Can You Turn a Windows Laptop Into a Chromebook

Sometimes, a Chromebook beats a Windows laptop. Complexity ofttimes makes life harder for users easily confused past computers—and the people who provide them It support. A Chromebook's simplified interface does abroad with commuter management, endless organisation updates, and even malware avoidance.

More importantly, Chromebooks run a lightweight operating system that feels fast and responsive on older and budget hardware, making them far more affordable. In fact, you lot tin can create your own Chromebook for gratis if you lot have an older laptop lying around. You just accept to install the equivalent of Chrome OS on it.

The process takes less than an hour, and the terminate result often feels snappier than today'south dirt-cheap Chromebooks. Hither'south how to do the conversion.

How to convert a laptop into a Chromebook

For this projection, we'll be using Neverware's CloudReady operating system, which is based on Chromium OS—the same open-source code that Google built Chrome Os on. You can read more about the basic differences between the two if you lot're curious, only all you need to know is that Neverware has made the experience of using CloudReady nearly identical to Chrome Bone.

The one fundamental characteristic missing is support for Android apps. (Despite purchasing Neverware in Dec 2020, Google has not merged development for CloudReady and Chrome Bone.) So if that's integral to your needs, you'll have to buy an official Chromebook. Otherwise you lot're good to become.

Update (Feb 15, 2022): Google has launched an early version of Chrome OS Flex, which builds upon and will ultimately supercede CloudReady. Since Chrome OS Flex is a limited version of CloudReady, with some missing features and compatible devices withal experiencing "minor issues," this guide will continue to rely on CloudReady for now. Google says that existing CloudReady installations will automatically be upgraded to Chrome OS Flex when the latter is stable.

Step 1: Check that your laptop volition encounter the requirements

CloudReady's system requirements are very minimal: Just 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, full BIOS access, and manufactured after 2007.

Like Chrome OS, CloudReady's system requirements are very minimal. The laptop must have 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, full BIOS access, and ideally been manufactured after 2007. You will nevertheless need to check your CPU model, though, as Neverware says that processors with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 500, 600, 3600, or 3650 graphics hardware don't run into CloudReady'due south functioning standards. (In other words, Atom processors from the Silverthorne, Lincroft, and Cedarview families, which were found in depression-end laptops between 2008 and early 2012.)

Your best-instance scenario is to discover your laptop on Neverware's listing of certified devices, which clearly outlines support for features like a webcam or touchscreen. (Click on the model's name to see those details.) We lucked out that our examination model, a 2013 Lenovo ThinkPad X240, had total feature support across the lath.

Nosotros lucked out with our examination motorcar, a Lenovo ThinkPad X240: All of its major features are supported.

Annotation: On the compatibility list, you'll run across desktop systems similar iMacs and NUCs listed every bit well—and then if you have a spare monitor, mouse, and keyboard, you can instead spin upwards a Chromebox. Systems running integrated graphics work best.

If your laptop meets the hardware requirements but isn't on the certified devices listing, don't worry. You can try out CloudReady from the flash drive you lot'll create side by side, which will allow you to test out how well it works without having to nuke your system.

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Before you brainstorm installing CloudReady, back up any files within your existing Os! The process is the same every bit a clean install of Windows, Linux, or MacOS and volition completely wipe your bulldoze.

Step two: Prepare the flash drive for installation

To install CloudReady, you'll need an 8GB USB drive (at minimum) and a PC, Mac, or Chromebook to create the installation media. The procedure takes about 20 minutes.

We'll exist using CloudReady Home edition, which is complimentary and will work fifty-fifty if you lot programme to use this Chromebook for schoolhouse. You can ignore any notes or warnings about restrictions related to management licenses—they're for the CloudReady Enterprise and Pedagogy versions, which would be purchased by an institution.

The easiest style to set a CloudReady installation flash bulldoze is with a Windows PC.

Using a Windows PC to create the wink drive installer is easiest, as yous can download the USB Maker and allow information technology take intendance of the whole procedure. For Macs, Linux PCs, and Chromebooks, you'll need to download the CloudReady Home Edition image first, and then follow Neverware'due south instructions for manually building your installer.

Step 3: Boot to flash drive

In order to kicking to your newly created flash bulldoze, you must bypass your laptop's automatic boot order, which commonly defaults to the main storage drive. You'll do this by hitting a central on your keyboard when your PC first powers up, similar to entering the BIOS. Search online for how to access the kick priority carte for your detail laptop, since it's non universal. For example, our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 required mashing F12 correct at startup, while for our HP Spectre x360, information technology was F9. CloudReady even provides a list of boot keys for major laptop makers.

An alternative method is to enter your laptop'due south BIOS (again, you volition demand to search for which central to press when powering on your laptop) and rearrange the automatic kicking gild, so disengage that change subsequently your CloudReady install.

In either case, you lot should be able to cull the USB drive every bit your boot device. A white screen with the CloudReady logo will appear shortly thereafter.

Tip: Did yous end up in your laptop's default operating arrangement after booting, despite repeated button mashing? Yous likely waited too long to start pressing the primal, or you aren't pressing the right combination of keys. (Example: Part keys may require besides holding the Fn key—or non.)

