Google is issuing you its periodic reminder that you aren’t tethered to Microsoft’s operating system if you own a PC. In fact, the search giant is making it easier than ever to switch over to ChromeOS Flex.
As part of a new partnership with Back Market, a refurbished electronics company, Google is now offering ChromeOS Flex USB Kits to make installing its signature OS a breeze on PCs and Macs alike.
Whether you’ve been purposefully avoiding a Windows 11 update or you’re one of the more than 500 million computer owners with a PC that is too old for an operating system upgrade, your Windows 10 PC hasn’t received an update since last October when Microsoft ended its support for it. (Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program will keep pushing critical updates your way until this coming October for $30, a fee I doubt many people clinging to an old PC are willing to pay.)
When your operating system stops getting updates, you’re facing down the barrel of a security nightmare — no more exploits will get fixed, leaving your system (and potentially sensitive data) vulnerable to bad actors. Google’s ChromeOS Flex continually supports older devices than Windows 11, which could make it a good alternative until you upgrade to another PC.
The new Back Market USB kit is available now for $3, or you can download ChromeOS Flex for free by following the simple instructions included at the end of this article.
A quick ChromeOS Flex history lesson
Google’s ChromeOS isn’t available to install on a laptop or desktop like Windows or Linux, but the next best thing is Google’s ChromeOS Flex. Formerly known as Neverware CloudReady, the OS is primarily built for businesses and education. But ChromeOS Flex is free for personal use, and it’s so lightweight that it’s great for breathing new life into a computer that’s struggling from the demands of Windows, MacOS or Linux.
Google acquired Neverware in December 2020, and the result was ChromeOS Flex. While CloudReady was good, Flex is much closer to the experience you’d get with a Chromebook or other ChromeOS device. That includes the official Chrome browser, support for Family Link (or school-issued) accounts, and Phone Hub, which lets you connect to an Android phone to view notifications and share files between the phone and laptop. The one thing you don’t get is access to the Google Play Store and Android apps.
ChromeOS Flex runs well even on old hardware. That’s why it’s such a good option for repurposing a laptop that can no longer run current versions of Windows, MacOS or Linux. Google guarantees Flex to work, however, only on a growing list of certified models. If your model isn’t certified, that doesn’t mean it won’t work, though. It just means that full functionality and performance aren’t a given.
You choose: Trial run or full install
One of the best features of ChromeOS Flex is that you can run it off a USB flash drive or SD card to test it out first without completely overwriting your current OS. For best performance, it’s not recommended to run Flex full-time from a flash drive, but it will let you see if it works for your needs.
Installing ChromeOS Flex is quick and painless. The first step is to gather everything you need:
- A USB thumb drive or SD card 8GB or larger
- A Windows, Mac or Linux computer to install ChromeOS Flex on
Note that installing ChromeOS Flex will completely erase your entire hard drive. Any important files should be backed up first. You’ll also need a ChromeOS, Windows PC or Mac device with the current version of the Chrome browser installed. This will be used to create the ChromeOS Flex USB installer, and it doesn’t need to be the same device you plan to install it on. The thumb drive will also be completely erased when creating the installer.
To run ChromeOS Flex, the target laptop (or desktop) will need to be Intel or AMD x86-64-bit compatible (newer than 2010 for the best experience), have 4GB RAM or more, have at least 16GB of storage and you’ll need full administrator access to the BIOS. Once you have everything you need, it’s time to create the USB installer.
- Open a Chrome browser window on a ChromeOS, Windows PC or Mac device and add the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension via the Chrome web store. This is what you’ll use to build the USB/SD card installer.
- Go to the Chrome browser’s extensions menu located at the top right of the Chrome browser window (it looks like a tiny puzzle piece). Click on it, and a drop-down list of extensions will appear. Find the Chromebook Recovery Utility on the list and click on it to launch. The utility might need to be toggled on, too, which can be done by clicking on Manage Extensions at the bottom of the drop-down list of extensions.
- When the Chromebook Recovery Utility launches, you’ll be asked to identify what model Chromebook you’ll be recovering. However, there will be a link labeled Select a model from a list in the dialog box. Click that link, and from the Select a manufacturer drop-down list that appears, select Google Chrome OS Flex. Below that drop-down is another labeled Select a product from which you’ll choose Chrome OS Flex.
- Next, insert your flash drive or SD card into the device you’re using to create the installer, select it as your target drive and then click Create now. The creation process takes up to 20 minutes but mine was done in half that time. Once the installer is finished, the drive can be ejected and is ready to use.
You’re almost done. It’s time to grab the laptop you want to convert to a Chromebook. Make sure the laptop is turned off and insert your ChromeOS Flex installer thumb drive or SD card.
The next step is to boot the laptop from the thumb drive instead of the internal storage drive. This requires you to press a boot key while the laptop is booting. Boot keys vary by manufacturer. For instance, on a MacBook Air, the boot key is the Option key. Google has a list of boot keys for major manufacturers if you’re not sure what yours is.
Turn on the laptop and, as it boots, press the boot key to interrupt the boot process. You may need to press and hold the key, or press it repeatedly, to enter the boot menu. If done correctly, the laptop should give you the option to select which drive you’d like to boot from: the laptop’s internal drive or your USB drive. Select the USB drive and press Enter.
If you’ve done everything correctly, you’ll see the ChromeOS Flex splash screen followed by a Welcome to ChromeOS Flex screen. (If not, retrace your steps using Google’s installation guide.) From there, you can choose to test the OS and run it directly from the flash drive or install ChromeOS Flex on the internal storage. Doing the latter gives you the best performance; however, it also erases all content from the internal drive, and the native OS can’t be recovered. If you aren’t 100% certain you want to use ChromeOS Flex, try running it from the USB drive first.
The full OS installation can take up to 20 minutes (my MacBook Air took less than 5 minutes, though). Regardless of how you run it, the setup process is the same. Select a Wi-Fi network, agree to Google’s terms of service, choose whether the Chromebook is for yourself or a child, and then sign in with your Google account information.
Ta-da, Chromebook! At least, close enough for most needs. Performance will depend on what your laptop has. My install was on an early 2015 MacBook Air, and it’s much faster than it was with MacOS on it. The only downside for my particular model is that the built-in webcam is not supported, but an external USB webcam worked just fine.
If you’ve got a USB flash drive and an old laptop, it’s certainly worth the minimal effort to test out and, again, it’s free.
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