If you are a casual user who spends most of the time browsing or binge-watching the latest shows on Netflix, you should install Chrome OS on your PC. With that out of the way, let us have a detailed look at how you can install Chrome OS on your old PC.
Background Check on our PC
The PC we are using for this guide is a twelve-year-old Sony Vaio and is currently running on Windows 11 (we wrote a guide on how to install Windows 11 without TPM). The device runs on an Intel i3 M330 chipset which is clocked at 2.13GHz. Furthermore, it has just 4GB of RAM and Intel UHD graphics. We installed Chrome OS on this device, and it has been a smooth experience so far on this 12-year old machine. So let us have a detailed look at how you can do the same.
Prerequisites for installing Chrome OS for PC
Quick Disclaimers
Installing Linux Mint
Why are we installing Linux Mint? This might be the first question in your mind. The reason is we are first going to boot our PC into Linux Mint using a USB stick and then continue the Google Chrome OS installation process. But, first, let us have a look at how to create a bootable drive using Rufus.
Creating a bootable drive using Rufus
Steps to check partition (MBR or GPT)
As we saw in the steps above, choosing the correct partition scheme is essential. If we choose the wrong partition scheme, then the trick to install Chrome OS on PC will not work. So let us have a detailed look at the steps on how you can check your partition scheme.
Managing Files (Intel)
Managing Files (AMD)
Booting into Linux Mint Cinnamon
Installing Chrome OS on Laptop PC
It’s now ready to be used to browse the internet with Google Chrome, access your Google Drive files, or do anything else you would normally do with a Chromebook.
Fixing Common Chrome OS Issues on PC
After installing Chrome OS and logging in with your Google accounts, there might be chances that you might face certain issues. Like in our case, the trackpad of the Laptop was not working. Similarly, a few things might not work for you as well. Don’t worry. The developers have already found fixes for these common issues. You can check the complete list of commands here. Let us have a look at how you can apply these fixes.
Troubleshooting the Trackpad issue on Chrome OS
Troubleshooting Internal Hard Disk (Applying multiple fixes)
Let’s take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions.