After uninstalling Chrome, its profile will be left behind. Your bookmarks, extensions and other data in that profile folder will be migrated to newer version you install in your computer. If you reinstall Chrome that has a lower version number (case with stable) than the earlier one (case with beta/dev.), then you’ll get an error dialog on every startup of the browser.
Deleting Your Google Chrome Profile
This is that error: ‘Your profile can not be used because it is from a newer version of Google Chrome. Some features may be unavailable. Please specify a different profile directory or use a newer version of Chrome’. Check the screenshot below.
Fix Chrome’s error ‘your profile can not be used because it is from a newer version of .. ‘
Here you’ve two options, either to create a new profile, which is easy or install the same version you’ve used before. If you’re not inclined to both, still you can fix this error and use Chrome browser without any issues, here is how.
Windows 8 Chrome Uses Same Profile for Desktop and Metro
1. Close Google Chrome browser windows if any already opened and ensure no processes of it running in the Task Manager.
Read: Fix ‘Please close all Google Chrome windows and try again’
2. For Windows to show hidden files and folders, open Windows Explorer, click on Organize, select ‘Folder and Search Options’, in Folder Options>View, select ‘show hidden files, folders and drives’ and click ‘OK’.
3. Open Run command and paste "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" without quotes and press enter.
4. Find ‘Web Data’ file and delete it.
5. Now start Chrome browser, you won’t get that error dialog again, hope that helps, if you’ve any questions, ask me in the comments, I am happy to help.
Which Chrome Process is running in Task Manager? Stable’s or Canary’s?
Suggestion: In future to avoid these sort of issues, never install a lower version of Chrome after uninstalling the higher version one.
