Your browser software may offer a great user experience. However, there will inevitably be times when your browser freezes. There are various reasons why this could happen. Browsers freeze due to problematic extensions or excessive memory usage.
Other reasons are outdated plugins or software conflicts. Various measures can help if you want to know how to stop a computer from freezing. In this article, we will cover some of the main reasons for web browser freezing and how to resolve them.
Basic troubleshooting
A browser may freeze temporarily if it is overloaded. You may have too many tabs open. If it freezes just wait for a few seconds without pressing any keys. The problem may resolve itself. Close some tabs when it unfreezes so it doesn’t happen again. You may have to restart your computer if it stays frozen. Rebooting your computer may just resolve the issue. You will usually be able to restore your previous session once the computer restarts.
Clear your browser cache
Over time cached data can accumulate and cause browser performance issues. The Mac DNS cache is a temporary storage area on your Mac. It stores information about the domain names and IP addresses you access. If you visit the same website your Mac can retrieve the IP address from its cache. This saves time and improves browsing performance. You may need to clear DNS cache Mac because website addresses change. Your browser that keeps the routes to the websites might have a glitch and not resolve them properly. Learn how to flush DNS on Mac and you can solve the problem. You can use optimization apps to Mac flush DNS cache.
Identify and remove faulty extensions
Malfunctioning extensions are often the cause when browsers keep crashing. In Firefox it is easy to disable or remove add-ons from the “about: add-ons” screen. In Chrome, you need to go to “chrome://extensions”. Disable an extension by removing the tick from the box next to it. Remove it altogether by clicking the bin icon. Chrome extensions can’t run in the Incognito window.
Opening an incognito window in the Menu can make it easier to see if an extension is causing a problem. If Chrome runs perfectly in this window an extension could be the problem. You will have to disable your extensions individually until you find the problematic one.
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Reduce memory storage
Browsers use a great deal of memory. And with the amount of surfing we do, it takes up more memory than we can imagine. If your computer does not have much RAM, it could freeze Chrome.
- Close all the tabs you aren’t using.
- Pause any Chrome downloads
- Quit any unnecessary programs running on the computer. Press Shift and Esc to open the Task Manager. This lets you see the largest memory users so you can quit them.
- Close your browser down occasionally if you want to stop it from using too much memory. Right-click the taskbar and choose Task Manager. Choose your browser from the list and hit End Task.
Scan for malware
If Chrome keeps crashing it may be worth scanning for malware. Chrome may freeze due to malware you pick up while browsing. It can interfere with network settings and the security of your browser. This could cause connection problems and internet freezes. Scan your Mac or PC with reliable anti-malware software to find and remove it.
Try an alternative browser
If your Mac keeps freezing when using Chrome to load a website, you could open another browser. A Firefox or Microsoft Edge browser may give a similar error. If so, you know the problem is not isolated to your Chrome browser. The site you are trying to access could be the problem. If another browser can load the website, the issue is with Chrome and you need to troubleshoot more.
Reset or reinstall your browser
You may still ask “Why do my browsers keep crashing?” after following the above steps. If so, your version of Chrome may have issues. You could create a new profile to check if your current one is corrupted. If this doesn’t work, you may need to reinstall Chrome. Before you do this, try resetting Chrome instead.
Before you reset Chrome, make sure you back up important data and settings. Go to Settings in the Menu to do a reset. This will restore settings to their original defaults. It will reset everything except your stored passwords, history, and bookmarks. If this doesn’t work your last resort is to uninstall Chrome and download a new version to install.
Conclusion
There are many different reasons why your browser may freeze from an outdated browser to too many add-ons. You will need to troubleshoot by looking at the most common issues first. A simple restart may sort out the issue. If this doesn’t work you will need to dig deeper and follow some of the other steps mentioned above.