When you buy a new computer, you will need to do a fresh install of Google Chrome. This means that you will again need to customize your settings, add the bookmarks, save your passwords, and add necessary extensions.
However, the good news is that you really don’t need to go through this whole manual customization process all over again. You can save or backup your Google Chrome Profile and then transfer it to your new computer.
This can save you a lot of time and frustration. Google Chrome saves all your data in a profile folder separate from the main folder where the Chrome browser is installed.
In this blog post, I will show you step-by-step how to export your Google Chrome Profile to an external USB flash drive and then transfer it to your new computer. There are two main steps involved: (1) Back up your Chrome user profile; (2) transfer your user profile to the new or another computer.
So, let's discuss both of the above mentioned steps in detail. I've also created a step-by-step video tutorial, if you prefer a visual experience, as you will find below.
STEP 1: HOW TO BACKUP GOOGLE CHROME PROFILE?
The first step is to backup your Google Chrome Profile. I’m using Google Chrome on Windows 10. The Chrome User Profile is saved in a separate folder.
So, first make sure to close your Google Chrome browser and open Window File Explorer. Next, we need to locate the Chrome User Profile folder.
In order to do so, type OR copy & paste, this file path "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\" in the address bar (in File Explorer)
Next, go back one step, by clicking the UP ARROW, in the top-left corner. This will display the User Profile folder.
Select the folder and use CTRL+C to copy the folder and then go to your external drive (I used a USB Flash Drive) and use CTRL+V to paste it.
This will begin the process of backing up your Google Chrome Profile to your back up drive (in my case, my USB Flash Drive). This process could take a little while depending on how large your Google Chrome Profile is, in my case, it took a few minutes.
STEP 2: HOW TO TRANSFER GOOGLE CHROME PROFILE?
Now, that we backed up the Google Chrome Profile, we need to transfer it to the new computer where we did a fresh install of Chrome. So, first make sure that you’ve already installed Google Chrome on your new computer.
Now, let’s locate the Profile Folder on the new computer, just like I showed you earlier (in Step 1 above).
So, first make sure to close Google Chrome and open Window File Explorer. Next, we need to locate the Chrome User Profile folder on your new computer. In order to do so, type OR copy & paste, this file path "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\" in the address bar (in File Explorer).
So, once you are in the Google Chrome Profile folder, you need to replace this current contents with the one we backed up in Step 1.
So, go to your back up drive (in my case my USB Flash Drive), navigate to the backed up Google Chrome Profile folder and then select all the contents, and use CTRL+C to copy the contents.
And then go back to the Google Chrome Profile folder on your new computer and use CTRL+V to paste the contents. This will replace, the current new Chrome Profile with the contents of the backup Chrome profile.
You will see a dialog box confirming if you want to replace the contents, click on "Replace the Files" and it’ll complete the process.
And now if you open Google Chrome on your new computer it should be all set up with the backed up Chrome Profile which includes the bookmarks, passwords, extensions, etc.
IMPORTANT NOTE
One final step, I would recommend is to log into your Google account, click on your profile (in the top-right corner) and turn on Sync. Do this on both the computers which will ensure that your User Profile data is synced.
Well, hope you found this help article helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by!
CREDITS: Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc., used with permission | Images used in this video belong to the author or are from the public domain via Pixabay | Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries | Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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