Let me preface this reply by noting I'm not using Chrome myself...
With little messages... like "your preferences could not be read"... it could be that your Chrome installation and/or "profile" somehow became corrupted... or worse, a disk-drive failure.
I would suggest you first try to re-install Chrome (on top of itself)... I don't believe that could hurt anything... see if it makes a difference.
I believe your Chrome profile/data is stored separately from the program itself, so if your "profile" [including your preferences] got corrupted, reinstalling the program probably wont correct this.
If Chrome continues to malfunction (on that one machine)... you may want to be sure the hard drive is okay... and then proceed with your own idea to go to Firefox (or Pale Moon, or some other alternative browser).
Both Disk Checkup by Passmark, and Defraggler by Piriform both say that disk health is OK. Not sure if the Dell Diagnostic also does that, but might run it later. Do you know of any other good disk checkers that I could try
I'll try to reinstall it first, the give Firefox a go if that doesn't work.
No idea on disk health-checkers (including the ones you've mentioned).
The only other thing I can suggest... assuming a re-ininstall of the program doesn't help... is to see if there's an option to create a "new" profile: that could potentially "fix" any issues saved in your existing profile --- but at the expense of losing your existing customization (bookmarks/history) [which you said can't be read anyway]. Since I don't use Chrome, someone else would have to tell you how to do this... assuming it's possible. [Maybe there's even a way to copy-over your profile from another machine to the one where you're having a problem???]
Like him, I have no experience with Chrome, so I can't offer any advice. But you mention you had this problem only a system using using IE9, but not IE11.
I was just wondering why you still use IE9, and on which operating system was Chrome giving you grief?
This computer is an XPS-420 at least five years old, probably more, and it just keeps chugging along using Vista. Anything above IE9 won't work on it. I will probably try Firefox next, since I have the idea of how to go through the process of moving the email and Favorites over, and keeping MSN as my easy to access home page.
Once mainstream support for an OS ends, it's "pot luck". Developers are looking ahead/moving forward.
If you are concerned with privacy, I'd suggest using something other than Chrome. If you decide to remove it, make sure you make IE your default browser BEFORE uninstalling Chrome. I learned that the hard way on a brand new computer that had Chrome pre-installed. Have you thought about using Pale Moon rather than Mozilla FF? If you save IE's HTML of Favorites, you can import them into Pale Moon. Bookmarks>Organize>Import
Thanks for the feedback and the cheerful greeting, Dale.
My link preview looks rather odd. I don't know why I have so much trouble posting links on this forum, but I don't follow this forum much anyway unless there's a Windows security question, or an old friend asks me to stop by to look at a post.
David uses Pale Moon so he'll be able to help you with that. They also have a forum. Have fun. :emotion-15:
ky331
3 Apprentice
•
15.6K Posts
0
September 29th, 2015 09:00
Dale,
Let me preface this reply by noting I'm not using Chrome myself...
With little messages... like "your preferences could not be read"... it could be that your Chrome installation and/or "profile" somehow became corrupted... or worse, a disk-drive failure.
I would suggest you first try to re-install Chrome (on top of itself)... I don't believe that could hurt anything... see if it makes a difference.
I believe your Chrome profile/data is stored separately from the program itself, so if your "profile" [including your preferences] got corrupted, reinstalling the program probably wont correct this.
If Chrome continues to malfunction (on that one machine)... you may want to be sure the hard drive is okay... and then proceed with your own idea to go to Firefox (or Pale Moon, or some other alternative browser).
dalem29
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
September 29th, 2015 12:00
Good Morning David!
Both Disk Checkup by Passmark, and Defraggler by Piriform both say that disk health is OK. Not sure if the Dell Diagnostic also does that, but might run it later. Do you know of any other good disk checkers that I could try
I'll try to reinstall it first, the give Firefox a go if that doesn't work.
ky331
3 Apprentice
•
15.6K Posts
0
September 29th, 2015 13:00
No idea on disk health-checkers (including the ones you've mentioned).
The only other thing I can suggest... assuming a re-ininstall of the program doesn't help... is to see if there's an option to create a "new" profile: that could potentially "fix" any issues saved in your existing profile --- but at the expense of losing your existing customization (bookmarks/history) [which you said can't be read anyway]. Since I don't use Chrome, someone else would have to tell you how to do this... assuming it's possible. [Maybe there's even a way to copy-over your profile from another machine to the one where you're having a problem???]
joe53
2 Intern
•
5.8K Posts
0
September 30th, 2015 01:00
ky331 has just about said it all.
Like him, I have no experience with Chrome, so I can't offer any advice. But you mention you had this problem only a system using using IE9, but not IE11.
I was just wondering why you still use IE9, and on which operating system was Chrome giving you grief?
dalem29
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
September 30th, 2015 06:00
Hi Joe
This computer is an XPS-420 at least five years old, probably more, and it just keeps chugging along using Vista. Anything above IE9 won't work on it. I will probably try Firefox next, since I have the idea of how to go through the process of moving the email and Favorites over, and keeping MSN as my easy to access home page.
Bugbatter
3 Apprentice
•
20.5K Posts
0
September 30th, 2015 08:00
Hi Dale,
Once mainstream support for an OS ends, it's "pot luck". Developers are looking ahead/moving forward.
If you are concerned with privacy, I'd suggest using something other than Chrome. If you decide to remove it, make sure you make IE your default browser BEFORE uninstalling Chrome.
I learned that the hard way on a brand new computer that had Chrome pre-installed. Have you thought about using Pale Moon rather than Mozilla FF? If you save IE's HTML of Favorites, you can import them into Pale Moon. Bookmarks>Organize>Import
This seems to be the latest Google news.
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/09/30/google-to-give-marketers-the-ability-to-target-us-via-email-address/
dalem29
2 Intern
•
2.2K Posts
0
September 30th, 2015 16:00
Hi BB!
Thankfully I did not make Chrome my default browswer or ever sign in, just pulling it up and using it for some fussy sites.
I'll check out Pale Moon this weekend. I really don't care for Google anyway, since MSN has Bing which seems to work just as well.
Bugbatter
3 Apprentice
•
20.5K Posts
0
September 30th, 2015 17:00
Thanks for the feedback and the cheerful greeting, Dale.
My link preview looks rather odd. I don't know why I have so much trouble posting links on this forum, but I don't follow this forum much anyway unless there's a Windows security question, or an old friend asks me to stop by to look at a post.
David uses Pale Moon so he'll be able to help you with that. They also have a forum. Have fun. :emotion-15:
Cheers!