Stride four: Install CloudReady

When the welcome screen appears, you lot tin can have ane of two routes: Immediately wipe your laptop's drive and install CloudReady, or configure CloudReady on the flash drive. Cull the latter if yous'd like to test drive CloudReady for brusque while—doing so allows you to endeavour out Neverware'due south Bone without any destructive changes to your arrangement.

Note: Neverware does not recommend running CloudReady indefinitely from a USB drive due to operation and storage limitations, besides as a lack of OS updates.

Selection one: Installation

After booting to the flash drive, wait for the welcome screen to appear, then click on the bottom right-hand part of the screen where the time shows. In the menu that appears, choose Install OS.

You'll find the option for installing CloudReady to your laptop within this menu.

Ostend yous've backed up your data, and and then go along with the difficult bulldoze wipe and CloudReady installation. Neverware says the process will terminal between 5 and xx minutes, depending on the speed of your flash drive and the size of your laptop's hard drive.

Upon completion, your laptop will shut down. Remove the USB drive, and then power the arrangement back on (and undo any changes to your BIOS'due south automatic boot guild, if applicable). Yous'll run across a welcome screen once once more, at present running from your laptop. Click on Let'south Go to begin setup.

Option 2: Try out CloudReady from the flash bulldoze

When the welcome screen appears, click on Let'due south Become to offset setup. Afterwards passing through configuration screens for Wi-Fi, data sharing, and Google account login, you lot'll achieve the desktop. Shut out of the pop-upwards window that shows info on the paid editions and electric current release notes to begin using CloudReady.

Unless y'all wish to read the release notes, you lot can shut out of this desktop start screen correct abroad.

You tin later install CloudReady locally by clicking on the time in the bottom correct-hand part of the screen. Choose Install Os in the menu that appears. After completion, your laptop will shut downwardly. Remove the USB drive, then ability the organization back on (and undo any changes to your BIOS'southward automatic boot order, if applicative). Y'all'll meet the welcome screen once again, now running from your laptop; begin setup by clicking on Let'south Go.

Step v: Log into your Google Account

If you installed CloudReady to the laptop's storage bulldoze, you now only need connect to the internet (either via Wi-Fi or ethernet), set your data sharing preference, and log into your Google account. You'll and so reach the desktop, where you'll see a popular-up window that shows info on the paid editions and current release notes.

Close it to get-go using your DIY Chromebook—you lot're all set to go. Equally of version 89 of CloudReady, proprietary media plugins no longer need to be installed manually. You lot can start streaming video from services that rely on DRM (Netflix, Hulu, etc) right away!

How well does it run?

Every bit a Windows PC, our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 was starting to get long in the molar. Equally a Chromebook, its hardware automatically fabricated for a smooth, pleasant experience.

For this article, we used a 2013 Lenovo ThinkPad X240, borrowed from our IT section's stash of decommissioned laptops. This 12.five-inch touchscreen laptop is long in the molar by today'south standards, by and large due to a spinning-platter hard disk drive—when working within Windows 8.1, the organization felt sluggish fifty-fifty during basic use.

Just our X240's Intel Core i5-4300U processor, 8GB RAM, and 500GB drive absolutely crushes today's budget Chromebooks. It hangs pretty well with mid-range models, too, despite its 1366×768 resolution display. When we tried CloudReady off the flash bulldoze, the touchscreen worked immediately and the organization ran buttery shine; even when installed on the hard deejay bulldoze, CloudReady had a much faster response time than Windows 8.i. Ordinarily in an older laptop, I'd swap in an SSD to prolong its life, but I found I could apply CloudReady on the X240's existing hardware without yearning for that upgrade.

Standby battery life also improved, allowing u.s. to become from a solar day of use between charges in Win 8.1 to a couple of days in CloudReady.

If you don't have an quondam laptop

Attempt hunting for gently used notebooks among reliable friends or family. Local universities sometimes also have surplus departments, which offload older calculator equipment by selling it to the public. On occasion, you can observe practiced refurbished computers through Amazon WarehouseRemove not-product link or Woot, as well.

Final tips

• If your older laptop has low-end hardware (or very sometime hardware) paired with a hard-disk drive, you lot'll become improve performance by swapping in an SSD. Find out the superlative of your existing hard drive before buying to ensure information technology'll fit.
• Though CloudReady functions all just the same every bit Chrome OS, one small difference is that the keyboard layouts don't match exactly. Most keyboard commands bear over, but a few are a piffling different. Our Lenovo ThinkPad X240 didn't even match Neverware'south proffer of CTRL + F5 for taking a screenshot; for some inexplicable reason, CTRL + F11 worked instead. You may also need to experiment to detect the right key combos.

Editor's Notation: This story originally published on viii/24/2020 and has been updated with electric current instructions for installing CloudReady.

Note: When you purchase something later on clicking links in our articles, nosotros may earn a pocket-size committee. Read our chapter link policy for more details.

Alaina Yee is PCWorld's resident bargain hunter—when she's non roofing PC building, computer components, mini-PCs, and more than, she's scouring for the all-time tech deals. Previously her work has appeared in PC Gamer, IGN, Maximum PC, and Official Xbox Magazine. You can find her on Twitter at @morphingball.

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Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/393375/how-to-turn-a-laptop-into-a-chromebook.html

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