These days, Google Chrome is definitely one of the most used browsers in the browser. Google has almost created a nearly perfect product that rarely experiences problems. However, a lot of users have reported an issue where some files they’re downloading or their downloads in their Google Chrome browsers are stuck at 100%. So if you are one of these users, read on as this post will guide you on what you can do to resolve the problem.
This kind of problem could be caused by several factors. It is possible that the file download process could be blocked by a third-party antivirus or it could be that the content-length header could be missing from the server. Aside from that, a Google Chrome extension could also be the culprit or it could be that the current installation of the browser could be corrupted. This kind of problem can get really annoying as the download process has already utilized system resources as well as take up your time. Thus, you need to fix the problem using several suggestions. You can try to clear the browser cache, disable the Chrome virus scan, whitelist the file on the third-party antivirus program, put your browser in Incognito mode and download the file again. On the other hand, you could also try to reset or reinstall the browser. For more details, follow the options provided below.
Option 1 – Try to clear browser cache and try downloading again
There are times when some data in the browser is conflicting with the loading of the website and triggers some problems like download getting stuck at 100%. And so you can try to clear your browser’s data. This might be a very basic solution but oftentimes it works in fixing this kind of error in Google Chrome. Follow the steps below to clear the data in your browser.
- Open your Google Chrome browser.
- After that, tap the Ctrl + H keys. Doing so will open a new panel that allows you to delete the browsing history and other data in your browser.
- Now select every checkbox that you see and click on the Clear data button.
- Then restart your Chrome browser and check if you can now complete the download again.
Option 2 – Try disabling Chrome virus scan
The next thing you can do to resolve the problem is to disable the Chrome virus scan. It is possible that the virus scan is the one that’s preventing the download to be completed, thus, try to disable it and see if it works.
Option 3 – Whitelist the file you’re downloading in your antivirus program
The download getting stuck might also be caused by your antivirus program which could be interfering it from running. To fix this, you have to whitelist dism.exe. How? Refer to these steps:
- Open the Windows Defender Security Center from the system tray area.
- Next, click the “Virus & threat protection” option and then open the “Virus and threat protection settings”.
- After that, scroll down until you find the “Exclusions” and click on the “Add or remove exclusions” option.
- Then click the plus button and select the type of exclusion you want to add and from the drop-down list, select Folder.
- Next, navigate to this path and select the WinSxS folder: C:/Windows/WinSxS
- When a User Account Control or UAC prompt, just click on Yes to proceed.
Option 4 – Try downloading the file in Incognito mode
There are certain browser extensions, especially those security programs, that prevent any suspicious files from being downloaded. So the easy way to fix the problem is to launch the Chrome browser in Incognito mode and then try to download the file again. Additionally, you might want to consider disabling the problematic extension.
Option 5 – Reset Chrome
Resetting Chrome can also help you fix the problem. This means that you will be restoring its default settings, disabling all the extensions, add-ons, and themes. Aside from that, the content settings will be reset as well and the cookies, cache, and site data will also be deleted. To reset Chrome, here’s what you have to do:
- Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
- After that, click on Settings.
- Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
- After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
- Now restart Google Chrome.
Option 6 – Try to clean reinstall Chrome
There are instances when programs leave files behind after you’ve uninstalled them and the same thing can happen to Chrome so before you reinstall Chrome, you have to make sure that you have deleted the User Data folder. To do so, refer to the following steps:
- Hit the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
- Next, type “%LOCALAPPDATA%GoogleChromeUser Data” in the field and hit Enter to open the User Data folder.
- From there, rename the default folder and name it something else, e.g. “Default.old”.
- After that, install Google Chrome again and check if the issue is now fixed.