatically?
We investigated this particular issue by looking at various user reports and the repair strategies that most affected users have deployed in order to prevent Google Chrome from opening at every system startup. Based on what we gathered, there are several different reasons why this issue will occur on Windows 10 with Google Chrome: If you’re currently struggling to resolve this particular issue and prevent Google Chrome from opening automatically at every startup, this article will provide you with several troubleshooting steps. Down below, you’ll find a collection of methods that other users struggling with the same issue have used to get the issue resolved. For the best results, please follow the methods in the order that they are presented in. Note: All the methods below can be replicated on Chromium and Canary browsers.
Method 1: Disabling Chrome from the Startup tab
If you’re just starting to look for ways to prevent Chrome from opening at every system startup, this should be your first stop. You should begin your quest by ensuring that Windows is not capable of stopping the process by itself. The startup tab is a menu that works wonders in those situations where you want to prevent a program from using up your system resources at every startup. Here’s a quick guide on disabling Google Chrome from the Startup tab:
Method 2: Preventing Chrome to Pick up where you left off
If you’re bothered by the fact that Chrome is automatically opening all of your last opened pages every time you start the browser, there’s a quick solution for that. Keep in mind that Chrome is configured by default to store and automatically retrieve the tabs that were left opened when you last closed the browser. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to change this default behavior. Here’s what you need to do: If this method was not applicable to your scenario, move down to the next method below.
Method 3: Preventing Chrome from running background apps
If you’re not actually seeing Google tabs popping up automatically but you know that a Chrome background process is running because you see that your system resources are kept busy, you can resolve the issue very easily by preventing the browser from running background apps when it’s closed. This will not affect any browser functionality and you’ll end up freeing some system resources that can be used elsewhere. Here’s what you need to do: If you’re still encountering the same error message, move down to the next method below.
Method 4: Preventing Google Chrome from opening via Registry Editor
As it turns out, in most cases, the reason why Google Chrome insists on autostarting even when instructed to do otherwise, there’s a high chance that this is caused by one or several Startup Approved items from Google Chrome AutoLaunch. Chances are your Google Chrome AutoLaunch folder contains some websites enforced by some PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) that try to redirect to certain websites. If this scenario is applicable, here’s what you need to do: If you’re still encountering the same issue, move down to the next method below.
Method 5: Disabling Fast tab/window close in Chrome
As it turns out, automatic Chrome startup can also be caused by an experimental feature called Fast tab/window close. This thing can only be enabled or disabled from Chrome’s Experimental Features menu. This menu is hidden by default, couldn’t have enabled this by accident unless you found your way into the Flags menu. Note: This method is no longer applicable if you’re using the latest Chrome build. The Fast tab/window close was since removed from Chrome’s Experimental Features menu. If you think this scenario might be applicable and Fast tab/windows close might be enabled inside the Experimental features, here’s a quick guide on disabling this option: If you’re still having the same issue, move down to the next method below.
Method 6: Creating a task killer for Chrome
If you’ve come this far and Google Chrome is still stubborn enough to launch at every system startup, you can ensure that Chrome is killed every time it wants to open by creating a .bat file that automatically kills chrome.exe and place it inside the Startup folder. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this:
Method 7: Eliminating the possibility of a browser hijacker
As some users have reported, this particular issue can also occur if your browser is hijacked by a malware that is trying to direct you to certain websites. Often times, browser hijackers will add an AutoRun key that will force the infected browser to open at every system startup. If this scenario is applicable, you can resolve the issue by uninstalling your current Chrome browser, performing a malware scan and reinstalling a clean version of Chrome. Here’s how to do this: After following the steps above, you should have achieved a clean environment for Google Chrome. If the issue was previously caused by a browser hijacker, the issue should now be solved.
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