I'm having a major issue with my laptop where every browser I try to open—like Chrome, Opera GX, or even a portable version of Firefox—closes immediately without any trace in the task manager. The only browser that works is Edge. This sudden change happened after a break when everything was functioning fine in the morning—I hadn't made any major changes to my system. I'm running Windows 11 Home with 16GB of RAM, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, using F-Secure antivirus while Windows Defender is disabled for gaming purposes. I've tried tons of troubleshooting methods, including running the browsers as an administrator, checking for updates and errors, and even running DISM and SFC commands, but nothing seems to work. The most interesting part is that I found an error in ProcMon regarding a missing VERSION.dll file when Chrome launches. After multiple failed re-installs of Chrome, I'm still at square one. I'd really appreciate any insights or suggestions on this situation!
3 Answers
Have you tried disabling your firewall temporarily? Sometimes, it can interfere with browser startups. It's also worth double-checking that F-Secure isn't blocking your browsers even with the antivirus off.
You might consider searching for that missing VERSION.dll file and manually placing it in the Chrome application folder. Just make sure to scan it for malware first before you drop it in there. There are some sites that offer DLL downloads, but be super careful—always run a virus check afterwards!
Just a thought—have you tried booting your laptop in safe mode? Since you mentioned that everything works fine there, it could help identify what's causing the issue in normal mode.
Yep, I found that the browsers work fine in safe mode. It’s super strange!
I disabled my antivirus while troubleshooting, but I'm not sure about the firewall. I'll give that a shot!