If you have an Old Laptop and desperately need to bring new life into it then consider installing Chrome OS! Chrome OS is Google’s custom Operating System which is very light-weight and can easily run on an Old Laptop. If you have an Old Laptop running Windows, it is definitely worth the switch. This is a tutorial on how to Install Chrome OS on an Old Laptop.
Usually, Chrome OS is only available on Laptops and Notebooks you buy with it installed, however, Neverware has created a way to install Chrome OS on an old laptop. This is called Neverware Cloud-ready.
Download the Installer
Head to https://www.neverware.com/freedownload#intro-text and click ‘Install The Home Edition’. Then scroll down to where it says ‘Download the USB Maker’ and click on the button to download it. This shouldn’t take long as it is only 48MB.
Once it has finished downloading, run the program and click ‘Next’.
Flash the USB Drive with Chrome OS
Then, select the USB drive you would like to install CloudReady on. The USB drive must be 8GB in size or greater. If you don’t have one, you can buy one here. Once you select your drive, the Installer will download the image, unzip it and flash it to your USB drive. Once it is done, remove it from your computer.
Boot Into Chrome OS
Now, plug the USB Drive with Chrome OS into your Laptop, make sure it is turned off first.
To Boot into CloudReady, you must enter the BIOS of your Laptop and select the USB Drive. You must find which key your Laptop uses to enter the BIOS. Head here to find a list of all BIOS keys for Laptops.
Once you know the BIOS key, you must turn on the computer and instantly tap or hold the BIOS Key. For example, on my ACER Laptop, I must press the ESC key when it starts to enter the BIOS.
Then, once you have entered the BIOS, use the Arrow Keys and Enter to select the name of your USB Drive from the list. Now your Laptop will Boot into Chrome OS on the USB Drive. TIP: Use a USB 2.0 Port if you have one since 3.0 can glitch!
Install Chrome OS
Now you should appear on the CloudReady setup screen.
To install Chrome OS on your Laptop, click the clock in the bottom right, and select ‘Install OS’. This may take a while depending on how old of a Laptop you are using.
Once the OS is installed, you will be brought back to the same Welcome Screen from earlier on. Click ‘Let’s go’, sign in with your Google Account and also connect to Wifi. Now you will be on your brand new ChromeBook!
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