Short answer: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION means a Chrome process tried to use memory it was not allowed to, and Windows shut it down. It is not malware and not a security breach. Start by testing in an Incognito window to rule out extensions, then turn off graphics acceleration at chrome://settings/system. Between them, those two checks identify the cause for most people.
Who this applies to
Chrome on Windows, where this error code appears on the “Aw, Snap!” page. The related STATUS_STACK_BUFFER_OVERRUN behaves similarly and most of these steps apply to it too. One step requires renaming a file in Program Files, which needs administrator rights; every other step does not.
What the error actually means
STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION (Windows code 0xC0000005) is a memory access fault. Chrome splits page rendering, extensions, and graphics into separate processes. If one of them tries to read or write memory it does not own, Windows terminates that process rather than let it corrupt anything else. The crash you see is Windows protecting the system, not a sign your machine is compromised.
Because any of those processes can trigger it, the error code alone does not tell you the cause. That is why working through the checks in order matters more than trying fixes at random.
Which cause is yours?
Run these two tests before changing any settings. Together they narrow four possible causes down to one.
- Open the failing page in an Incognito window (Ctrl+Shift+N), where most extensions are disabled. No crash means an extension is responsible.
- Turn off graphics acceleration (below) and retry. No crash means the graphics path is responsible.
If it crashes in both tests, the likely causes are security-software interference or a damaged Chrome profile, both covered below. If it crashes only on one specific website, the site is the trigger and clearing that site’s data is the place to start.
How to fix it
1. Rule out extensions
- Open an Incognito window and load the page that crashes.
- If it works, go to chrome://extensions, turn everything off, then re-enable one at a time, retesting after each.
Ad blockers, user-script managers, and anything that injects code into pages are worth suspecting first.
2. Turn off graphics acceleration
- Go to chrome://settings/system.
- Turn off Use graphics acceleration when available.
- Click Relaunch and retry.
If the crashes stop, update your GPU drivers from Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD, then turn acceleration back on. Leaving it off is a workaround, not a fix, and costs you performance.
3. Try a different ANGLE graphics backend
If acceleration is implicated but you would rather not disable it, changing how Chrome talks to your GPU sometimes avoids the fault.
- Go to chrome://flags/#use-angle.
- Change Choose ANGLE graphics backend from Default to D3D11 or OpenGL.
- Click Relaunch.
This is an experimental flag. If it does not help, set it back to Default rather than leaving it changed.
4. Clear data for the specific site
If only one site crashes, its stored data is the likely trigger.
- Go to Settings, then Privacy and security, then the site data section.
- Search for the domain, then delete its stored data.
- Reload the site.
5. Test a fresh Chrome profile
A damaged profile can produce crashes that survive every other fix. Test with a new profile before doing anything destructive.
- Click your profile picture in the top-right corner and add a new profile.
- Continue without signing in, and use it for a few minutes.
If the new profile is stable, your original one is the problem. Sign into the new profile to sync your bookmarks and passwords across, rather than trying to repair the old one.
You may see advice to rename the Default folder inside %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\. That does work, and your old data stays in the renamed folder, but creating a new profile through Chrome’s own interface achieves the same result without touching files by hand. Only use the folder method if Chrome will not stay open long enough to create a profile, and close Chrome fully first.
6. If Chrome crashes instantly on launch: the rename workaround
This is a long-standing community workaround for cases where Chrome crashes too fast to change any setting. It works because some third-party software hooks specifically into a process named chrome.exe, and renaming the executable sidesteps those hooks.
- Close Chrome completely and confirm no Chrome processes remain in Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc).
- Open
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Applicationin File Explorer. - Rename
chrome.exeto something else, such aschromefix.exe. You will need administrator permission. - Launch the renamed file.
Two things to know before you do this. Chrome updates may restore or expect the original filename, so this can stop working after an update and you may need to repeat it. And if renaming the executable fixes your crashes, that is strong evidence some security or system software is hooking into Chrome, which makes the next section the real fix.
7. Check your security software
Third-party antivirus and endpoint security products that inspect browser traffic have historically caused this crash by injecting themselves into Chrome’s processes. If step 6 helped, this is almost certainly your cause.
- Check whether your security software has a browser-protection, web-shield, or script-scanning component, and turn that specific component off temporarily to test.
- Fully disabling protection is often not enough, because low-level drivers stay loaded. If a temporary toggle changes nothing but renaming the executable did, the software’s driver is the likely culprit.
- Check for an update to your security software, since vendors do fix these conflicts, and contact their support with the crash details rather than leaving protection disabled.
Do not leave your antivirus turned off permanently. Disabling it is a diagnostic step only. If it turns out to be the cause, the fix is updating it or changing product, not going unprotected.
An honest limit: we could not verify a current, official Google statement naming specific security vendors as the cause of a recent wave of these crashes, and an earlier version of this article asserted one. That claim has been removed. The general interaction between browser-hooking security software and this crash is well established; a specific current confirmation is not.
8. Send Google the crash report
- Go to chrome://crashes.
- If a crash shows as pending, click Send now to upload it.
This does not fix your machine, but it is what gets your configuration in front of the engineers who can fix it upstream.
FAQ
Is STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION a virus?
No. Despite the name, it is a memory protection fault. Windows is stopping a process that stepped out of bounds, which is the system working correctly.
Is it the same as STATUS_STACK_BUFFER_OVERRUN?
They are related memory faults with different triggers, and the troubleshooting overlaps almost entirely. Work through the same steps.
Will renaming chrome.exe break my installation?
It should not, but Chrome updates may not behave as expected afterwards. Treat it as a temporary measure while you identify the real cause.
Do I lose my bookmarks by creating a new profile?
No. The old profile is untouched, and signing into the new one syncs your bookmarks and passwords across.
Why does it only happen on some websites?
Heavier pages exercise more of the graphics and memory path, so a fault that exists everywhere only becomes visible under load. Site-specific crashes more often point at stored site data or an extension.
What to remember
The error code tells you what happened but not why, so the two-test triage matters: Incognito to rule out extensions, then graphics acceleration off. If the crash only stops when you rename the executable, security software is hooking into Chrome, and updating or replacing it is the real fix rather than any browser setting.
