Today nearly anyone can get access to the internet. All one needs is an internet-enabled device (for example a computer, smartphone or a tablet), an existing internet connection, and any kind of web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.). You can search for basically anything, and whatever you type in the search bar, you can be completely certain that you will find an answer on the world wide web. This technology however is incredibly complex below the surface, which means that a lot of different errors can occur during the process of loading a requested web page. One of these is the “err_connection_reset” error that you are experiencing.
The heading of the error message screen will either say “This site can’t be reached” or “This webpage is not available”. The “err_connection_reset” error is also known as “Error 101”. If you are given this message, it is important for you to know that you are not alone with this problem, as it is one of the most common errors received by Google Chrome users.
What does the “err_connection_reset” error mean?
When you get this error message, it is because something happened that interrupted your connection to the page that you were trying to visit. Since a stable network connection could not be correctly established with the destination site, your browser could not open the web page, load the photo or the video that you have requested. As a result of this problem, your connection has been reset.
Error 101 can be caused by dozens of things that don’t operate properly for some reason. Of course, it is not an expectation that you know exactly what is causing the problem. So, in case you are not aware of what is going on with your browser and why you can’t open that site, come with us and master fixing the “err_connection_reset” error in Chrome.
5 solutions to fix the “err_connection_reset” error in Google Chrome
When this message pops up instead of a website you try to reach with your Google Chrome browser, it recommends a couple of methods to fix this problem. You can see them on your screen or on the above screenshot too. In this article, we will help you go down all these options and suggest a few more possibilities to get your browser to function normally again.
First, here are some easy fixes you might have thought of but were afraid to do in order to avoid accidentally ruining something on your computer.
To be able to fix this error, first of all, before you go into something difficult, reload the page. This might seem obvious, yet not every solution has to be so complicated that you feel a computer expert after completing a series of steps. Click the reload button on the top of your screen, next to the search bar to the left, or simply press the F5 key.
In case reloading the page is not enough for the problem to be solved, check your internet connection, which you might have lost for some reason. Without a stable connection, you won’t be able to reach the internet.
You can try to restart your computer for the purpose of clearing the memory of your PC, and unplug your router/modem in order to completely reboot the system. Between disconnecting and connecting the router/modem back to the power plug, wait a couple of minutes to let the capacitors run out of current and clear the memory.
After completing each option, reload the website that you want to access to see if it solved the problem.
Test the website and the browser
If your internet access is not the cause of the error, and reloading the page plus restarting your computer and your router/modem did not help you to fix Error 101, you need to rule out the website, the browser, and the device that you are using as the source of the issue.
Firstly, type the address of another website in a new tab in Chrome. If other websites load without a problem, then the error has something to do with the server of the website that you initially tried to access. This means that you cannot fix the problem yourself as it is not caused by your computer. You could try contacting the owner of the website and let them know about the problem.
Also, try opening the site you want to access by using a different browser instead of Chrome. For example Firefox or Opera. If opening the site doesn’t result in the same error, you can ensure that it is not a server-side problem, it has something to do with Chrome.
Check your proxy server settings
In the event that you experienced the same error by opening other websites in Chrome or using another browser, you can come to the conclusion that something in your computer doesn’t like this site so much that it wants to stop you from visiting it. One of the most common reasons for this error is that in the internet settings a proxy server has been defined and now it is blocking the setup of the connection.
Note: A proxy is an intermediary server, it acts as a gateway between your computer and the internet.
Activating a proxy can be done automatically by add-ons or plugins that you have added to your browser. In this case, check the proxy settings and disable proxy access if needed. Here is how to disable proxy in Windows:
- Type “Control Panel” in the Windows search bar, open it and select Network and Internet. Then, in that menu click on Internet Options.
- Here, in Internet Options, on the top of the pop-up screen switch to the Connections tab, where you are able to set up the configuration of VPN and dial-up connections, and click on LAN settings at the bottom.
