How to Recover Chrome Bookmarks, Passwords, and Settings from a Computer That Won’t Boot

Bywsadmin

If your computer has stopped booting and you need to recover important Chrome data — such as bookmarks (favorites), saved passwords, and browser settings — you’re not out of luck. Whether the issue is software-related, a corrupted Windows install, or something more serious, there are several effective ways to extract Chrome user data from a non-bootable system.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know to retrieve your Chrome profile data, explain where Chrome stores your information, what can and cannot be recovered, and how to move that data to a working system.

Understanding Where Chrome Stores Your Data

Google Chrome stores each user’s browser data in a user-specific folder on your computer. On Windows, this folder is located in a hidden area of your user profile. The full path is usually:

C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\

Here’s what’s inside that matters:

  • Bookmarks: Stored in a file simply named “Bookmarks.” This is a plain-text JSON file that contains all your saved bookmarks.
  • Bookmarks.bak: A backup of your bookmarks, useful if the main file is corrupt.
  • Login Data: A SQLite database that contains all of your saved passwords. These are encrypted.
  • Preferences: A JSON file containing a variety of browser settings.
  • Local State: This file contains metadata Chrome uses, including the encryption key for passwords. It’s located one level above, in the “User Data” folder.
  • Extensions: A folder that contains all installed Chrome extensions.

If your Chrome was signed into your Google account with sync enabled, you may not need to retrieve anything manually,  your data may already be stored in the cloud. If you were not using sync, you’ll need to copy these files directly from the hard drive.

Option 1: Use Chrome Sync (if enabled)

Before diving into manual file recovery, ask yourself: did you sign into Chrome with a Google account on the non-booting computer? If so, and if Chrome Sync was enabled, much of your important data is already saved in the cloud.

To check:

  1. Go to any working computer.
  2. Open Chrome.
  3. Click the profile icon in the top right and sign into your Google account.
  4. Ensure Sync is enabled. Chrome will pull down your bookmarks, passwords, browsing history, and extensions from your synced data.

This is by far the easiest recovery option. If it works, you don’t need to recover anything from the drive.

Option 2: Remove the Hard Drive and Connect to Another PC

If Chrome Sync wasn’t enabled or you want to be thorough, the next best option is to physically remove the hard drive from the broken computer and access it from another working machine. This allows you to browse the drive like any external storage device and copy out the necessary files.

What You’ll Need

  • A screwdriver to remove the drive.
  • A SATA-to-USB adapter, external drive enclosure, or an open SATA port in another PC.
  • A second, working Windows computer.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Power down the broken computer.
     Disconnect the power and remove the battery if it’s a laptop.
  2. Remove the hard drive.
     Open the case and carefully remove the internal drive. Most laptops and desktops use standard 2.5” or 3.5” SATA drives.
  3. Connect the drive to a working computer.
     Plug it into another PC using a SATA-to-USB adapter or install it internally.
  4. Browse the drive.
     On the working computer, open File Explorer. You should see the old drive appear as an extra volume.
  5. Navigate to the Chrome data folder.
     Go to:
    X:\Users\<oldusername>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\
    Replace “X:” with the letter of the attached drive.
  6. Copy the important files.
     Create a folder on your working computer (or an external USB stick), and copy the following files:
    • Bookmarks
    • Bookmarks.bak
    • Login Data
    • Preferences
    • Local State (found in the User Data folder one level up)
    • Extensions folder (if you want your installed extensions too)

These are the files that contain your key Chrome information. Once copied, you can import or examine them safely on your working machine.

Option 3: Use a Linux Live USB to Access Files

If you’re not comfortable removing the hard drive, or it’s soldered onto the motherboard (as in some ultra-thin laptops), you can use a bootable Linux USB to access the files without removing any hardware.

What You’ll Need

  • A USB flash drive (at least 4 GB).
  • A working computer to create the Linux live USB.
  • A Linux ISO (Ubuntu is a good choice).
  • A tool like Rufus (on Windows) to create the bootable USB.

Steps

  1. Create the bootable Linux USB.
     On another computer, download Ubuntu and use a tool to create a bootable USB stick.
  2. Insert the USB into the non-booting computer and boot from it.
     You may need to change the boot order in BIOS or UEFI settings.
  3. Choose “Try Ubuntu” instead of installing.
     This will load a full desktop environment without altering your drive.
  4. Open the file browser and locate your Windows drive.
     It should appear in the file explorer automatically. Click it to mount.
  5. Navigate to the Chrome data folder.
     Go to /mnt/<drive>/Users/<username>/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data/Default/
  6. Copy the important files to a USB stick.
     Use the file manager or terminal to copy Bookmarks, Login Data, Preferences, and Local State to another USB drive for later access.

This method avoids removing the drive and works even if Windows is corrupted — as long as the drive is still readable.

What to Know About Password Recovery

While bookmarks and preferences are easy to copy and read, saved passwords are not. Chrome encrypts saved passwords using the Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI), which ties the encryption to the specific user account and system. This means you cannot simply copy the “Login Data” file to another system and open it to view passwords.

Here’s what you need to understand:

  • The “Login Data” file is a SQLite database that stores passwords in encrypted form.
  • Chrome uses DPAPI to encrypt these passwords using the user’s Windows credentials.
  • To decrypt them, you need either:
    • Access to the original user account on the same system, or
    • A forensic method of extracting the encryption keys and using the original Windows password.

If you know the original Windows password, it is technically possible to decrypt the passwords using advanced tools. However, this requires extracting additional system files such as:

  • C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM
  • C:\Windows\System32\config\SYSTEM
  • C:\Users\<username>\NTUSER.DAT

With these files and the original password, forensic tools can sometimes decrypt the saved passwords. This process is not simple and should only be done if you are technically confident and aware of the legal implications.

Importing Bookmarks and Settings into a Working Chrome Install

Once you’ve recovered the key files, you may want to import them into Chrome on a working computer.

For Bookmarks:

  1. If you only have the “Bookmarks” file:
    • Close all Chrome windows.
    • Navigate to your Chrome profile folder on the new machine:
      C:\Users\<yourusername>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\
    • Replace the existing “Bookmarks” file with the one you recovered (back up the original first).
    • Relaunch Chrome, and your bookmarks should appear.
  2. Alternative: Import bookmarks as HTML
    • Open Chrome.
    • Go to Bookmarks > Bookmark manager.
    • Click the three dots (menu) > Import Bookmarks.
    • Choose the HTML file (if you exported it).

For Preferences and Extensions:

Copying the “Preferences” file and “Extensions” folder into your new Chrome profile can carry over some settings and installed extensions, but this can also create conflicts or inconsistencies. If possible, reinstall extensions manually through the Chrome Web Store.

Final Tips

  • Always back up any existing Chrome data on the working machine before replacing files.
  • Avoid merging settings unless necessary,  replacing files is safer than mixing them.
  • If the drive is failing or clicking, stop trying to recover it yourself and consult a data recovery professional.
  • For encrypted passwords, Chrome Sync is your best bet. If sync was not used and you absolutely need the passwords, consider professional help for forensic recovery.

Even if your computer won’t boot, your Chrome data isn’t necessarily lost. With the right tools and a bit of patience, you can recover your bookmarks, settings, and even your passwords. Whether you remove the hard drive, use a Linux USB, or rely on Chrome Sync, there are multiple paths to retrieving your important browser data.  Always handle drives with care, especially when dealing with potentially failing hardware, and remember that password recovery has additional complexity due to encryption. Still, with the right approach, most users can successfully salvage their important Chrome data from a non-bootable machine.