Revive your old computer by turning it into a Chromebook

The latest versions of Windows and macOS have high system configuration requirements, which has led to many devices not meeting the requirements. Over time, older versions of the software stop being updated, which means your computer will become useless.

But before you give up on your old laptop, consider turning it into a dedicated Chrome device to give it a new life. Google's free operating system makes this possible and it's fairly easy to set up.

ChromeOS Flex can turn any old PC or Mac into a Chromebook—even if you think it's too slow, too old to use. This is a great solution if you can’t or are reluctant to upgrade your machine, or just need a universal computer for your family.

Instructions before installing ChromeOS Flex

The following points you need to remember before you dust your old laptop:

First of all, ChromeOS Flex does not provide all the features of Chromebooks. For example, you won't be able to install Android apps or Parallels, nor do you have a Linux development environment. The good news is that if you just want a computer for web browsing, this won't be a problem. The operating system also has minimum configuration requirements, and it is only available for x86 processors. Basically any processor produced by Intel or AMD.

[Related: Best Chromebook Add-ons and Tips]

Lastly, a warning – installing this version of ChromeOS will completely delete everything on your computer, so be sure to back up any data you don't want to lose before you start.

Tools required to install ChromeOS Flex

First of all, you need an old laptop or desktop computer. Google offers a list of certified devices – if your machine is on that list, you can get started. But even if it's not on the list, it's possible that you'll get it to work. I installed the operating system on my Macbook and an old desktop computer that doesn't support Windows 11, both of which work fine.

You also need a USB flash drive or SD card with at least 8GB of storage. Note that this process also wipes everything on the drive completely, so make sure there is nothing important on the drive either.

Lastly, you need to visit Google Chrome. This can be the same computer you intend to install ChromeOS Flex or another computer.

Create a boot drive

First, you need to install ChromeOS Flex on a flash drive or SD card.

On a computer running Google Chrome, insert the flash drive and install the Chromebook recovery utility. Run it, click to start , and then in Select Model from the list drop-down menu, select Google ChromeOS Flex.

Click Continue and select your flash drive from the drop-down menu. Make sure you choose the right drive – otherwise, you may end up overwriting something completely different. When you are ready, click to create now.

The tool will download the operating system and turn your flash drive or SD card into a bootable drive. It takes a while – for me, it takes about 15 minutes, but your experience will vary depending on your internet speed and other factors. Eventually, you will see a message telling you that the drive is ready.

Boot from drive and try

If the device has not been turned off, turn off the device you want to run ChromeOS Flex and insert the flash drive or SD card. Now you can turn on your computer.

In most cases, your machine will boot directly from the drive, but if this doesn't happen, you need to press a key right after turning on the computer - most likely F2 or F12 for the PC. After that, just follow the instructions.

[Related: Best Chromebooks of 2023]

On a Mac, this is a little easier: simply press and hold the Option key after turning on the computer and the system will ask you which device you want to boot from.

End, you will see a screen that welcomes you to use ChromeOS Flex - click to try the software first. You can log in with your Google account, or try it as a guest if you prefer. If you find everything works well and you are happy to completely remove your computer's drive, then you can start installing it.

Installing ChromeOS Flex

As we warned you before: Installing ChromeOS Flex will completely remove everything on your computer. Don't continue unless you agree to do so. If you agree, please click the clock in the lower right corner of the screen to log out of your Google account. This will take you back to the Welcome menu - this time, click

to install ChromeOS Flex.

After the installation is complete, you can turn off the computer, unplug the USB drive or SD card, and then boot directly to ChromeOS. Even if you are already logged in at the time of testing, you need to log into your Google account, as the settings are not inherited from the live version.

After that, you'll have a Chromebook that feels like a brand new one, even if the device itself is already ten years old. This is a great way to make the most of the equipment you would have given up on.

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