Member Avatar for galileo812

I have an HP Spectra x360, which I've been very happy with, however, lately it Chrome gets to a point where it causing high CPU utilization and freezes the computer.
I didn't install any new extensions, software or hardware. Any suggestions?

Edited by galileo812
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Dani AI

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Building on and , here are targeted diagnostics and fixes that avoid the basic checks already suggested and focus on deeper Chrome/OS interactions likely to cause high-CPU hangs on an HP Spectre x360.

First, inspect Chrome's GPU subsystem (open chrome://gpu). Hardware-acceleration problems often cause long-running renderer threads and system hangs; toggle Chrome's hardware acceleration off (Settings → Advanced → System → Use hardware acceleration when available), restart Chrome, and test. If that helps, update the Intel graphics driver (use Intel Driver & Support Assistant) and the laptop firmware (HP Support Assistant). Also try a completely fresh Chrome profile (Settings → People → Add person or rename the Default folder at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default after backing it up) to rule out profile corruption.

Second, collect system-side evidence to distinguish browser vs OS/hardware faults. Use Reliability Monitor (Control Panel → Security and Maintenance → Reliability Monitor) and Event Viewer (Windows Logs → Application/System) to correlate freeze timestamps with error entries — those logs are the most diagnostic artifacts. Run these health checks from an elevated prompt:

sfc /scannow
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Monitor temperatures and throttling with HWiNFO or Core Temp while reproducing the problem — thermal events or failing fans can show as sudden CPU spikes then hangs.

Finally, if the freeze persists after a fresh profile and driver/firmware updates, try a different Chrome channel (Beta/Canary) or a clean reinstall of Chrome (uninstall, remove profile data, reinstall). If other browsers also hang, the issue is likely OS/hardware and the Event Viewer/Reliability entries will guide next steps (OS repair or hardware diagnostics). These steps produce concrete evidence that points to either Chrome internals, a driver/firmware bug, or underlying system instability.

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

In spite of you not installing/updating, Chrome, Windows and other browsers can do update. I find myself clearing cache, ejecting all addins and then another user account. So far that's worked for me.

Edited by rproffitt because: Spelling
Member Avatar for happygeek

Does Task Manager show anything unexpected running?

Have you actually examined the Chrome extensions list to make sure nothing unexpected is there as well?

Is it just the Chrome client that causes your x360 to freeze?

When you say freeze, does the x360 just sit there until you give it the three-finger salute/power off, or does it crash?

Have you executed a deep scan with a decent anti-malware app such as Malwarebytes (they also have a solid rootkit scanner which might be worth running)?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a happy Spectre x360 user myself (i5-6200U, 8GB, Win10) and Chrome (56.0.2924.87) is my browser of choice. Has all the latest updates and doesn't exhibit this freezing behaviour, so I'm keen to get to the bottom of it so I can avoid whatever it is in the future :-)

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