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[Closed] Google Chrome Portable sync still doesn't work

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August 1, 2012 - 6:10am
#1
ratcatcher
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[Closed] Google Chrome Portable sync still doesn't work

This has never worked correctly, though a couple of versions ago the symptoms changed slightly - presumably as a result of the way Google does sync.

If you have Google Chrome set up to sync with your online account, all works as expected until you move to a different machine. Then, when you open Google Chrome you see an orange exclamation mark in a square to the right of the spanner (wrench) symbol.

Pulling down that menu you see an error message saying "Sync Error: Update Sync passphrase...". If you click on that the settings tab appears with an "Advanced sync settings" box inviting you to update your passphrase.

If you do that and click on OK, the setting is accepted but a pink stripe then appears on the Settings page under Sign in saying "Account sign-in details are out of date. Sign in again". Clicking on this pops up a box inviting you to re-enter your password. If you do so and click on OK, the settings are accepted.

All is then OK until you change machines again, when you have to go through the whole process afresh.

Is there any way round this?

Regards

Nick

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August 1, 2012 - 8:25am
tapsklaps
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Repetition of the procedure required on each PC

It's necessary, that you repeat the procedure, which you have described in your post, on every new PC (i.e. that's not a failure in the Google Chrome browser). This is clear explained in the help of the browser. If you have opened the "help" website, then click please on the link righthand named "Fix problems with synchronization errors" (I hope to translate this fairly correct from my german browser). In the now opened window click on the second link named " "Sync Error: Update Sync passphrase for synchronization". In the now appearing advanced help description you can read in the second sentence following:

If you have set up on a computer a custom passphrase, you must enter on all other computers the same passphrase, with which will performed a synchronization.

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August 1, 2012 - 8:35am
(Reply to #2)
ratcatcher
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Non-portable

Bear in mind that this help is aimed at the non-portable version of Google Chrome. As Google Chrome would be installed on each machine, you would only have to carry out that procedure once for each installation/machine.

The PortableApps version is a special case because it is being transferred between machines. Even if you swap it back and forth between two machines, as I do, you still have to carry out the procedure every time you move it from one machine to the other (rather than just the first time you use that machine).

We really need some way round this.

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August 1, 2012 - 9:04am
(Reply to #3)
tapsklaps
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Saving of the custom passphrase

How I read in the Google Chrome help, the passphrase will saved on every PC. Therefore, you seem to have right, that this feature currently only works on the non-portable version. Accordingly, this custom passphrase must be stored in the "GoogleChromePortable" folder on the USB flash drive. Therefore it's a bug in the portable version. Please paste the text "[Bug]" at the beginning of the subject of your original post.

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August 1, 2012 - 3:27pm
(Reply to #4)
tapsklaps
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problem only with a custom passphrase

I've been thinking about the above problems and found that the issue you described only in connection with the use of a custom passphrase occurs. Especially the definition of a user-defined passphrase is important therefore, in which kind your data will be encrypted (including your passwords). Either you can use for the encryption the password of your Google acount or your user-defined passphrase. If you use accordingly for the encryption the password of your Google acount, the use of the passphrase is again unnecessary. In that case you only must sign in in your Google acount for the purpose of synchronization. However, you must stop the further use of the user-defined passphrase. To do this you must go into the Google Dashboard, where you reset synchronization.

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August 1, 2012 - 3:54pm
(Reply to #5)
ratcatcher
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No reset option

I never intentionally set a custom passphrase in the first place. The first time the warning appeared in Google Chrome and I followed the procedure described in my initial posting, I was prompted for a passphrase and so I put in my usual Google password.

I've looked on my Google Dashboard and there's no option to reset synchronisation, only to stop it and delete data.

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August 1, 2012 - 4:12pm
(Reply to #6)
tapsklaps
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reset synchronisation

To reset the synchronisation you must stop it and delete data. Afterwards you should log in at your Google acount as usual and I hope, that then your problem not occurs again. Please report your results.

Or could it be, that you have changed your password of the Google acount?

