How to Fix Multiple Google Chrome Processes Running?

Chrome is one of the most used browsers and it accounts for more than half of the total internet traffic. The number of people using Chrome is much larger than any other browser and it is due to the fast browsing speeds and the easy to use interface provided by the browser. Chrome can be installed across multiple operating systems and receives regular performance updates.

In spite of the widespread popularity of the browser, there are many issues with the Windows’ Chrome Application. It is notorious for using huge amounts of RAM and resources on the computer. In this article, we will discuss the “Multiple Processes” issue in the task manager. Chrome opens a new process for each of its task, tab, and extension.

Multiple processes open inside the task manager

What Causes the “Multiple Processes” Issue on Chrome?

After receiving numerous reports from multiple users, we decided to investigate the issue and devised a set of solutions to fix it completely. Also, we looked into the reason due to which it is triggered and listed it as follows.

  • Incorrect Configuration: By default, Chrome is configured to run multiple processes for each tab. The browser has a built-in task manager and it also shows the resources being used by the browser and the number of processes running. This is done to avoid the loss of data if one tab crashes and it is being run as a separate process, other tabs and data can be conserved. Therefore, Chrome runs each tab separately to avoid loss of data.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem, we will move on towards the solutions. Make sure to implement these in the specific order in which they are provided to avoid conflict.

Solution 1: Changing Configuration

Since Chrome is configured to run different processes for each tab, it will continue to do so unless the user changes this configuration. The option to change this configuration hasn’t been included in the settings and this needs to be changed by adding a command line to Chrome’s shortcut. For that:

  1. Right-click on the “Chrome.exe” shortcut on the desktop and select “Properties“.
    Clicking on Properties

    Note: If you don’t have a shortcut, create one.

  2. Click on the “Shortcut” tab on the top and select the “Target” option.
    Selecting “Shortcut” and clicking on “Properties”.
  3. Add the following command line at the end of the listed target location.
    --process-per-site
  4. After adding the command line, the full entry in the target panel should look like the following.
    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --process-per-site
    Typing in the line in the target option
  5. Click on “Apply” and then select “Save“.
  6. Now Chrome should be running a single process for all the tabs.

Solution 2: Eliminating Processes

Furthermore, you can eliminate the extra processes to conserve resources, this can be done using the built-in task manager that comes with the browser. For that:

  1. Open Chrome and launch a new tab.
  2. Press “Shift” + “Esc” to open the task manager.
  3. Click on any process that isn’t useful for you and select the “End Process” option.
    Selecting a Process and clicking on “End Process”
  4. Keep in mind that this will close the tab associated with the process as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kevin Arrows


Kevin Arrows is a highly experienced and knowledgeable technology specialist with over a decade of industry experience. He holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification and has a deep passion for staying up-to-date on the latest tech developments. Kevin has written extensively on a wide range of tech-related topics, showcasing his expertise and knowledge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. His contributions to the tech field have been widely recognized and respected by his peers, and he is highly regarded for his ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.

Comments

18
    RR
    Richard Raftus Mar 7, 2020

    your solution 1 did not change anything, still lots of “chrome” process under task manager. The 2nd one is not a solution but a temp fix as closing a tab this way will not stop it from opening again when the browser is opened again. So not very help full at all.

      SW
      Shane Warren Author Mar 10, 2020

      You want the tabs to stop opening at startup?

        WM
        William Dale McNett Jun 11, 2020

        where did Richard say anything about tabs? https://uploads.disquscdn.c

          SW
          Shane Warren Author Jun 11, 2020

          Must’ve misunderstood. Did the above solution work for you?

          WM
          William Dale McNett Jun 12, 2020

          No, it did not. Removing all the extensions helped some but there’s still 6+ processes running with 1 tab open

          SW
          Shane Warren Author Jun 13, 2020

          Maybe you can try reinstalling Chrome. Are these processors taking up a lot of resource usage?

      JC
      Jonathan Cole Aug 20, 2021

      Worked like a charm for me … using an Administrator user account, right click whatever icon (shortcut) you use to launch Chrome browser, click properties, then paste one empty space then [–process-per-site] excluding the ‘[‘ and ‘]’ characters after everything contained in the ” ” and apply/save it. Then close all instances of Chrome, and relaunch Chrome. This will only work if you use the updated icon so if you want to go machine-wide you can add the [–process-per-site] command line switch in the system environment via the System area in the control panel.

      For clarity after the change my icon/shortcut path became “C:Program Files (x86)GoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe” –process-per-site

      Hope this helps, thanks very much OP for the tip!

      Reply
    WM
    William Dale McNett Jun 11, 2020

    they must have changed something, 11 of them with 1 tap open

    SW
    Shane Warren Author Aug 23, 2020

    I guess that’s just how chrome works, at least you are able to reduce the Chrome processes by this.

    CG
    Critical Thinking is Good Oct 2, 2020

    My concern is when I close a tab in Chrome, the correlating process does not stop in the Windows Task Manager. Even when I shut Chrome all the way down, all of my prior tab’s processes continue using resources until I manually kill the processes. It appears this is a kill process problem within Chrome and is very frustrating.

      LS
      L S Aug 18, 2021

      There is a way to fix this. Go to Chrome Settings ==> Advanced (far left) ==> some options will drop down, hit System ==> turn the slide button to off (gray when off) on “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed”

      Reply
    RE
    Rebecca Feb 1, 2021

    Every time i end a task Google Chrome pops up a warning that it did not shut down properly and adds them again.

      MZ
      Muhammad Zubyan Author Feb 1, 2021

      Try reducing the number of extensions you have it’s proven to be helpful in this kind of scenario. Extensions use a lot of your computer resources.

    DL
    digitally troubled... LOL Jul 2, 2021

    You Rock Kevin! Thank you!

    DL
    digitally troubled... LOL Jul 2, 2021

    You Rock Kevin!

    ER
    Esther Rogers Jul 31, 2021

    it says the command in the target panel is invaild

      MZ
      Muhammad Zubyan Author Aug 4, 2021

      I just checked it, and it worked for me completely fine, try creating a new Google Chrome shortcut and then try applying the launch option to that Shortcut. Check to see if that resolves the issue for you.

    JE
    Jesse Oct 6, 2021

    THANK YOU SO SO MUCH.
    I’ve been trying to find a solution for about 3 months.
    helped me a ton.