Google Chrome is known for its speed, but it is also famous for consuming a lot of system memory (RAM). Because Chrome runs every tab and extension as its own independent process, a single frozen webpage doesn’t have to crash your entire browser. However, these processes can sometimes hang, making it necessary to step in and end them manually.
The Google Chrome Task Manager is essentially a specialized version of the Windows Task Manager built directly into your browser. It gives you a transparent look at exactly how much CPU power and memory each open tab and active extension is using at any given moment.
Most people like to have multiple tabs open when using their web browser and normally if a certain page or plugin crashes then you have to shut down the whole browser and hope it remembered your open tabs next time you launch it. When using Google Chrome as your web browser you can use the built in Task Manager to end misbehaving pages or plugs rather than having to shut down the browser itself. Chrome separates your tabs into individual processes so you can control each one individually rather than as a whole making it easier to avoid browser crashes.
There are three ways to open the Chrome Task Manager:
- The Shortcut: Press Shift + Esc on your keyboard (the fastest method).
- The Tab Strip: Right-click on the empty space at the very top of the browser window (next to your open tabs) and select Task Manager.
- The Menu: Click the three dots in the top right corner, select More Tools, and then Task Manager.
Once open, simply find the tab or extension that is consuming excessive resources or showing as ‘Not Responding.’ Click on it to highlight the row, and then click the End Process button. This will ‘kill’ that specific tab without affecting the rest of your browsing session.
If you right click anywhere in the Task Manager you have the option to add more columns in the Task Manger such as shared memory and process ID etc. giving your more detailed information.
When you end a process using the Task Manager, the tab isn’t deleted. Instead, it will display an ‘Aw, Snap!’ error message. This is actually helpful because it immediately kills the memory drain while keeping the tab in your browser. When you’re ready to try that site again, you can simply refresh the page to reload the process.”
New: Use ‘Memory Saver’ to Automate the Job
“If you find yourself using the Task Manager frequently because Chrome is slowing down your computer, you should enable the new Memory Saver feature.
- Click the three dots in the top right and go to Settings.
- Click on Performance in the left-hand sidebar.
- Toggle Memory Saver to On.
This feature automatically puts inactive tabs to ‘sleep,’ freeing up RAM for your active tasks and reducing the need to manually kill processes.
