Chromedriver 2.36 with chrome v65 giving exception - google-chrome

Question

I have recently updated ChromeDriver to 2.36 after chrome was auto updated to v65.
But on running test now i am getting below exceptions
Starting ChromeDriver 2.36.540470 (e522d04694c7ebea4ba8821272dbef4f9b818c91) on port 10482
Only local connections are allowed.
Exception in thread "main" org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException: unknown error: failed to write automation extension zip
(Driver info: chromedriver=2.36.540470 (e522d04694c7ebea4ba8821272dbef4f9b818c91),platform=Windows NT 6.1.7601 SP1 x86_64) (WARNING: The server did not provide any stacktrace information)
Command duration or timeout: 218 milliseconds
Build info: version: '3.11.0', revision: 'e59cfb3', time: '2018-03-11T20:26:55.152Z'
System info: host: '172.16.27.222', ip: '172.16.123.114', os.name: 'Windows 7', os.arch: 'amd64', os.version: '6.1', java.version: '1.8.0_77'
Driver info: driver.version: ChromeDriver
Have tried both chromeOptions & DesiredCapabilties
ChromeOptions o = new ChromeOptions();
o.addArguments("disable-extensions");
o.addArguments("--start-maximized");
ChromeDriver chromeDriver = new ChromeDriver(o);
return chromeDriver;
Also tried below method :
ChromeDriver chromeDriver = new ChromeDriver(capabilities);
chromeDriver.manage().window().maximize();

Answer 1

The error says it all :
Exception in thread "main" org.openqa.selenium.WebDriverException: unknown error: failed to write automation extension zip
(Driver info: chromedriver=2.36.540470 (e522d04694c7ebea4ba8821272dbef4f9b818c91),platform=Windows NT 6.1.7601 SP1 x86_64) (WARNING: The server did not provide any stacktrace information)
Command duration or timeout: 218 milliseconds
Build info: version: '3.11.0', revision: 'e59cfb3', time: '2018-03-11T20:26:55.152Z'
System info: host: '172.16.27.222', ip: '172.16.123.114', os.name: 'Windows 7', os.arch: 'amd64', os.version: '6.1', java.version: '1.8.0_77'
Driver info: driver.version: ChromeDriver
It is clear from your error stack trace that the driver.version is not getting recognized.
Your main issue is the version compatibility between the binaries you are using as follows :
You are using chromedriver=2.36
You are using chrome=65.0 (as per your question)
You are using Selenium Client v3.11.0
Your JDK version is 1.8.0_77 which is pretty ancient.
So there is a clear mismatch between the JDK v8u77 , Selenium Client v3.11.0 , ChromeDriver version (v2.36) and the Chrome Browser version (v65.0)
Solution
Upgrade JDK to recent levels JDK 8u162.
Clean your Project Workspace through your IDE and Rebuild your project with required dependencies only.
Use CCleaner tool to wipe off all the OS chores before and after the execution of your test Suite.
If your base Chrome version is too old, then uninstall it through Revo Uninstaller and install a recent GA and released version of Chrome.
Execute your #Test.
Additional Considerations
If you intend to use ChromeDriver and Chrome Browser, while initializing the WebDriver instance instead of using the ChromeDriver implementation use the WebDriver interface as follows :
WebDriver chromeDriver = new ChromeDriver(o);
If you intend to maximize the browser window, instead of using chromeDriver.manage().window().maximize(); use the ChromeOptions instance as follows :
ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
options.addArguments("start-maximized");

Answer 2

Here are the arguments I use:
ArrayList<String> args = new ArrayList<String>();
args.add("enable-automation");
args.add("test-type=browser");
args.add("disable-plugins");
args.add("disable-infobars");
args.add("disable-extensions");
options.put("args", args);
I think you need to at least add the "enable-automation" argument.