Google Chrome syncing kills all browser windows and tabs on other computer?

My regular machine which has syncing turned on had 4 windows and 120 tabs which we will call computer 1.
I turned on my old machine which has not been used for a few years still running Windows 10 which we will call computer 2.

Computer 2 was logged into the same Google account as Computer 1 and it asked to sync but what ended up happening was on computer 1, the windows and tabs all got replaced automatically with what was on Computer 2.

I always thought it was not supposed to replaced the tabs on other computers or devices but each device was supposed to have it's own browser windows and tabs and you can open what's on the other devices from the history where it shows the other devices.

Was this supposed to happen? If so, how do I set it so it will show the tabs in history for other devices but not replace the current tabs or windows for Chrome?

Undo whatever this says you should do. If you can enable tab sharing you can disable it also?

antspants said:

Undo whatever this says you should do. If you can enable tab sharing you can disable it also?

Chrome Sync Not Working? How to Open Tabs From Other Devices

If you're having trouble syncing your tabs in Chrome, we have the answer. Follow these instructions to get Chrome sync working again.

workona.com

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I can rebuild it since I did save a copy of the windows shadow copy and all I really need is the copy of the Sessions folder from before that happened which is what I have a copy of and all should be well. I'll take a look at that later. I always thought sync tabs meant it would appear in the history on the other devices but it my case, it seems to basically replace all the tabs on the other devices. Wished there was a way to undo it. If Tabs Outliner did not show a blank page like it did back in May 2023 and when this happened (it probably did it sometime between May 2023 and when the tabs got replaced), then I would be easily able to recover the tabs with one click of the mouse. I actually installed Chrome Dev and kept the Chrome Beta so I can rebuild everything on Chrome Dev and use the Chrome Beta when needed. I already figured out the History file is all one needs for the entire browser history.

Thanks @antspants regardless for that link as I am sure it's helpful. Hopefully Workona is not something one has to pay for...

Almighty1 said:

how do I set it so it will show the tabs in history for other devices but not replace the current tabs or windows for Chrome?

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This, I don’t believe would be possible. That’s more of a remote connection related task. I would think.

antspants said:

This, I don’t believe would be possible. That’s more of a remote connection related task. I would think.

Click to expand...

Because according to that link, it's supposed to provide the tabs in the history for the other devices and not replace the active tabs on the other devices.