Stop Chrome and Edge Tabs from Freezing: A Simple Guide for ViewGrip Users

Are you experiencing frustrating freezes or crashes in your Chrome or Edge browser while using ViewGrip's Worker feature to automate your YouTube video playback? This is a common issue caused by a built-in browser feature designed to conserve system resources by pausing inactive tabs. Fortunately, there's a simple solution to keep your tabs running smoothly and prevent interruptions. This guide will walk you through disabling the culprit setting and ensuring your ViewGrip experience remains seamless.

Why Are My Tabs Freezing? Understanding Window Occlusion

Chrome and Edge employ a feature called "window occlusion" to optimize performance. This feature detects when a tab is hidden behind another window or running in the background and suspends its activity to save CPU and memory. While beneficial in general, this can interfere with background processes like ViewGrip's Worker, leading to freezes or crashes.

Steps to Prevent Tabs from Freezing or Crashing

Here's how to disable the "Calculate window occlusion on Windows" setting to keep your tabs active:

1. Open Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on your computer.
2. Paste this address into the address bar: chrome://flags/#calculate-native-win-occlusion
3. Press Enter to open the Chrome Flags settings page.
4. Locate the option labeled "Calculate window occlusion on Windows." Use the search bar (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) for faster navigation.
5. Set it from "Default" or "Enabled" to "Disabled."
6. Click "Relaunch" at the bottom of the page to restart your browser and apply the changes.

After the browser restarts, your tabs should no longer freeze or crash when running Worker, even when they are hidden or in the background.

What If the "Calculate window occlusion" Option Is Missing?

Occasionally, you might not find the "Calculate window occlusion" option in Chrome Flags. This is because experimental flags are sometimes hidden or marked as "expired" by Google. Don't worry; there's a way to reveal them:

1. Go to chrome://flags in your browser.
2. Search for options starting with "Temporarily unexpire Mxx flags," where "Mxx" represents your browser's milestone version (e.g., M128, M130). It could also show up as "unexpire flags".
3. Set all the "Temporarily unexpire Mxx flags" options to "Enabled."
4. Click "Relaunch" to restart Chrome.

After restarting, repeat steps 2–5 from the previous section to locate and disable the "Calculate window occlusion on Windows" option.

Why This Works: A Technical Perspective

Disabling the "Calculate window occlusion on Windows" flag prevents the browser from aggressively suspending tabs it deems inactive. This allows ViewGrip's Worker process to continue running uninterrupted in the background, ensuring smooth video playback and automation even when the tabs are not in focus.

Conclusion: Uninterrupted ViewGrip Performance

By following these simple steps, you can effectively prevent tab freezing and crashing in Chrome and Edge while using ViewGrip's Worker feature. This ensures a smoother, more reliable experience and allows you to maximize the benefits of automated YouTube video playback. Remember, if the occlusion option is initially hidden, enabling the "Temporarily unexpire Mxx flags" option can reveal it. Enjoy uninterrupted video playback and a more stable browsing experience!

Further Reading:

• Chrome Flags Explained: Exploring Experimental Features (External Link)
• [Troubleshooting Common ViewGrip Issues](Internal Link to ViewGrip troubleshooting)