Chrome randomly reloading tabs

[rh71]

I'd open a new tab in the background (ctrl-click a link) for later, like choosing threads to read on a forum. In the past it would be loaded & ready to view when I go to them later, but very recently they are all instantly re-loading when I go to them. Also I say randomly because I could have old tabs open and when I go back to them, sometimes they'll reload and other times they won't (don't seem time-dependent). Happens on multiple sites so it's not the sites themselves. No setting in Chrome I can find. Did something change recently? Is it just me?

 

[rh71]

not sure why but a machine reboot solved it... simply restarting Chrome had not.

 

[TheRyuu]

I'd open a new tab in the background (ctrl-click a link) for later, like choosing threads to read on a forum. In the past it would be loaded & ready to view when I go to them later, but very recently they are all instantly re-loading when I go to them. Also I say randomly because I could have old tabs open and when I go back to them, sometimes they'll reload and other times they won't (don't seem time-dependent). Happens on multiple sites so it's not the sites themselves. No setting in Chrome I can find. Did something change recently? Is it just me?

Chrome added a feature recently which can discard unused tabs to save memory which would probably cause a reload when you go to view it after allowing it to sit after a while. I don't know if this feature has made it to the stable branch yet or if it's even on by default but what you're describing does at least sound like it. It may have recently hit the stable branch and that's why you're seeing this behavior now. The reboot may have fixed the issue because it freed up memory to the point where Chrome doesn't think it has to discard tabs anymore.

You can disable automatic tab discarding in chrome://flags[1] although it should only really be occurring when free memory is low[2]. Blog post about the feature[3].

[1] chrome://flags/#automatic-tab-discarding
[2] If enabled, tabs get automatically discarded from memory when the system memory is low. Discarded tabs are still visible on the tab strip and get reloaded when clicked on. Info about discarded tabs can be found at chrome://discards. (from the flags description)
[3] https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2015/09/tab-discarding?hl=en

 

[FrankRamiro]

I also notice Chrome is bloating and i'm getting disappointed with Chrome lately,i use to be a fan of Chrome but i'm changing my mind,that's why i also downloaded FireFox,Chrome is not being very friendly with old machines and that sucks big time.

 

[TheRyuu]

I also notice Chrome is bloating and i'm getting disappointed with Chrome lately,i use to be a fan of Chrome but i'm changing my mind,that's why i also downloaded FireFox,Chrome is not being very friendly with old machines and that sucks big time.

On Chrome with changes they've made to GC and the tab discarding looking at it purely from a memory usage standpoint it can't really be doing anything but using less memory than previously.

Whether or not you think either browser has suffered feature bloat though is up for debate.

 

[inf1nity]

How much memory does your PC have? This is a regular occurence on my PC, but that's because it has just 2 GB of RAM and is running Windows 8 64 bit. Which is why i use Firefox.

 

[sweenish]

Whether or not you think either browser has suffered feature bloat though is up for debate.

Not really.

Both have bloated significantly.

Both became more efficient, but they've also bloated.