Error Code: Out of Memory on Chrome? 9 Easy Ways to Fix It

Chrome is a fantastic browserfast, powerful, and capable of holding 47 tabs “temporarily” while you “finish one thing real quick.” Then it does what any overworked multitasker does: it faceplants and flashes Error Code: Out of Memory (or its dramatic cousin, “Aw, Snap!”).

The good news: this error is usually fixable without sacrificing your bookmarks, your sanity, or your entire weekend. Below are nine easy, practical fixesstarting with the quickest and moving toward the “okay, we mean business” steps.

What “Out of Memory” Actually Means (In Normal Human Language)

“Out of Memory” typically means Chrome (or a specific tab) can’t get enough RAM to keep rendering a page. Sometimes it’s true system RAM. Sometimes it’s virtual memory (like Windows’ paging file). Sometimes it’s a single tab or extension hogging memory like it pays rent.

You might see related messages like:

• “Aw, Snap!” with Error code: Out of memory
• “Not enough memory to open this page”
• SBOX_FATAL_MEMORY_EXCEEDED (sounds scary; often just means a tab went on a memory buffet)

Before You Start: A 30-Second Reality Check

Do this quick triage firstbecause it tells you which fix will actually work:

1. Does it happen on one specific website? If yes, jump to Fix #5 (site data) and Fix #6 (extensions).
2. Does it happen only when you have a lot of tabs open? Fix #2, #3, and #4 are your best friends.
3. Does your whole computer feel slow? You may be low on memory system-wideFix #1 and Fix #9 matter most.

9 Easy Ways to Fix Chrome’s “Out of Memory” Error

Fix #1: Restart Chrome (Yes, Really) Then Restart Your Computer If Needed

If Chrome has been running for days, it can accumulate memory usage across tabs, background processes, and extensions. A restart clears a lot of that immediately.

• Quick restart: close Chrome completely (all windows), then reopen it.
• Faster option: type chrome://restart in the address bar and press Enter.
• If the whole system feels sluggish: reboot your computer to refresh system memory.

Pro tip: If Chrome crashes and offers Restore, restore only what you need, not the entire Tab Museum of Modern Anxiety.

Fix #2: Close Tabs Like You Mean It (And Stop Background Apps From Competing)

Each Chrome tab can consume memoryespecially web apps like video streaming, docs, design tools, dashboards, or anything with “real-time” in its description.

• Close duplicate tabs (you don’t need three copies of the same “how to be productive” article openironically).
• Close “heavy” tabs first: streaming video, online editors, large spreadsheets, or pages full of ads/auto-play.
• Quit other memory-hungry apps (video editors, big games, too many chat apps) while troubleshooting.

If you’re afraid of losing your place, bookmark the tab group or paste the important links into a note. You can always reopen them latercalmer, lighter, and less crashy.

Fix #3: Use Chrome’s Built-In Task Manager to Find the Memory Hog

Chrome has its own Task Manager that shows memory usage by tab and extension. This is the fastest way to identify the single culprit that’s eating your RAM for breakfast.

1. Open Chrome Task Manager: Shift + Esc (Windows) or use the menu: ⋮ → More tools → Task Manager.
2. Click the Memory footprint column to sort by usage.
3. Select the worst offender (tab or extension) and click End process.

If one tab is wildly higher than everything else, it’s not “Chrome” that’s the problemit’s that one tab acting like it owns the place.

Fix #4: Turn On Memory Saver (Chrome’s “Put Tabs to Sleep” Feature)

Chrome’s Memory Saver reduces memory use by making inactive tabs go dormant. When you click a sleeping tab, it reloadslike a tiny nap with benefits.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Open Performance.
3. Turn Memory Saver on.
4. Choose how aggressive it should be (Chrome offers multiple levels/modes depending on version).

If you have sites that must stay active (music player, web-based calls, live dashboards), add them to “Always keep these sites active.” That way Chrome won’t “help” you by freezing the tab you needed most.

Fix #5: Clear Cache and Site Data (Especially If It’s One Website)

Corrupted cache, oversized site storage, or buggy cookies can make a page crash repeatedlysometimes with memory errors. Clearing browsing data often fixes it.

Option A: Clear cache & cookies (broad fix)

1. Chrome menu ⋮ → Delete browsing data
2. Time range: try Last 24 hours first (go bigger if needed)
3. Check Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data
4. Click Delete data

Option B: Clear data for one problem site (targeted fix)

• If the crash happens only on one site, clear that site’s data and try again. This can stop endless “crash on load” loops.
• Expect to sign back in afterward (annoying, yes; functional, also yes).

Fix #6: Disable Extensions (And Test in Incognito)

Extensions are usefuluntil one of them goes rogue and turns your browser into a memory leak with a search bar. Ad blockers, downloaders, coupon finders, “AI helpers,” and security toolbars are common suspects.

1. Open an Incognito window (Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows, Cmd + Shift + N on Mac).
2. Try the same website(s) that trigger the crash.

If Incognito works fine, an extension is likely causing the issue.

1. Go to ⋮ → Extensions → Manage Extensions (or chrome://extensions).
2. Turn off extensions one at a time (start with the newest ones).
3. Retry the page after each change.
4. Remove the extension that triggers the crash.

Keep the essentials. Delete the weird ones you don’t remember installing. (If an extension’s description sounds like a late-night infomercial, that’s your sign.)

