Last updated on February 23rd, 2017
Google Chrome performs automatic updates every few weeks in order to make Chrome browser more secure and stable. But sometimes these new versions are not very stable or they present compatibility problems in their use. For these reasons, it's better to disable the automatic update procedure to avoid such problems.
I did find an option to “Ask where to download.:” which does turn off automatic downloads, but on another machine, therre’s a popup that asks what to do with the file and I have a choice of OPEN or SAVE or and I want to select OPEN.
How to prevent (STOP) Chrome to Auto-Update.
![Chrome Chrome](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126225377/579560282.jpg)
Method 1: Disable Chrome Auto Update by renaming 'GoogleUpdate.exe'.
Info: The 'GoogleUpdate.exe' is the application that used from Chrome (and other Google products) to check and install updates.
1. Navigate to the following location, depending your Windows version:
- 32bit Windows:C:Program FilesGoogleUpdate
- 64bit Windows: C:Program Files (x86)GoogleUpdate
Note: If you cannot find the Update folder at the above location, then look at the following location:
- C:Users<Your_Username>AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUpdate
2. Explore the contents of the 'Update' folder and rename the 'GoogleUpdate.exe' to 'GoogleUpdate1.exe'.
3.Restart your computer.
Method 2: Disable Chrome Update through Chrome.
1. Open Google Chrome and at the 'URL Address Bar', type: chrome://plugins& press 'Enter'.
2. In the listed plugins, find the plugin named 'Google Update' and press the 'Disable' option under it.
3. Finally restart your Chrome browser for changes to take effect.
Method 3: Disable Chrome Update through Windows Registry
1. Open Registry Editor. To do that, open the 'Run' command* and in the search (run) box, type 'regedit' and press 'Enter'.
* How to open the 'Run' command:
Windows XP:
Click on the 'Start' button and choose 'Run'.
Windows 7, Vista
Click on the 'Start' button and click on the 'search'box.
Windows 8:
Right-click on the bottom left corner and select 'Run'.
2. Inside Windows Registry, navigate (from the left pane) to this key:*
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesGoogleUpdate
* Note for Windows 8.1 users: The above key doesn't exist in Windows 8, so you have to create it (and one more key) manually: To do that:
- Navigate to this key at left pane: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPolicies.
- Right click on Policies and select New Key.
- Give the name Google
- Right Click on Google key and select New Key.
- Give the name Update
- At right pane, right-click on an empty space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
- Give the name UpdateDefault
- Modify the UpdateDefault value data to 0 as described below (3).
- After you modify the value date, navigate to this key at left pane: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeGoogle
- Right click on Google key and select New Key.
- Give the name Update
- At right pane, right-click on an empty space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
- Give the name UpdateDefault
- Modify the UpdateDefault value data to 0 as described below (3).
3. At the right pane, double-click at the 'UpdateDefault' registry key and set its value data to '0'.
4. Press 'OK' to close that window and then close (exit) Registry Editor.
![Google chrome automatic download Google chrome automatic download](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126225377/504882932.png)
That's it.
Remember that you can always enable the Chrome automatic update feature anytime you want, simply by setting the Value Data to '1' in the same registry key (UpdateDefault).
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Chrome updates are pretty unobtrusive, but if you’ve decided you don’t want to them to run automatically, there’s actually no setting in the browser to turn them off. Fortunately, Windows users can disable automatic updates in just a few easy steps.
Method 1: System Configuration
- Open the Run prompt. You can do this by using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + R or searching for Run using Cortana.
- Once it opens, type msconfig and hit Enter.
- In the System Configuration window, go to the Services tab.
- You’ll want to look for the two following items: Google Update Service (gupdate) and Google Update Service (gupdatem). To find them, it may be easier to check Hide all Microsoft services.
- Uncheck both Google items and click OK.
- You will be prompted to restart your computer for these changes to take effect.
Method 2: Windows Services Manager
- Open the Windows Run utility. You can do this by using the keyboard shortcutWindows key + Ror searching forRun using Cortana.
- Once it opens, type services.msc and hit enter. (You can also open this window by opening Windows Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools > Services.)
- Scroll down to Google Update Service (gupdate) and Google Update Service (gupdatem). Double-click each item and in the General tab under Startup Type, select Disabled from the dropdown menu and click OK.
Google warns against disabling updates, and in some cases they bring with them some much-needed changesUpdate Chrome Now to Make Your Battery Last LongerUpdate Chrome Now to Make Your Battery Last LongerGoogle Chrome can put incredible strain on system resources, burning through your battery quicker than it should. However, the latest version of Chrome alleviates this particular issue.Read More. By foregoing updates you may be missing out on critical security fixes, so definitely bear that in mind before you decide to disable auto-updates.
Have you turned auto-updates off? Why did you decide to disable the feature? Let us know in the comments.