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August 1, 2012 - 7:31pm
(Reply to #7)
ratcatcher
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The story so far

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Disconnected my Google account from my Google Chrome portable browser.
2. Opened Google Dashboard and selected "Stop sync and delete data from Google".
3. Waited a while and came back to the dashboard to check that the deletion had completed.
4. Reconnected my Google account to the browser. At this point I was prompted for just my usual username and password.
5. As a sanity check, I looked at the advanced sync settings. Under "Encryption passphrase", "Use my Google Account password" was selected (NOT "Choose my own passphrase".
6. Went back to my Google Dashboard to check that there was sync data there. There was.

All now seems as it should be on this machine. Later today I'll transfer my stick to the other machine and fire-up Google Chrome to see what results I get.

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August 2, 2012 - 7:18am
(Reply to #8)
ratcatcher
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Other machine

OK, I put the stick into the other machine and fired-up Google Chrome.

The exclamation mark in an orange square next to the spanner symbol appeared again, as before.

When I clicked on the spanner, there was (as before) an item saying "Sync Error: Update Sync passphrase...". Bear in mind that I had most definitely NOT set a custom passphrase.

Clicking on this item, I was taken to the Settings tab and a dialogue box popped up (as before) inviting me to enter my passphrase.

Clicking on "OK" without entering anything did nothing - the box just stayed there.

Clicking on "Cancel" dismissed the box but under "Sign in" on the Settings tab, it said "Please update your sync passphrase".

I haven't updated it yet.

So there's definitely a bug here.

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August 2, 2012 - 7:34am
(Reply to #9)
tapsklaps
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Changing of the Google acount password

In the Google help I found another possible cause for your problem. Can it be, that you've changed your Google acount password in the past?

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August 2, 2012 - 9:38am
(Reply to #10)
ratcatcher
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No

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I've NEVER changed the password on that Google account.

Another update:

The USB stick is now back on the original machine. I didn't update the passphrase whilst it was on the second machine (see my last post) and everything is showing as OK: I'm logged in, no exclamation mark, no message to say anything is out-of-date.

So it seems that as long as you don't update things on another machine, when you return the stick to the original all of the credentials are still OK.

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August 2, 2012 - 11:50am
(Reply to #11)
tapsklaps
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Saving of some data on the host PC

Because of all of your descriptions, I suspect now that is stored in connection with the sync some data on the host PC. If this is indeed the case, then these data should be deleted from the host PC after closing the application Google Chrome Portable. Subsequently, these data should be stored in the Data folder within the folder GoogleChromePortable. After a restart of Google Chrome Portable these data have to be written back to the host PC. All this can be realized with the command [DirectoriesMove] or [FilesMove].

However, in order to substantiate my assumption, you would have to connect your USB flash drive again to the another computer, where you get this error massage. Now there should be no error messages, as described by you, because now are stored on that computer the appropriate data in respect to synchronization. Please ckeck that and report me your results.

Thank you.

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August 2, 2012 - 11:53am
(Reply to #12)
ratcatcher
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Don't understand

I'm not sure what you are asking me to do here, but perhaps this helps:

If I set up sync on machine 1, all works as expected.

I then transfer the USB drive to machine 2 and I see the error. If I ignore it and do nothing, then transfer the drive back to machine 1, all is still OK on machine 1 - sync credentials are fine, no error.

If, whilst the USB drive is on machine 2, I correct the error (re-entering my password as the passphrase and then logging back into my account for sync) then when I transfer the USB drive back to machine 1, I get the error on that machine and have to repeat the process.

In other words, each time I redo the passphrase/login on one machine, I get the error next time I use the drive on the other machine - however many times I've used it on that machine before.

Does that answer the question?

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August 2, 2012 - 12:06pm
(Reply to #13)
tapsklaps
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my assumption is incorrect

Due to your explanations I found out, that my assumption isn't correct. I'm a bit speechless now. Maybe there are still fundamental problems with the synchronization.

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August 2, 2012 - 12:20pm
(Reply to #14)
ratcatcher
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A guess

It's just a guess, but I think it's something like this:

When you set up sync, it uses your password (or a custom passphrase if you've selected that option) to produce a hash. That hash also uses a number or string derived in some way from the host machine.