Fix #7: Update Chrome (Then Relaunch It Properly)

Chrome updates frequently and includes stability and security fixes. If you’re behind on updates, you may be living with bugs that are already fixed.

1. Go to ⋮ → Help → About Google Chrome
2. Let Chrome check for updates automatically
3. Click Relaunch when prompted

Don’t skip the relaunch. Updating without relaunching is like buying new shoes and continuing to walk barefoot.

Fix #8: Turn Off Hardware Acceleration (If Crashes Feel Random or Graphics-Related)

Hardware acceleration lets Chrome use your GPU for smoother visuals and video playback. When it works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, it can trigger instabilityincluding crashes that look like memory errors (especially around video, animations, and heavy web apps).

1. Open Settings
2. Go to System (or search “hardware acceleration” in Settings)
3. Toggle off Use hardware acceleration when available
4. Click Relaunch

If turning it off stops the crashes, keep it offor update your graphics drivers and try again later. (No shame. Your browser doesn’t get bonus points for suffering.)

Fix #9: Increase Virtual Memory (Windows) or Free Disk Space (Everyone)

When physical RAM is tight, your computer leans on virtual memory (like the paging file on Windows). If your page file is too small, your disk is almost full, or page file growth is sluggish, apps can throw “out of memory” errors even when you still have some RAM.

Windows quick path (conceptually):

• Search Windows for “Advanced system settings”
• Under Performance, click Settings
• Go to Advanced → Virtual memory → Change
• Use Automatically manage (recommended for most people) or set a reasonable custom size if you know what you’re doing

Also: make sure you have free storage space. If your drive is nearly full, virtual memory can’t do its job. Aim for breathing roomyour computer needs it the way Chrome needs fewer tabs.

Bonus: How to Keep This From Coming Back

• Use Memory Saver and keep “always active” sites whitelisted for work calls or music tabs.
• Audit extensions monthly: if you didn’t install it on purpose, you probably don’t need it.
• Watch your habits: a 4K livestream + 20 tabs + a massive spreadsheet is a memory obstacle course.
• Create separate Chrome profiles for work/school/personal browsing to reduce cross-contamination from extensions and cached chaos.
• Update regularly: browser updates aren’t just new iconsthey’re often crash fixes and security patches.

Conclusion

Chrome’s “Out of Memory” error looks alarming, but it’s usually just a symptom of one of three things: too many tabs, a misbehaving extension, or your system running low on usable memory resources. Start small (restart, close tabs), get surgical (Chrome Task Manager), then level up (Memory Saver, cache cleanup, extensions, updates). If nothing else works, virtual memory and hardware acceleration settings can be the secret sauce.

Extra: Real-World “Out of Memory” Experiences (What It Looks Like and What Actually Helps)

If you’ve ever had Chrome crash at the exact worst momentsay, five minutes before a deadline, mid-checkout, or while you’re filling out a form that has no “Save Draft” optionyou’re not alone. A lot of people describe the “Out of Memory” error as feeling random, but there are patterns once you know what to watch for.

One common scenario is the “productivity pile-up”: you start the day with innocent intentions (email, calendar, one document), then gradually open a project board, a few research tabs, a video call, a spreadsheet, a design preview, and a “quick” YouTube tutorial. Each piece seems smalluntil Chrome is quietly running a background orchestra of processes. Then, one tab spikes (usually a web app with lots of live content or a page stuffed with ads and scripts), and suddenly you’re staring at “Aw, Snap!” like it personally betrayed you.

Another classic experience is the “one cursed website” problem: everything works fine until you visit that page. Maybe it’s a news site that auto-loads endless video, a dashboard with huge charts, or a shopping page with 40 product images loading at once. The giveaway is repetitionif the same site crashes consistently while other sites behave, you’re probably not dealing with “Chrome is broken.” You’re dealing with a site caching issue, a script conflict, or an extension that hates that particular page. In real life, the fixes that help most are surprisingly unglamorous: clear that site’s data, disable extensions, and try again in Incognito. It feels too simpleuntil it works.

People also run into “Out of Memory” when they multitask with media-heavy browsing. Streaming video in high resolution, keeping several social tabs open, or running web-based meetings while screen-sharing can push memory usage up fast. The experience often starts as little stutters: video drops frames, audio desyncs, scrolling gets janky, then a tab reloads, and finally the error appears. In these cases, Memory Saver can be a lifesaverespecially if you whitelist only the tabs that must stay active (calls, music, or work apps) and let everything else nap.

Then there’s the emotional rollercoaster called “I have 16GB of RAMhow is this happening?” This is where Chrome’s Task Manager becomes your best detective tool. Plenty of users discover a single extension using an absurd amount of memory, or a tab that slowly climbs over time due to a leak. Ending that one process can feel like removing a bowling ball from a backpack. And if the crashes feel tied to video playback or visual glitches, turning off hardware acceleration can be the difference between chaos and calm.

Finally, some experiences are less about Chrome and more about the system underneath. If your storage drive is nearly full, virtual memory can struggle, and memory allocation can get weird. That’s why freeing disk space and letting Windows manage the paging file often helps more than people expect. It’s not a flashy fixbut it’s the kind of “boring” that keeps your browser from exploding.

The big takeaway from all these real-world moments: don’t guess. Start with the easiest steps, then use Chrome’s built-in tools to confirm the culprit. When you stop treating every crash like a mystery and start treating it like a checklist, the “Out of Memory” error turns from a disaster into a minor inconvenience.