Chrome "Aw, Snap!" STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION: how to fix it

Published By helps.wiki editorial team

STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION is the Windows code 0xC0000005. It means a Chrome process touched memory it was not allowed to, so Windows stopped it and Chrome showed the "Aw, Snap!" page. Updating Chrome, then testing extensions and graphics acceleration, are the usual first fixes.

Applies to:Google Chrome on WindowsMicrosoft Edge and other Chromium browsers
On this page

What it means

When a Chrome tab dies and shows "Aw, Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage", the page can include the code STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION. That is the name of the Windows status code 0xC0000005. Microsoft describes it as an instruction that referenced memory which could not be read or written. In Chrome, it means one of its processes (a tab, the GPU process, or the browser itself) reached for memory it had no right to, and Windows ended that process.

It is a software fault. It is not a security breach, and it does not by itself mean you have malware. Nothing blue-screens either: only Chrome's tab or window crashes.

Google does not document this specific code. Its help page on Aw, Snap! crashes only gives general troubleshooting, suggests reporting the problem, and suggests contacting the site owner if just one site crashes. The fixes below come from third-party troubleshooting guides, so treat them as common practice rather than vendor-endorsed steps. The causes are inferred from community reports. If you see a plain "error code 5" instead, that is a different problem: see Chrome error code 5.

Symptoms and causes

You are likely dealing with this problem if:

  • A tab shows "Aw, Snap!" with the code STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION.
  • Only one website crashes, or every tab does.
  • Chrome closes shortly after you open it.
  • Reloading works once, then the crash comes back.

The usual causes, most common first:

Extensions
Ad blockers, userscript managers such as Tampermonkey and other tools that inject into pages are the most commonly blamed.
Graphics acceleration or GPU driver
A faulty or outdated graphics driver can crash the GPU process or the tab that uses it.
Security software hooking into Chrome
Web shield or browser protection components that attach to Chrome's processes can trigger the fault.
Damaged profile or corrupt site data
A broken Chrome profile, or stored data for one site, can crash tabs repeatedly.
Outdated or unstable Chrome build
Old versions, and Canary or Dev builds in particular, are reported to crash more often.
Very heavy pages
One guide lists demanding pages as a trigger, though this is less common.

How to fix it

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and move to deeper repairs; stop as soon as the problem is gone.

1.Reload the page and update Chrome

Easy

A reload clears one-off glitches, and an update replaces a build that may have the bug.

  1. Reload the page once. If it loads, keep reading in case it returns.
  2. Open the menu (⋮) and go to Settings > About Chrome.
  3. Let Chrome install any update, then click Relaunch.

2.Test the page in Incognito

Easy

Extensions are normally off in Incognito, so if the page works there, an extension is the likely cause.

  1. Press CtrlShiftN to open an Incognito window.
  2. Open the page that crashed. If it loads, continue to the next fix.

3.Turn off extensions, then re-enable them one by one

Easy

This finds the single extension causing the crash.

  1. Type this in the address bar and press Enter.
    Text
    chrome://extensions
  2. Turn off every extension.
  3. Load the problem page. If it works, turn extensions back on one at a time, reloading after each, until the crash returns. Remove or update that one.

4.Turn off graphics acceleration

Easy

If the GPU process is crashing, switching to software rendering confirms it and often stops the crashes.

  1. Open the settings page.
    Text
    chrome://settings/system
  2. Turn off Use graphics acceleration when available, then click Relaunch.
  3. If the crashes stop, update your graphics driver from Intel, NVIDIA or AMD, then turn the option back on.
  4. Optional: open chrome://flags/#use-angle and try D3D11 or OpenGL. If it does not help, set it back to Default.

5.Clear data for one site that keeps crashing

Easy

Corrupt stored data for one site can crash only that site.

Before you start: You will be signed out of that site.

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings and find the site's stored data.
  2. Delete the data for that site, then reload it.
  3. If it still crashes, report the problem to the site owner.

6.Test with the antivirus browser protection turned off

ModerateChanges settings

Security software that hooks into Chrome is a reported cause. This is only a test.

Before you start: Turn the protection back on right after testing. If it is the cause, update or replace that software rather than leaving it off.

  1. Temporarily disable only the browser protection or web shield component of your antivirus (not the whole product if you can avoid it).
  2. Open Chrome and load the page that crashed.
  3. Turn the protection back on. If the crash was gone while it was off, check for updates to your security software or contact its vendor.

7.Create a new Chrome profile

Moderate

If Chrome is stable on a fresh profile, the old profile is damaged.

  1. Click the profile icon next to the address bar and choose Add.
  2. Use the new profile for a while. If it is stable, sign in there to sync your bookmarks and data back.

8.Reset Chrome settings

ModerateChanges settings

This undoes settings changes that may be causing the fault.

Before you start: This resets the start page, search engine, pinned tabs and disables extensions. Bookmarks and saved passwords are not part of the reset.

  1. Go to Settings > Reset and clean up.
  2. Click Restore settings to their original defaults, then confirm.

9.Switch from Canary or Dev to Stable

ModerateChanges settings

Canary and Dev builds are unstable and are reported to hit this error more often.

Before you start: Sync your profile or export bookmarks first, so nothing is lost.

  1. Press WinR, run this command, and uninstall Canary or Chrome from the list.
    Command Prompt
    appwiz.cpl
  2. Download and install Chrome Stable from Google's official site.

10.Last resort: rename chrome.exe

AdvancedChanges settings

This is a workaround, not a real fix. It likely sidesteps security-software hooks, so if it helps, suspect your security software.

Before you start: Needs administrator rights and may need repeating after Chrome updates. Close every Chrome process first. Rename it back if it makes no difference.

  1. Close Chrome fully, including background processes.
  2. Open C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application (on some installs C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application).
  3. Rename chrome.exe to something else, for example Chrome1.exe, and start Chrome from that file. In Edge the file is msedge.exe in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application.

11.Report the crash to Google

Easy

It does not fix anything now, but it sends the crash to Chrome's developers.

  1. Open the crash list.
    Text
    chrome://crashes
  2. Click Send now on any crash that is still pending.

Check that it worked

  • Chrome opens and the page that crashed loads without the Aw, Snap! screen.
  • The page stays stable across several reloads and a Chrome restart.

If it still fails

  • Run a malware scan with your installed security tool, since an unexplained crash is worth ruling out.
  • Check chrome://crashes for pending reports and send them.
  • Try another Chromium browser such as Edge on the same page to see whether the problem is Chrome-specific.
  • If one site fails on every browser, contact the site owner.
  • The related code STATUS_STACK_BUFFER_OVERRUN is reported to share most of these fixes.

Questions

Is STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION a virus?

No. It is a software fault where a process touched memory it was not allowed to. It is not a security breach on its own.

Does this work the same in Edge?

The steps are the same, with different menu paths. For the rename workaround, the file is msedge.exe.

Sources

  1. Chrome "Aw, Snap!" page crashesOfficial · Google Chrome Help
  2. NTSTATUS Values (STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION 0xC0000005)Official · Microsoft Learn (MS-ERREF)
  3. How to FIX: STATUS ACCESS VIOLATION error on Chrome or Edge · Wintips.org
  4. STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION fix error on Chrome · Chromestory

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