Giving Google Chrome a try, specifically version 3.0.193.1.

I gave Chrome it's own sandbox with most settings at their defaults. The only thing I did was to enable the setting to force Chrome to launch in the sandbox.


On an empty sandbox, Chrome launches just fine. On every subsequent launch after that, the Chrome window opens as if it was launched for the first time. The window size and location were not in their position I had set previously. I even get the "Google Chrome isn't your default browser" message and the bookmarks toolbar is not enabled. The weird thing is, history and other such settings seem to remain. Obviously, this is without emptying the sandbox so the assumption is, the settings should be retained.

This did not happen with a portable version of v2.0 btw.

Thank you

I am having the same issue... but with the hardened more secure SRWare Iron version of Chromium. will not retain window positions or any SRWare Iron Options. It will retain history/cache..etc

oh, FYI, this happens with SRWare Iron V3.0.197.0 (22047) Stable. Problems occurred immediately after I have upgraded to the new version

For your convenience: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_download.php

I tried this with Iron, but the same thing might apply to Chrome.
Of course, the alternative to the following is to just start each sandboxed session with an empty sandbox, and have Sandboxie delete the contents when the session ends.
----
It appears that Iron wants to keep updated a file called "Local State", that it creates in it's unsandboxed "User Data" folder, the first time that you run the program.
On XP, that file is located at:
C:\Documents and Settings\(user)\Local Settings\Application Data\Chromium\User Data\Local State
(Notes: "Local State" is a file, and it has no file extension.
On Vista the "User Data" folder will undoubtedly be at some different location, than the one that's listed above for XP.)

To avoid the behavior reported in this thread, you must allow a sandboxed Iron to have Direct File Access to the "Local State" file.
(The following assumes that Iron is installed normally (not inside of a sandbox folder), and is then run sandboxed.
If Iron was installed inside of a sandbox folder, then the following instruction should use: "Resource Access > File Access > Full Access", not "Resource Access > File Access > Direct Access")

----
From Sandbox Settings, for each sandbox where you will use SRWare Iron:
Resource Access > File Access > Direct Access
In the "The list above applies to" box put
iron.exe
and then click on the "Add" button.
Navigate to the "Local State" file, select it, and click OK a couple of times.

--> Make sure that you empty the sandbox one time, either before or after making this setting, before you run Iron in it.
Otherwise, there will be a copy of "Local State" already in the sandbox, and it will interfere with the results <--
----
Since an unsandboxed Iron would be using the same "Local State" file as the sandboxed Iron, you probably would not want to run them both at the same time.

Also, the question that was asked here did not involve saving of files such as bookmarks, cookies, etc, so that wasn't addressed.

If the program Chrome has the same behaviour, I assume that you could use the same Sandbox Settings as above, except that you would substitute the name of Chrome's .exe file in place of 'iron.exe'. (not tried)
I think that would be 'chrome.exe'
------------------------------------------
If for some reason you just cannot find the "Local State" file, the following procedure should work
- instead of the above -

From Sandbox Settings, for each sandbox where you will use SRWare Iron:
Resource Access > File Access > Direct Access
In the "The list above applies to" box put
iron.exe
and then click on the "Edit/Add" button.
Put in the window that opens
*\Local Store
and click OK a couple of times.
This would tell Sandboxie to allow Iron to write to the unsandboxed file "Local Store", no matter where it is located.

Thanks. That seems to have worked for the window re-sizing. Bookmarks toolbar and "Google Chrome is not your default browser" message still persists but not a huge issue.

I don't know about the toolbar, but does Chrome have a setting that you can uncheck (when not sandboxed) so that it doesn't check if Chrome is the default browser?

If it does, it's not in the options GUI. There is just a "make Google Chrome my default browser" option.

I suppose the alternative is to just empty the sandbox after each use, like you mentioned. Thanks again.

Sorry for chiming-in this late in the game. jtaylor it sounds like you should have started Google Chrome outside the sandbox once. Anyway version 3.41.12 has a settings "Allow direct access to Google Chrome profile folder" which should also resolve this issue.