Cannot synchronise Chrome bookmarks across PC and Mac, and Windows laptops

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This has been infuriating. I've tried countless searches and attempts and have gotten mixed results, while all are failures. There are also countless other people asking the same question yet are literally no sufficient answers.

Problems that arise are:

  • PC has different set of bookmarks than both laptops, and none are synchronising, even though I'm logged into Chrome on all three.
  • Bookmark a page on PC, and it doesn't show up on a Mac or Windows laptop.
  • Cleaning up PC bookmarks (my main computer) and following Google's advice: Sign inSettingsAdvanced Sync SettingsSync Everything. It doesn't help. As soon as I log into the laptop and synchronise, all old bookmarks come back to the PC, and the laptop now has duplicate bookmarks.
  • Cleaned PC bookmarks again (5th or 6th time so far), exported to Dropbox, then had the Windows laptop import, and got the laptop to synchronise somehow.
  • But then I tried it with the Mac and then the PC and the Windows laptop had all old bookmarks from the Mac loaded again, so it's all a mess now.
  • Here, Google sees the problem: But "disconnect your account, then sign into Chrome again. If you see any further issues," but doesn't seem to offer much help.
  • I tried logging out of Google Chrome on my laptops, clearing out my bookmarks bar, cleaning up my PC bookmarks, syncing, and then logging back into Chrome with my Windows laptop (hoping that since I'm starting from bedrock), thinking that it "should" load the same damn bookmarks form my PC, but it doesn't. Both the laptop and PC have corrupted bookmarks now.
  • Under my Chrome Sync page, I can have anywhere from 1,700 - 3,000+ bookmarks, and I'm assuming half are dupes now.
  • I tried uninstalling Chrome on the Windows laptop, but it won't let me. It says a Chrome browser window is open, which, of course, it is not.

I don't have any idea. I am all out of tricks.

2

There are 2 answers

0
Ihor Koptilin On

If you didn't solve this yet, check file C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts. It might be all Google servers are blocked there.

0
Padawan On

I solved this through brute force and awkwardness.

  • logged out of Chrome on both laptops
  • made sure that all the bookmarks were wiped in the process
  • logged out on my PC, then back in (just because)
  • and deleted all the garbage dupe links and folders I didn't like.
  • just ran with my PC for a couple days, assuming that there was a lag of some sorts, even though there isn't supposed to be
  • got on my Dell laptop, logged into Chrome (after being off for several days)
  • all links on Bookmark Bar were good to go
  • did the same with my Mac laptop

It just needed a bigger hammer.