How to downgrade and use multiple versions of Google Chrome

Monday, April 20th, 2009 | Tools

Google Chrome 2.0 pre beta(dev channel) has been released with more new features included. GoogleSystem has gone extra miles by illustrating these features into the post together with screen shot. It is very useful indeed, a pictures is worth a thousand word.

Pre-beta channel/version is usually unstable, and containing a lot of bugs. Although public users are not recommended to use this version/channel, but it is common that everybody want to get taste of something that had just been released.

So how to do upgrade and if the beta version give you more trouble than productivity, how to downgrade it. This is the steps that I’ve tried this morning.

Upgrading channel/version

1. Backup your Chrome data (favorites, profile and etc). As per dev chrome page -

Make a copy of the User Data\Default directory (for example, copy it to ‘Default Backup’ in the same location). The location depends on your operating system:

Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\

2. Download Chrome Channel Changer.

3. If you don’t have Chrome installed, download and install it first.

4. Run Chrome Channel Manager and choose the desired channel.

chrome_channel_manager

Why you have to run Chrome Channel Manager? Without doing this, your the Chrome installed is updated as per that channel. So no button update shown to you.

Before you choose other channel/release
chrome_1

After you choose other channel, an update button will appear.
chrome_2

5. In Google Chrome, click the wrench menu and choose About Google Chrome. Click on ‘Update Now’

Once completed, you’ll be asked to restart the Chrome and there you go your latest Chrome!!

chrome_3

Downgrading

1. Reinstall Chrome.
[notes] Clicking the ‘Download Google Chrome’ button doesn’t seems working if you already have Chrome installed on your computer. I have to uninstall it, before make a new fresh install.

2. ‘Stable channel’ would be the default channel. (optional)Run Chrome Channel Changer if you want to go for ‘Beta’ channel

3. Replace back the ‘User Data’ with the backup data. Keep in mind that different channel has difference configuration. The profile from the latest channel is not compatible with previous channel

Chrome Channel Changer