This wikiHow teaches you how to install the Chromium OS operating system. This operating system is the open source version of Chrome OS, which is Google's closed source, which is only available on Chromebooks. Although it can be downloaded from any computer, this operating system may not be compatible with all computers and may cause software problems. This guide is intended for people who are familiar with the process of installing an operating system and have more advanced computer skills.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Installing Chromium OS to Computer Via CloudReady
Step 1. Download and install CloudReady from
Using CloudReady is the easiest method to install Chromium OS on a computer, and a link to download it is provided in the second step. You need to download the correct version for the operating system currently running on the computer.
- For example, if you are using Windows 10, click the “ Download USB Maker ”.
- If you're using a Mac, click the 32 bit or 64 bit download button, then visit https://guide.neverware.com/build-installer/working-mac-os/#download-cloudready to follow the CloudReady installation instructions.
- If you're having trouble downloading CloudReady, you may need to update the BIOS, clear the disk, or disable the fast boot and secure boot features on your Linux computer.
Step 2. Download Etcher from
Click the green download button to change the program version if necessary.
- Etcher helps to flash OS image to SD card & USB drive.
- Install Etcher when it's finished downloading by running the installation tutorial and following the on-screen prompts (Windows) or dragging and dropping the program icon into the “Applications” folder (Mac).
Step 3. Flash CloudReady to the USB drive
You can find the Etcher program in the “Start” menu or in the “Applications” folder.
- Click " Select Image ” and select the downloaded CloudReady file.
- Click " Select Drive ” and select the formatted USB drive.
-
Choose Flash!
” to start the flashing process. This process of flashing CloudReady to USB takes about 10 minutes, but make sure Etcher displays a message indicating that the process is complete before you close the program.
Step 4. Restart the computer and load it via USB drive
You can do this via keyboard commands (e.g. the “ F12 ” (Windows) or “ Opt ” (Mac)) when the computer restarts.
If you're using a Windows operating system and can't load your computer from a USB drive, read this wikiHow article to learn how to check (and change) the order in which your drives load
Step 5. Log in to the computer as a guest
Even if you're prompted to sign in to your Google account, you can still see the guest login form in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Step 6. Press Ctrl+Alt+F2 (Windows) or Ctrl+⌘ Cmd+F2 (Mac).
A Terminal window or command line will be displayed.
Step 7. Type in sudo /usr/sbin/chromeos-install --dst /dev/sda
This command will install Chrome OS to your computer's storage drive.
- This command will erase all content on the hard drive and install Chromium OS.
- If you are prompted for a username and password, use "chronos" as the username and "chrome" as the password.
Step 8. Enable the Proprietary Services for Netflix feature
By default, CloudReady doesn't have support for Flash or DRM protection schemes like Wildvine. To install both, open the settings menu (“Settings”) and access the “Plugins” section. Press the button Install ” next to “Wildvine Content Decryption Module”, “Adobe Flash”, and “Proprietary Media Components” options.
If you have a problem, you can visit the CloudReady troubleshooting page for a solution
Method 2 of 2: Running Chromium OS from USB Drive in Live Mode
Step 1. Download the Chromium OS build from
You need to download the latest daily Chromium build. Builds or versions are displayed chronologically from the latest version so the first entry in the list is usually the version that needs to be downloaded.
Step 2. Extract the archived image
The file will be downloaded in “.img.7z” format so you will need to download and install an extraction program such as 7-Zip (Windows) or Keka (Mac). Both are programs that can be used for free.
Step 3. Change the USB drive to “FAT32” format
If you see the "MS-DOS FAT" option, it's actually the same as the "FAT32" format.
- On Windows computers, you can format the drive by opening the USB drive in File Explorer, clicking “ Manage, and select " Format " In the window that appears, select “ Fat32 ” from the drop-down list in the “File System” segment, then click “ Start " and " OK " All information or content on the drive will be deleted when the drive is reformatted.
- For Mac computers, you will need to access Disk Utility from the “Utilities” folder in the Finder, select the USB drive, and click the “tab. Erase " Make sure the window next to the “Format” text displays the “MS-DOS (FAT)” option before you click “ Erase ”.
Step 4. Download Etcher from
Click the green download button to change the program version if necessary.
- Etcher helps to flash OS image to SD card & USB drive.
- Install Etcher when it's finished downloading by running the installation tutorial and following the on-screen prompts (Windows) or dragging and dropping the program icon into the “Applications” folder (Mac).
Step 5. Flash CloudReady to the USB drive
You can find the Etcher program in the “Start” menu or in the “Applications” folder.
- Click " Select Image ” and select the downloaded CloudReady file.
- Click " Select Drive ” and select the formatted USB drive.
- Click " Flash ” to start the process of flashing the image to the USB drive. Once done, Etcher will validate the final product.
- Do not close the program until you see a message indicating that the process is complete.
Step 6. Restart the computer and load it via USB drive
You can do this via keyboard commands (e.g. the “ F12 ” (Windows) or “ Options ” (Mac)) when the computer restarts.
- If you're using a Windows operating system and can't load your computer from a USB drive, read this wikiHow article to learn how to check (and change) the order in which your drives load.
- Make sure your computer is loaded from a USB drive in order to use Chromium OS.
- Make sure your computer is connected to a WiFi network after Chromium OS has loaded so you can log into your guest or Google account and access all the features available on the web-based operating system.
