Fix: Chrome Couldn’t Load Plugin [9 Ways] 2025

Each browser uses plug-ins to work properly and offer features to the user. Plug-ins are basically tools implemented in a browser to enhance the user experience. But sometimes these plug-ins fail to load correctly when the browser starts. This error is usually associated with Adobe Flash Player. Some incorrect settings may prevent the plug-in from loading correctly.

In this article I will show you the methods to repair the Chrome could not load the plugin error in your browser.

What's a plug-in?

A plug-in is complementary software implemented on browsers to enhance the user experience. Every browser you use in a website uses the help of plug-ins to offer it because it does not have the necessary tools. Plug-ins are always executable object codes. Chrome contains a plug-in, which is also disabled by default. The plug-in is Adobe Flash Player. Adobe Flash Player is used to stream video, audio, and media content to the Chrome browser. The plug-in supports many data formats such as XML, JSON, etc.

What are the causes of the error loading the plug-in in Chrome?

As obsolete software, the Flash player may be vulnerable and prone to hackers because its patches are remote code. The reasons for the error are

Defective parameters– Some incorrect settings in Chrome may prevent the plug-in from loading correctly at startup.

Incompatible version– Sometimes the plug-in version is incompatible with the browser version. Then this error can occur.

How to fix a plug-in error in Chrome?

Here, I will guide you through the methods by which you can repair the Unable to load the plug-in error in Chrome. The methods are as follows-

1. Disable the Shockwave Drive

Disable Shockwave Player in the browser could correct the error. The steps to follow are as follows.

Open Chrome
Go to Settings then Advanced settings
Click on Content settings under Confidentiality section
Disable Shockwave Player Plug-in option

Press Shift + Esc to open the task manager in Chrome.

Then click on the Shockwave Player Plug-in and click disable
An error message will appear then click on REload

This will correct the error. If not, then follow the other methods

2. Check if Chrome is up to date

Keeping Chrome up to date can fix the plug-in error. To do this, follow the steps below.

Go to the menu option located in the upper right corner
Then go to Help, then click on the About Google Chrome option.
Now, check if your browser is up to date and if it is not, this option will start the update.

After the update, the error should be corrected.

3. Use DISM commands

If you use this option, any error detection in your operating system will be corrected automatically.

The steps are

Open the Start menu and type cmd.
Right click on the command prompt and click Run this as an administrator.
This will open the command prompt with administrative privilege.
Type this code in the command prompt –DISM / Online / Cleanup-Image / RestoreHealth and press Enter.

This will check all the corrupted files in the operating system and fix it. Once the scan is complete, open Chrome and check if the plug-ins have been loaded successfully.

4. Execute the SFC command

Open the Start menu and type cmd.
Right click on the command prompt and click Run As Administrator.
This will open the command prompt with administrative privilege.
Type CFS / scannow and press Enter

This will also check for corrupted files in the operating system. This is the other search for corrupted files if the DISM code does not correct the error.

5. Disable the Flash PPAPI Plug-in

Open Chrome
Type chrome: // plugins in the address bar and press Enter.
Click on the details in the menu of the list
You will see two versions of Adobe Flash Player. Disable Flash PPAPI

Restart Chrome and check if the error is corrected

6. Remove the PepperFlash folder

Before you try this method, make sure that Chrome is completely closed.

To do this, follow the steps

hurry Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select Task Manager from the menu
After opening the Task Manager, search Chromium in active processes.

Right click on the Google Chrome and click Final task.

This will prevent Chrome from running in the background.

Now that you have completely closed Chrome, follow the steps for Remove PepperFlash folder.

Press Windows + R to open the Execute box.
Type % localappdata% and press Enter

Go to Google Chrome folder then User data folder, and delete the PepperFlash Folder

Now that you have deleted the PepperFlash folder, open Chrome and check if the error is fixed.

7. Check the option Allow plug-in execution.

Open Chrome and type chrome: // plugins in the address bar.
Find Adobe Flash Player and check if the Always allowed to run the option is activated or not.

After activation, the error must be corrected.

8. Rename the PepperFlash dll file

The plug-in error can occur due to the failure of some pepperflash components. So by renaming the file, the error can be corrected.

Go to C: Users User Name AppData Local Google Chrome User Data PepperFlash 32.0.0.171.
Locate pepflashplayer.dll and rename it as pepflashplayerX.dll and press Enter.
After that, open Chrome and check if the error is fixed.

9. Reinstall Chrome

If none of the methods mentioned above works, just try this method.

To uninstall Chrome from your computer, follow the steps

Open The Start menu and type & #39;applications"

Click on Applications and features.
Find Google Chrome in the app list
Right click on it and click on Uninstall

After installing Chrome, open it and the error should be corrected

Conclusion

These are the possible ways to solve the problem. VSdo not load the plugin error on your Chrome browser. I hope you could clearly understand and perform the steps to correct the error.

If the problem is not resolved or if you have difficulty understanding or performing one of the steps, feel free to comment below.

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