You might see this error while attempting to install a newer version of Chrome over an older version:
“Google Chrome or Google Chrome Frame cannot be updated on account of inconsistent Google Update Group Policy settings. Use the Group Policy Editor to set the update policy override for the Google Chrome Binaries application and try again.”
The Google Chrome and Chrome Frame executable packages were renamed in Chrome 13, which would normally cause Google Update to not respect your auto-update group policy settings. The error above was introduced to prevent existing installations of Google Chrome or Google Chrome Frame from auto-updating despite your existing Google Update group policy settings. As of Chrome 13, automatic updates for Google Chrome and Google Chrome Frame are performed on the basis of the update policy override setting for the application named Google Chrome Binaries. This is not a new application; it's just a renaming of the Google Chrome and Chrome Frame products so auto-updates to both products can be controlled together.
To install the latest version of Google Chrome over your existing version, you must either:
- Apply the update policy override setting for Google Chrome and/or Google Chrome Frame to match that of Google Chrome Binaries.
OR - Remove the update policy override setting for Google Chrome and/or Google Chrome Frame.
Apply new group policy settings
Follow the instructions in the Google Update group policy to set an update policy override for Google Chrome Binaries, Google Chrome, and Google Chrome Frame. Use the same setting for all three applications to ensure that your policy is used regardless of the product versions that are installed. Note that whether installation is allowed remains under the control of the individual products.
You can also follow the steps below:
- Download the latest Google Update policy template.
- Remove the old group policy templates from your tools (if necessary), and add the templates downloaded in step 1. If you're using Group Policy Editor (gpedit), instructions on doing this can be found here (see steps 1 and 2 of the fist example).
- Set your desired update policy overrides for Google Chrome Binaries, Google Chrome, and Google Chrome Frame using the new templates downloaded in step 1.
At the end of this process, you should see the following registry values, depending on the policies you set in step 3:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update\Update{4DC8B4CA-1BDA-483E-B5FA-D3C12E15B62D}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update\Update{8A69D345-D564-463C-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update\Update{8BA986DA-5100-405E-AA35-86F34A02ACBF}
Remove the old group policy settings
Removing the old group policy settings alone will not keep your existing auto-update controls in place. You must follow the steps in "Applying new group policy settings" (above) if you need to control auto-update settings for Google Chrome or Google Chrome Frame.
If you have already set the new group policy settings, the following steps are not mandatory, but you may want to follow them after you have deployed the Chrome 13+ MSI.
To remove the old group policy settings:
- Launch Group Policy Editor (gpedit).
- Change the “Update policy override” setting for Google Chrome and Google Chrome Frame to "Not Configured."
Check that your settings are correct
To verify that your configuration is updated correctly:
- Start > Run > regedit
- Find and open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update\
- Verify that the following new group policy setting is present:
Update{4DC8B4CA-1BDA-483E-B5FA-D3C12E15B62D}
If you have the following values in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Update registry key instead of the new group policy listed above, your attempts to update Google Chrome and/or Google Chrome Frame will fail:
Update{8A69D345-D564-463C-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}
Update{8BA986DA-5100-405E-AA35-86F34A02ACBF}