How to Download and Install Chrome OS (Flex): The Ultimate Guide

Downloading Chrome OS is a snap, but installing it requires some work. In principle, you can turn any laptop or computer into a Chrome OS device, provided it has good specs, of course. If you use Chrome OS Flex, this all becomes a lot easier. Installing Chrome OS Flex is done in no time and can also be done on old and less fast devices.

What is Chrome OS Flex?

Chrome OS Flex is a new operating system from Google. The big advantage of this system is that you do not need modern hardware. So you run it on (far) old(rde) computers. You can read exactly how to do that in this extensive article.

But first: what is Chrome OS Flex? This is an operating system, based on Chrome OS, intended for companies and educational institutions. The software is also based on the CloudReady platform, developed by Neverware, so that any computer can run it.

With CloudReady you convert existing, often obsolete computers into secure, fast machines. As a result, those computers will probably last longer. This is beneficial for budgets, but also for people who are looking for safe and simple operating systems for their PC.

That is also a goal of this OS (OS is an abbreviation for operating system, which means operating system in Dutch): to reduce e-waste. One thing to keep in mind: Chrome OS Flex relies heavily on the cloud, just like Chrome OS.

What do you need for Chrome OS Flex?

Google has a handy list with devices that natively support Chrome OS Flex. But in principle, the OS should work on systems with the minimum specs below. However, we do not guarantee that you will receive the necessary support.

• A 64-bit Intel or AMD processor
• 4 GB of working memory
• A USB stick of at least 16 GB
• The computer must be able to boot from a USB stick
• Administrator rights to BIOS/UEFI settings
• An internet connection

Please note that Chrome OS Flex is – at least at the time of writing – experimental software. This means that the system can show errors or not work on a system that does meet the minimum requirements. So try this first on hardware that you never use.

Chrome OS Flex Install

Before installing Chrome OS Flex directly on an old computer, you can try the system first. So you don't have to install anything on the hard drive right away, but you can first use a separate USB stick. You follow the steps below for this.

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Start up Chrome OS Flex

After installing, make sure that the PC uses Chrome OS Flex as the operating system after booting up. How to do this differs per computer. But in most cases, you press the F2 or Delete button on the keyboard during startup to get this done.

You may also need to use F1 or Esc; so make sure you know which button to press. If you use the right button, a small menu will appear with a few options. It may be that other things apply to you; so check this out first.

If you manage to boot Chrome OS Flex as the operating system, you will again be presented with two options. Make sure you choose the option to try the system. You can then choose to log in with your Google account, but you don't have to.

The great thing about Chrome OS Flex is that you don't have to Chromebook required to use the system. Do stay alert. So the system is experimental; so experimental that Google advises against downloading it now. Can't wait? Then you now know how to do it.

Installing Chrome OS: The 'old' method

Google offers no official method for installing and trying out Chrome OS (except, of course, by downloading a Chromebook to buy), but developers have discovered a trick that allows you to try the operating system on your own hardware.

Install Chrome OS

Before we can start installing the Chrome OS, let's take a look at the essentials. What we want to achieve is preparing a USB stick, on which the Chromium OS disk image can be found. That is a disk image with which you ultimately use the system.

You need this:

1. A working computer with at least one USB connection
2. A USB stick with at least 4 GB of storage space
3. A program for extracting a zip file, such as 7-Zip for Windows, cake for macOS or p7zip for Linux
4. called a program Etcher; you can download it for Windows, macOS and Linux

The USB stick is completely used in this process. That means that it is completely emptied before we can use it. So make sure you use a USB stick that does not contain any valuable files. It doesn't matter if you use Windows, macOS or Linux.

Why it is important to use a USB stick in this case is because this is a safe and effective way of working. You can use Chrome OS whenever you want, on suitable hardware - without having to uninstall Windows or macOS first.

Download ChromeOS

Before we can use the Chrome OS on a device, we need to download a recent version of the operating system. Google doesn't provide an official version of the base code, so we'll have to get it from somewhere else. A good alternative source is Arnold The Bat.

Chrome OS is based on Chromium OS. This is an open source project that was set up with the aim of building an operating system that is fast, simple and secure. Via the Chromium OS you get to the Chrome OS. You can get the most recent version of the system via the aforementioned website.

After downloading it is important that you extract the file with the programs mentioned above. Save the files in a folder that you can easily access. For example, think of a folder on the desktop. Grab the USB stick so we can format it.

FAT32

Formatting is important, since we use the stick for one purpose. You are supposed to format it to FAT32. How you do that differs per operating system. Windows users, however, proceed as follows:

1. Insert the USB stick into the USB port
2. Open the file manager
3. Go to This PC or Computer
4. Press the USB stick with your right mouse button
5. Select format
6. Press where it now says NTFS and change it to FAT32
7. Now press Start and then OK
8. Name the USB stick Chrome, purely for convenience

Chromium OS

Now that we have made all the preparations, it is important to install and open Etcher. After opening, proceed as follows:

1. Select Select Image
2. Go to where the Chromium OS write copy is located
3. Add that disk image to Etcher
4. Select SelectDrive
5. Now choose the USB stick you just formatted
6. Now click on Flash, so that the copy is installed on the USB stick

Before you can use Chrome OS from a USB stick, you'll have to wait for Etcher to complete the process. That means you have to wait until the screen shows that the program is 100% ready. After that, the stick is suitable as a USB drive with Chrome OS on board.

Boot Chrome OS

If everything went well and Chrome OS is on the USB stick, you need to restart the computer. To use Chrome OS, you must tell the computer to start up with Chrome as the operating system.

Windows users can control this in their BIOS settings. The necessary Boot Options menu can be found by holding down the Esc, F2, F10, or F12 button during startup. Mac users will then have to hold down the Option key briefly during startup.

In both cases, you will end up in the intended menu, perhaps after a moment of waiting. You are supposed to select an operating system that will be loaded from an external drive. In this case, you should not choose the option related to the internal hard drive.

So choose an external source. The Chrome OS will appear on your screen in no time and you can get started. Again: by working this way, you do not have to remove another system and you can therefore use both operating systems side by side.

With the USB stick in your arsenal, you can now turn many hardware with Windows, Linux or macOS into a Chrome OS machine. After the initial installation, it is still important that you set up Chrome OS. You do this by logging in once with your own (or a new) Google account.

Are you still hesitating between one Chromebook or a Chrome box? Then you read here what you can expect from a Chromebox.

_{Street: Wikimedia Commons, C.C}