When you see the available startup disks, select one.
If your Mac is older than 2018, press and hold the Option key as you restart. Then restart while holding down the Option key and select Chrome OS Flex drive. Select Startup Security Utility, and select “Allow booting from external or removable media”. To boot from the USB drive on your Mac, hold Command+R when the machine is starting up. Change the order so that USB is at the top of the list.
Once you are in the BIOS, look for a menu or an option that lets you see and change the boot priority. Common keys for accessing the Boot Menu are Esc, F2, F10 or F12, depending on the manufacturer. When a computer starts, a user can access the Boot Menu by pressing one of several keyboard keys.
It is important to change the boot order of your PC. On the next page click on Create Now in the bottom right-hand corner. Remember that the USB drive will be wiped clean so make sure you have nothing important on it. On the screen select the USB drive you have plugged in and then Continue. The next screen will direct you to insert your USB Flash drive or SD card. On the next screen click on “Select a model from a list”.įrom the drop-down menu, set the manufacturer to Google Chrome OS Flex and the product to “Chrome OS Flex (Developer-Unstable)”. On the first page of the Chrome Recovery Utility click on “Get started” on the bottom right. Open the extensions library that looks like the jigsaw puzzle piece on the top-right in Chrome. First, instal the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension on your computer from the Chrome Web Store in Google Chrome. Try Chrome OS Flex without installing it on your computer. Above all, you need an Internet connection. You would also need support for booting from USB and administrative access to the BIOS/UEFI settings. You will need a 64-bit Intel or AMD CPU, at least 4 GB of RAM and a 16 GB USB drive. It supports UEFI Secure Boot and is easy to manage using the Google Admin console.Īs it is still in the experimental stage, you can try it straight from a USB drive without even installing it. Neverware was acquired by Google in 2020.Ĭhrome OS Flex is designed to be secure there is no need for antivirus software.
CloudReady is the operating system developed by Neverware which turns your existing PC or old Mac into a Chromebook. It is powered by CloudReady but has more features and flexibility.
The dependence on cloud computing makes it extremely lightweight. By running Chrome OS Flex, your old PCs will recover from their sluggishness and their life will be extended.Ĭhrome OS Flex is a cloud-first operating system. It is good for schools or businesses that do not have the latest hardware to run modern apps. You do not have to get rid of Windows or macOS that still gets updates. Basically you are augmenting the operating system of your old PC with the Chrome OS.