Reset Google Chrome: Fix Redirects, Crashes and Unwanted Settings (2026)

Open the Chrome menu

Open Google Chrome and click the three-dot (⋮) icon in the top-right corner.

Open Chrome Settings

Select Settings from the Chrome menu.

Select “Reset settings”

Look at the menu on the left side of the Settings page. Scroll down and click Reset settings.

Restore Chrome’s original settings

Click Restore settings to their original defaults.

Confirm the Chrome reset

A confirmation window will appear. Click Reset settings.

This will:

• Restore the default search engine, homepage, and new tab page
• Reset startup pages and pinned tabs
• Disable installed extensions
• Clear temporary cookies and website data

Don’t worry: Chrome will not delete your bookmarks, browsing history, or saved passwords.

Restart Chrome and perform a test search. If your searches now open normally in Google, you can stop here.

If searches are still redirected through shady domains complete the additional step below.

Remove persistent search hijacker data

Only complete this step if the redirect continues after resetting Chrome.

Some browser hijackers hide inside Chrome’s local search-engine database. A standard Chrome reset may not remove this database, which is why searches can continue to pass through shady sites.

The following procedure creates a backup of the affected database and allows Chrome to build a new, clean version. This is safer and less disruptive than deleting the entire Chrome profile.

First, prevent Chrome Sync from restoring the hijacked settings:

1. Open a new Chrome tab.
2. Copy the following address, paste it into Chrome’s address bar, and press Enter:
   

   chrome://settings/syncSetup/advanced

   
   
3. Under Manage what you sync, select Customize sync.
4. Turn off Settings and Extensions.
5. You can leave Bookmarks and Passwords enabled so your important data remains synchronized.

Note: Some newer Chrome versions may automatically redirect this address to the Google Account settings page. If that happens, locate the list of synchronized Chrome data and turn off Settings and Extensions there.

Now save anything you are working on and close every Chrome window.

Run the cleanup command:

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Type PowerShell.
3. Open Windows PowerShell. Administrator access is not required.
4. Copy the entire command shown below.
5. Right-click inside the PowerShell window to paste the command, then press Enter.
6. If Windows warns you about pasting multiple lines, select the option to continue.

$stamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyyMMdd-HHmmss"

Get-Process chrome -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
 Stop-Process -Force

$root = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data"

if (Test-Path $root) {
 $profiles = Get-ChildItem $root -Directory |
 Where-Object {
 $_.Name -eq "Default" -or
 $_.Name -match "^Profile \d+$"
 }

 foreach ($profile in $profiles) {
 foreach ($name in @(
 "Web Data",
 "Web Data-journal",
 "Web Data-wal",
 "Web Data-shm"
 )) {
 $file = Join-Path $profile.FullName $name

 if (Test-Path $file) {
 $backup = "$file.search-hijacker-backup-$stamp"
 Move-Item -LiteralPath $file -Destination $backup
 Write-Host "Backup created: $backup"
 }
 }
 }
}

Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Chrome search data has been cleaned."
Write-Host "You can now reopen Chrome."

Wait until PowerShell displays the following message:

Chrome search data has been cleaned.
You can now reopen Chrome.

Close PowerShell and reopen Google Chrome. Chrome will automatically create a clean search database for every local profile.

Next, copy the following address, paste it into Chrome’s address bar, and press Enter:

chrome://settings/searchEngines

Make sure Google is selected as the default search engine. Test several searches from the address bar and confirm that they no longer pass through shady search engines.

Your important Chrome data is protected: the PowerShell cleanup does not remove bookmarks, saved passwords, browsing history, cookies, or installed extensions. However, it may reset locally stored Autofill addresses and form suggestions.

The original search database is not deleted. PowerShell renames it and adds search-hijacker-backup to its filename so it can be recovered if necessary.

Keep Settings and Extensions synchronization disabled while testing Chrome. Do not enable every extension at once. Enable only the extensions you recognize, one at a time, and test Chrome after each one.

If the redirect returns after enabling a particular extension, remove that extension immediately.