A black screen with the ChromeOS logo will appear shortly thereafter.

In either case, you should be able to choose the USB drive as your boot device. Google even provides a list of boot keys for major laptop makers.Īn alternative method is to enter your laptop’s BIOS (again, you will need to search for which key to press when powering on your laptop) and rearrange the automatic boot order, then undo that change after your ChromeOS Flex install. For example, our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 required mashing F12 right at startup, while for our HP Spectre x360, it was F9. Search online for how to access the boot priority menu for your particular laptop, since it’s not universal. You’ll do this by hitting a key on your keyboard when your PC first powers up, similar to entering the BIOS. In order to boot to your newly created flash drive, you must bypass your laptop’s automatic boot order, which usually defaults to the primary storage drive. The tool will take about 15 minutes to download and write the needed files to your USB drive. To make the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension icon visible, click on the jigsaw icon, then the pushpin icon next to the extension’s name.īegin the creation process by choosing “Select a model from the list,” then choose Google ChromeOS Flex for the manufacturer and ChromeOS Flex for the model. (Sadly, unlike Neverware’s documentation, the list no longer clearly spells out support for features like a webcam or touchscreen.) We lucked out that our test model, a 2014 Lenovo ThinkPad X240, had full feature support across the board. Your best-case scenario is to find your laptop on Google’s list of certified devices. (In other words, Atom processors from the Silverthorne, Lincroft, and Cedarview families, which were found in low-end laptops between 2008 and early 2012.) You will still need to check your CPU model, though, as processors with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500, 600, 3600, or 3650 graphics hardware don’t meet ChromeOS Flex’s performance standards.

The laptop must have 4GB RAM (up from 2GB), 16GB storage, an Intel or AMD x86 64-bit processor, full BIOS access, and ideally been manufactured after 2010 (previously 2007). Like standard ChromeOS, ChromeOS Flex’s system requirements are fairly minimal, though they have become more stringent compared to before.

The major changes: You now need 4GB RAM (up from 2GB), and a processor manufactured after 2010. ChromeOS Flex’s system requirements have increased, compared to its previous incarnation as CloudReady.

How do i get google chrome on my laptop