It just takes a quick download, a few steps and one USB flash drive to run Google Chrome with your personal extensions and settings on any Windows computer. This article will demonstrate how to setup portable Google Chrome on a flash drive and take it to any PC to use.

The first step is to download the Portable Google Chrome installer from this link:

http://stadt-bremerhaven.de/download-manager.php?id=250

After the download is complete, which may take a few minutes, run the installer. The installer is a 7zip extractor. To get Portable Google Chrome set up on a flash drive, click the “…” button and choose the flash drive. Click Extract.

The “…” button is a browse button. You would click on Computer and then the appropriate drive.

The extraction does not take as long as the download. Portable Chrome is being extracted to your flash drive. When the extraction is complete, you may use the portable version of Chrome right away. Browse your flash drive and double-click its icon.

You will see the application immediately. Double-click the “Portable Google Chrome” icon to open the folder with the program files. Double-click the ChromeLoader icon, which is the application.

You will notice that the language is set to German by default. If you speak and read German, that is fantastic. On the other hand, you may not. Click the wrench button in the upper right corner of the screen and select Options. In this demonstration, only a few of the words are in German and everything else is in English. Usually, it is all in German. Select “Under the Hood” and under the Web Content section, click the “Languages and spell-checker settings” box.

You will see the language list and it may already have English (United States) as the default, but some content is still going to come up in German, so click Add at the bottom left of the screen and select the appropriate language.

Click OK. You may be prompted to restart for changes to take effect. Close all browsers, save all files and Restart. When you begin again, your portable Chrome will be in the language you selected. In this case, it is English.

Using Portable Google Chrome

This portable version works exactly the same way as the standard version. The same processes apply, except that you can now run it from any computer. Your favorite sites and web applications are progressively saved on the flash drive as you add them. Your browsing history is saved to the flash drive as well. The browser itself looks and functions normally.

The overall speed is generally slower than the PC non-portable version. This speed varies depending on the speed of the flash drive and its capacity. Use at least a 2GB flash drive. 4GB would be even better and anything higher would be overkill. This will run on Windows 7 and on Windows XP, so there is some versatility along with portability. Enjoy portable Chrome!

© Melanie Gross for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011.