How to restore Chrome without "Restore" button and the files "Last Session" and "Last Tabs"?

Question

I was using Chrome halfway when the computer crashed. Usually if I restart and re-run Chrome, there would be a Restore button to recover my lost Chrome session.

However, I restarted in Safe Mode, and re-ran Chrome. I saw no Restore button (just a blank window). Sensing trouble, I restarted the computer in "normal mode" and re-ran Chrome again. But there was still no Restore button. (Ctrl-Shift-T isn't working either.)

I quickly did a backup of the user data folder, but the files "Last Session" and "Last Tabs" are only 1 KB each (so the actual data is no longer within those files):

How do I do a "session restore" now that the Restore button is gone?

How do I do a "session restore" when Chrome has already overridden "Last Session" and "Last Tabs"?

(Is there any way to restore the lost session using other files like "History Index" and etc?)

Solution 1

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --restore-last-session

(suggestion was to create a shortcut since this appears to not be a one time occurrence.  I have created the shortcut, but have not tested it yet.)

Way back someone posted this solution for basically manually pulling the tabs even after missing the .1 sec 'RESTORE' FROM CRASH.

But I was able to recover my tabs and here is what I did:

• Kill your Chrome via Task Manager
• Go to C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
• Rename "Current Session" to "Current Session.old"
• Rename "Current Tabs" to "Current Tabs.old"
• Rename "Last session" to "Current Session"
• Rename "Last Tabs" to "Current Tabs"
• Restart Chrome and there you go!

This worked after Ctrl+Shift+T would not (no response for even the 1st tab), and after right-clicking on new tab and selecting 'restore' was greyed out. Of course I already had the Settings|'On Startup|Continue where I left off' selected long ago, to no avail.

Now if we could only stop Google from crashing in the first place.

I will be checking out "SessionBuddy extension" for Chrome as well, but this solved last night's dilemma.

2021 Update: in recent versions of Chrome paths to Session and Tabs files have changed. They're now all located inside a single folder %localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sessions and have names looking like Tabs_132655660123456789. Closing the browser and replacing newer pair of files with the old pair (by renaming them) helps to succesfully recover previous session and even preserve the tab groups - something that SessionBuddy extension can not do.

---

"Default" in "User Data" is a Chrome profile directory. If you have multiple profiles, directories for any additional ones will be named "Profile 1", "Profile 2" and so on.
Of course, if your home/profile directory is somewhere other than C:\Users\%username%, use the appropriate path.

Solution 2

The History Index files contain your navigation history. The one without dates is from the current month.

With regards to restoring the previous session, try passing --restore-last-session in the command line.

Solution 3

Take a look at the recently closed link

Your previous tabs are likely to be there.

Solution 4

Just gone through that issue now and wanted to restore a browser window, on desktop, with 8 tabs opened.

I solved it by going to browser’s History and there, on top, I could read under “Recently Closed” the following “8 tabs” and “5 tabs”.

From reading the possibilities I just had to press had the “8 tabs”.

I clicked it and the tabs were restored.

Solution 5

If you are on a Mac you can use Time Machine:

1. Quit Chrome

2. Navigate to Users/{your-user}/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default

3. Select the file "Last session" and then select "Enter Time Machine" from the time machine menu, go back to prior to the crash and restore the 4 files:

   • Current Session
   • Current Tabs
   • Last session
   • Last Tabs

4. Launch Chrome

View more solutions

Comments

[Pacerier]

I've checked that initially. It wasn't there. Now there is but it is looking like this: screenshoot.me/WHzjfA

[Pacerier]

This is working however my "last session" is now not the session I wanted anymore (when it crashed), I'd guess essentially what is required is a --restore-last-last-session or a way to copy around the data in C:\pocket\chrome such that I can get the --restore-last-session to restore the "crashed session".

[Aluísio A. S. G.]

Sorry, there is no way to do this, as it only preserves the current and last sessions.

[Pacerier]

Where does Chrome save the data for the sessions before the previous session?

[Aluísio A. S. G.]

It doesn't. Only the current and previous sessions are stored.

[MrWhite]

+1 Awesome (I missed the 1 second (!?) restore from crash notification - damn you Chrome!) - For those using XP... C:\Documents and Settings\%username\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default

[mcv]

LastSession and Last Tabs are both 0 bytes. I really doubt this is going to work.

[jaraics]

+1 Awesome, this saved me from a lot of trouble. Thanks! I would give it 2 upvotes, but that is not possible :(

[jaraics]

Great answer! It saved me once more, so I honored it with a bounty. Thanks again!

[Gert van den Berg]

This doesn't work for me... I usually kill tabs as they open up... Stuff that has been open for months do not show up in the history...

[Константин Ван]

Remember, --restore-last-session.

[Liggliluff]

Windows crashed on me, so I had to reinstall it, and the old localappdata for Chrome was stored in Windows.old, so I copied over the Current/Last Session/Tabs files, and ran Chrome with --restore-last-session, and everything was back.

[Noein]

I backed up the Last versions of both files and tried all combinations possible of them and the dubious empty Current versions. I start Chrome and crash it manually, replace the files, and start again, get the session restore floating panel, say Restore aaand... Nothing happens. Nothing starts.

[craq]

Can i suggest that you reverse the order of these suggestions. I had already started chrome once when I notice this problem and started searching for solutions. Then I came here and tried --restore-last-session... and now my Last Tabs is no longer useful. I'll have to go dig out a backup.

[craq]

or at least suggest to make a backup of the User Data folder. For reference, on ubuntu linux the folder is in ~/.config/google-chrome

[Michael]

this is not helpful if you have a tab that has been open a REALLY long time

[Chaya Cooper]

Thank you for adding the 2021 Update - it worked like a charm!