RESOURCES · WINDOWS & DEVICES

Chrome "STATUS_ACCESS_
VIOLATION"
on every page.

Every site you open in Chrome dies with "Aw, Snap! Something went wrong… Error code: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION". It's a renderer crash, and there's a short list of usual suspects. Work through them and you'll almost always land the fix.

Applies to: Google Chrome · Windows Time: ~10–15 minutes Level: Confident user / IT
Quick answer

Update Chrome and restart. If it persists, test in Incognito, turn off Hardware acceleration, and create a fresh Chrome profile. A security-software conflict is a common cause — updating your antivirus usually clears it.

WHY IT HAPPENS

The part that draws the page crashed.

STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION is a renderer crash — the process that draws a web page tried to touch memory it wasn't allowed to and Chrome shut it down. The usual causes are a Chrome bug that's already fixed in a later update, a bad extension, a graphics or hardware-acceleration issue, a corrupt user profile, or security software injecting its own code into Chrome. The steps below rule those out one by one.

THE FIX

Work through these in order.

  1. Update Chrome and restartGo to Settings → About Chrome, let it update, then click Relaunch. Many STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION waves are a Chrome bug already fixed in a newer release, so do this first.
  2. Test in Incognito and check extensionsOpen an Incognito window and browse — extensions are off there. If it's stable, disable all extensions in Settings → Extensions, then re-enable them one at a time to find the culprit.
  3. Turn off Hardware accelerationIn Settings → System, switch off Use graphics acceleration when available and relaunch. A faulty graphics driver is a frequent trigger for renderer crashes.
  4. Create a NEW Chrome profileClick your profile icon → Add → set up a fresh profile and test. A corrupt user profile is a very common cause of this error, and a new profile proves it instantly without losing your synced data.
  5. Clear the cacheGo to Settings → Privacy and security → Delete browsing data, choose Cached images and files, and clear it. Corrupt cached data can crash the renderer.
  6. Reinstall ChromeUninstall Chrome, download a fresh copy from google.com/chrome, and reinstall. Sign back in to sync your bookmarks and settings — a clean install replaces any damaged program files.
  7. Run a malware scanRun a full scan with Windows Security (or your business antivirus). Malware and unwanted software can hook into Chrome and cause exactly this crash.
  8. (Advanced / IT) Security-software injection workaroundIf security software is injecting code into Chrome, launching Chrome with the flag --disable-features=RendererCodeIntegrity is a known workaround that lets pages load again. The correct fix is updating your antivirus / security software to a compatible version — involve IT rather than leaving the flag in place.
Read this before using the launch flag--disable-features=RendererCodeIntegrity is only a temporary workaround, and it slightly lowers one of Chrome's security protections. Update your security software instead. And if this is happening across several PCs, don't have each person apply the flag — have IT fix the underlying antivirus conflict centrally so the protection stays on everywhere.
FIXED ONCE, EVERYWHERE

One PC is a nuisance. Every PC is a project.

When the same browser crash hits machine after machine, the real cause is usually a software conflict that needs fixing across the fleet — not on each desk. Our free IT Health Check reviews your devices, browsers and security stack, finds what's clashing, and gives you a plan to fix it once, everywhere.

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