Ubuntu Linux (KDE): “Chrome didn’t shut down correctly” error

Posted on by rcragun

Every so often, Chrome on my Linux based computers (one running Kubuntu and one running Linux Mint KDE) starts having a problem.  I like having Chrome save my tabs from my previous sessions so I can pick back up where I left off.  But for some reason, and I’m not exactly sure what that reason is, Google’s Chrome eventually starts giving me the following error message:

Chrome didn't shut down correctly error
Chrome didn’t shut down correctly error

The error says, “Chrome didn’t shut down correctly” followed by a button that says “Restore.”  By clicking on the Restore button, I’m able to get my tabs back, but it’s kind of annoying that I have to do that.  Also, there is no indication of what the problem is in the Chrome crash log (chrome://crashes), which means I really have no idea what causes this problem.  I tried a bunch of suggestions from various websites to get this error to go away and finally found one that works.  Here’s what you need to do.

First, click on Chrome’s Settings option:

Chrome settings menu
Chrome settings menu

In the tab that opens up, scroll to the bottom and select “Show advanced settings…”

Chrome advanced settings
Chrome advanced settings

Near the bottom of the advanced settings is the option you want: System.  There should be two buttons there.  The first one says, “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed.”  I only get the “Chrome didn’t shut down correctly” error when that button is selected.

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed
Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed

Uncheck the box next to that option, like this:

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed
Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed

Now try restarting Google Chrome.  If whatever is causing this is the same problem for you as it is for me, it should have solved the problem.  If not, sorry.  Keep googling for an answer.   🙁

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Google Chrome: Mute audio in tabs by clicking on the tab audio icon

Posted on by rcragun

I use an RSS feed reader to get my news.  Typically, as I scroll through the feed reader, I’ll open articles that interest me in new tabs and keep scrolling through the feed reader until I have about ten tabs or so open.  Occasionally, one of those tabs will load a page that has a video file or some other audio that plays automatically, which really bugs me.

For a while now, Google Chrome has shown you the tab in which the audio is playing with a little icon:

enabling muting of audio in tabs in Google Chrome

But I recently found out that Google Chrome also has an experimental option that allows you to mute the audio in that tab just by right-clicking on the audio icon.  Here’s how you do it.

First, open a new tab in Google Chrome and type or paste in the following:

chrome://flags/

This will open up a list of experimental “flags” or features that you can adjust.  There is a warning at the top indicating that some of the features can really mess up your browser, so you should be careful.

Second, scroll down to the flag that says “Enable tab audio muting UI control.”

enabling muting of audio in tabs in Google Chrome

Click “Enable”.  Once you do that, you’ll need to restart Google Chrome.  However, once you do, you can now mute audio in a tab simply by clicking on the audio icon on the tab.  When you mouse over the audio icon, you’ll see a red circle form around the audio icon, like this:

enabling muting of audio in tabs in Google Chrome

When you click on the audio icon, the audio will be muted and the red circle will be permanent on that tab until you click the icon again:

enabling muting of audio in tabs in Google Chrome

 

There you go – you can now kill the audio in a tab with the click of a button and don’t even have to go to that tab.

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