I have encountered the following issue/symptoms with Google Chrome (version 56.0.2924.87) on Windows 10 :
– Google Chrome crash shortly after opening, the application become unresponsive even while going to settings
– Single tab opened with the default Google page
– No 3rd party extension, only Google defaults
After digging around, I found that the preference file was causing this issue (maybe corrupted). To resolve this matter, I simply renamed the “Preferences
1. Make sure Google Chrome is closed. You may use the “Task Manager” for this.
2. Go to the following folder using the Windows Explorer (the AppData folder is hidden, you need to have the “Display hidden files and folders” enabled) :
C:\Users\<%username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
3. Locate the “Preferences” file and rename it to “Preferences.bak”.
4. Open Google Chrome again (the application will automatically create a new “Preferences” file) and the problem should be solved.
NOTE : Unlikely, but if you encountered any issue and would like to revert back, simply rename “Preferences.bak” to “Preferences”.