- In the LAN Settings menu you can find the existing proxy settings of your system. In the Proxy server section you should see a checked entry called “Use a proxy server for your LAN”. To deactivate a proxy server, uncheck the box right next to it.
- Click OK to save the changes, then try to reload the site you couldn’t access before.
If you are unable to select or deselect the checkbox, you should immediately execute a malware check in your antivirus software, because you may have got some virus on your computer. After removing any malware infection, try again to do these steps above.
Important note: It might happen that the error is not solved, although you did everything correctly. Some browsers, and certain extensions of Google Chrome or Firefox, use their own proxy settings that can be active regardless of the proxy configurations in the system settings. In this case, you have to deactivate the proxy settings directly in the browser.
- Using Chrome, click the menu icon in the browser toolbar. It is on the top, a three-dotted icon, and select Settings.
- In the left menu, expand the Advanced section. Scroll down until you see System and click it.
- Select the “Open your computer’s proxy settings” option.
- In the Automatic proxy setup section, switch off the Automatically detect settings option, and in the Manual proxy setup section switch off the Use a proxy server option.
- Click Save, then reload the page that you are trying to access.
Clear the browser cache
A browser cache not only saves passwords, cookies and your search history but also stores data from pages you have visited in the past. It does so to load your frequently visited websites faster.
It is possible that you have previously already visited the site that now you want to open again, and the browser cache might contain outdated information. That information can interfere with setting up a new connection to the site, and as a result the connection attempt ends with the error message you are seeing in your browser. To fix this possible issue, you need to clear your browser cache, which you can do in a few easy steps.
- In Google Chrome, go to the Settings menu. It is next to the search bar on the right, a three-dotted icon.
- Choose More tools and from the pop-up menu select Clear browsing data. You can easily skip searching for the proper options mentioned above by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Del combination, or typing or copying then pasting the “chrome://settings/” command into your Chrome search bar.
- To clear the entire cache, set the Time range to All time from the appearing menu and mark each checkbox. Doing so, your browser clears your history, your autocomplete data, signs you out from most sites and frees up some space by deleting saved website data. Your browser will probably load websites a bit slower next time than usual, but it should be hardly noticeable.
- Try loading the page again and check if the problem is solved.
Temporarily disable your firewall and antivirus programs
Besides real-time checks and filtering rules that protect your system against illegal and unauthorized access and malicious software at all times, firewalls and antivirus programs might also block web applications or certain IP addresses. If the website that you are trying to access is blocked this way, it can cause the “err_connection_reset” error. In this case, you can try to deactivate your firewall or antivirus programs, but only do so if you are completely sure that the site you want to access is reliable and secure. Otherwise, you might expose your system to viruses.
If you can access the site after disabling either your security system or the antivirus program, look for options to whitelist the website in your security applications, then re-enable them. Another option is to consider installing and using another software.
Delete Winsock catalog entries
If nothing has succeeded or changed so far, then try to remove the catalog entries in Winsock. This system application provides an interface for programs to make connections via TCP/IP in Windows operating systems. Winsock generates entries for once established connections and stores them in its own catalog. One of the entries can be the cause that stops you from being able to reach the requested web page. You need to reset your Winsock catalog to solve this problem.
To do this, you have to write a command called “netsh” into Command Prompt. That command requires administrator rights.
Note: Netsh is a command-line scripting utility that is responsible for displaying or modifying the network configuration of a running computer, either locally or remotely.
- In order to have the required privileges, type Command Prompt in Windows Search, and select “Run as administrator”. If you cannot see this option, right-click on Command Prompt then choose it from the drop-down menu. You will be asked if you allow the Command Prompt to make modifications to your computer. Click on Yes.
- When the elevated Command Prompt starts, type or copy and paste the following command to reset the catalog: netsh winsock reset
- Restart your computer for the reset to take effect.
- Then open Google Chrome and try to access the desired website.
Conclusion
By this point, I hope you could fix the “err_connection_reset” error in Google Chrome and managed to access the site that you wanted to. If, for any reason, nothing has helped, leave us a comment in the section below, and maybe you can get some additional help from others.