So if you move the Google Chrome installation to a different host machine, the hash is no longer correct and has to be reset.

Having reset it, of course it's no longer valid for the original host machine.

And so on.

So I guess some way needs to be found to stop the portable version from using a string derived from the host machine - which I think is similar to what's done with portable passwords.

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August 2, 2012 - 6:09pm
(Reply to #15)
tapsklaps
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correct assumption

If you have reported here, you have enabled Portable Passwords. Therefore you copied the file GoogleChromePortable.ini from the folder GoogleChromePortable\Other\Source to the folder GoogleChromePortable\. Then you have edited the file GoogleChromePortable.ini inside of the folder GoogleChromePortable\ in such a kind, that in the section [GoogleChromePortable] among other the following entry appears:

PortablePasswords=true

Is my explanation so far correct? If yes, then your above explanations seem to be true. As I have read in the file GoogleChromePortable.ini, two files will created:

  • a master password hash in the folder Data\settings
  • a Portable Passwords file in the folder Data\profile\Default

And probably you seem to have right, that the master password hash uses a number or string derived in some way from the host machine.

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August 2, 2012 - 7:02pm
(Reply to #16)
ratcatcher
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Correct

Yes, your account is correct in all respects.

Portable passwords works fine when the USB drive is moved from one machine to another. It was originally broken - probably for much the same reason that sync is broken now - but that was resolved.

See https://portableapps.com/node/27467 for more information (this was Iron, but it's essentially the same).

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August 2, 2012 - 7:30pm
(Reply to #17)
tapsklaps
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query regarding the file master password hash

There is one fact, which I would be interested. After you moved your USB flash drive to another machine and you have started Google Chrome Portable, you consequently must log in with your master password. After entering this master password, you then need to enter no more passwords? If so, then my above assumption regarding the file master password hash is wrong.

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August 3, 2012 - 3:22am
(Reply to #18)
ratcatcher
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Correct

After entering my master password, Google Chrome starts normally. My passwords are then available as I enter username or by looking at the list in Settings -> Show advanced settings... -> Manage saved passwords.

This applies whichever machine the USB stick is plugged into.

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December 5, 2012 - 3:45am
(Reply to #19)
miksmith
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Any progress on this at all??

Any progress on this at all??

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December 5, 2012 - 4:10am
(Reply to #20)
ratcatcher
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No

No change for me - still the same as originally reported.

At the time I was using portable passwords (see further up the thread) but I've now disabled that facility as I'm using LastPass instead. With or without portable passwords the behaviour is the same.

Regards

Nick

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August 2, 2012 - 11:49am
Aluísio A. S. G.
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Portable Passwords

Try enabling Portable Passwords. See the help.html file for details

Previously known as kAlug.

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August 2, 2012 - 11:49am
(Reply to #22)
ratcatcher
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Always enabled

Portable passwords are enabled - and always have been since I started using Google Chrome Portable several versions ago.

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December 13, 2012 - 12:50pm
(Reply to #23)
Tsaukpaetra
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+1 on this

The "help.html" file wasn't actually all that helpful in terms of setting this part up correctly.
I tried my best to enable this correctly, but I have no idea how to verify if it was done or not (it mentions some files but not their names).
As far as I was able to tell, to enable portable passwords you simply change a line in the .ini file at the base of the installation directoy (from false to true). If I'm wrong, then either I'm reading the help incorrectly or there needs to be something else going on here.

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August 3, 2012 - 11:35am
CODYQX4
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A side effect of this bug is

A side effect of this bug is that all PCs are going to end up in the other devices. I reinstalled my OS 3 times and end up with multiples of my laptop, as I run Chrome Portalbe on each and had to do the resync/password update.

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September 7, 2013 - 12:14am
John T. Haller
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Closed

I'm closing this bug as it appears that Chrome itself treats each synced PC as a unique entity, which is completely outside of our control. This makes complete sense considering Chrome's design philosophy which is heavily OS-encumbered. Other browsers like Firefox treat each installation as a unique entity and don't have this issue when syncing.

So, when you sync Chrome, you will need to reenter your passphrase on each PC and each PC will show up as a separate machine within your Google account.

Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!

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