- Google’s Chrome installer for PCs with AMD and Intel CPUs have been broken in the last week
- Detective work suggests that the version for these PCs was accidentally replaced by the Arm Installation Program, which is for very different Snapdragon CPUs
- While the problem is now resolved, Google took a long time to solve it
Those who try to install the Chrome browser in Windows 11 or 10 over the past week may well have been flummox by a mistake that tells them that the app is not running on their PC – and I can’t quite believe how long it has taken Google to solve this.
Nevertheless, the good news is that the error is fixed, even if it took the business far further than it should have.
The problem, in case you missed it, was marked on Reddit and with Windows latest a week ago.
What happened was that when firing the Chrome installation file (chromesetup.exe, download from Google’s web site) so that people on the process get to a screaming stop with an error message that reads: “This app can’t run on your PC: To find a version for your PC you need to check with the software publisher.”
As for the reason, Windows performed the latest detective work and theorized that what Google had done here – somehow – was accidentally swapping the arm installer for Chrome with the X86 installation program. This means that the version of Chrome to Copilot+ PCS with Snapdragon (arm-based) processors was swapped with the version for AMD or Intel CPUs.
This conclusion was based on digging in the installation file and finding references to ‘arm’ which would certainly not be there with a non-arm executable. In addition, 9 to 5 google backs up this theory as the tech site tried the defective version of Chrome on a Snapdragon -PC, and found it worked fine (as it would do if it was the arm installer).
9 to 5 Google was also on the ball to note that the problem is finally healed and you can now download the Chrome installer on a Windows PC with an AMD or Intel CPU and it works just as you would expect.
Analysis: An amazingly basic error with only one winner (edge)
Okay so that mistakes can be made. In fact, they happen all the time in the tech world or elsewhere for that matter. But for such a basic error that needs to be left in place to annoy a lot of Windows users in the best part of a week is confusing – especially while reports fly around the problem.
I can’t imagine this was something that was particularly difficult to solve, as it looks like a simple mix of files, as mentioned (unless there’s something I’m missing here). Apparently, the Arm version of Google Chrome was not affected and the installation program was still working for them with a Snapdragon-driven machine.
This could have cost Google some Chrome users potentially, who may have been tired of the browser not installing and maybe even plumping after Microsoft Edge, its biggest rival, instead. (Incidentally, Edge is the best overall web browser as far as our Roundup of the most compelling offers out there is concerned).
