Chromium-based browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have been known to experience issues when the user's data directory is relocated off the local system drive - e.g. to network shares, mounted disks (vhdx), mapped drives, etc.
An example of this might be the inability to install/load extensions at some point after updating a Chromium browser to major version 136. This issue has since been resolved for both browsers in the versions listed below.
Google Chrome - 137.0.7151.104
Microsoft Edge - 138.0.3351.14
ProfileDisks are mounted virtual disks and susceptible to these same issues. In an attempt to workaround this limitation, ProfileUnity detects when ProfileDisks are in use and defines a custom path for the user's data directory in the registry respective to each browser.
While the issues often associated with relocating a user's data directory have been mostly addressed in previous Chromium releases, there have been instances where a regression in functionality occurs within a new Chromium release and the previously working methods may experience issues after those updates. While this is rare the following is meant to be more proactive.
In the event an update introduces a change which results in problematic behavior and is not addressed in a subsequent release, the following workaround can be implemented. Alternatively, you can revert to a last known-good version of the Chromium release, ensuring automatic updates are disabled within the environment.
Steps:
- Download the "Chromium_UserDataDir" JSON
- Navigate into an existing configuration or create a new one
- Import the downloaded JSON
- (Optional) Modify the custom location to a preferred local path
- Deploy the configuration
The rules defined in the JSON file perform the following:
Pre-Logon:
- Copies Chrome and Edge user data off the ProfileDisk to a custom location
- Sets the location for Chrome and Edge user data (UserDataDir) to a custom location
- Disables updates for Chrome and Edge
Pre-Logoff:
- Terminates Chrome and Edge processes running under the current user
- Copies Chrome and Edge user data back onto the ProfileDisk