How to run Chrome OS on your PC using Neverware | TechFigured

Muhammad Ahmed

5 min read

·

Aug 13, 2020

--

Listen

Share

Press enter or click to view image in full size

So, you’ve heard a lot about chrome OS, perhaps seen a lot as well if you’re someone who watches or reads tech reviews. All of this might have made you wonder what sets chrome OS experience apart from other computer operating systems out there and perhaps you’re now intrigued to try out chrome OS for yourself now see what the fuss is all about. Do you’ve an old laptop lying around, and you want to turn it into something useful, perhaps a device for media consumption or just another screen you can make use of. Perhaps, you cannot relate with what was just said, and do not consider yourself tech savvy but still want to give chrome OS a try but do not really know what chrome OS is Well, you’ve come to the right place.

What is Chrome OS?

So, before we get in into installing/trying out chrome OS on your laptop, let’s take a quick look at what chrome OS actually is. Chrome OS is Google’s variant of Chromium operating system open-source project that google develops and maintains; It is licensed by google and is widely available across different laptop models across different manufacturers. For starters, Chrome OS is basically Google Chrome web browser turned into or rather upgraded into a full-fledged operating system of its own. Chrome OS is a lightweight, non-resource intensive operating system that can run on computers with low processing power and less RAM. The aforementioned features are what makes chrome OS an ideal candidate for your old laptop into a reasonably fast and fully functional machine that make full use of internet and cloud-based applications.

So, How do i get Chrome OS on my PC?

Now, you might be wondering; if chrome OS is owned and licensed by google, how am I going to be able to get it on my laptop for free? Well, worry not; CloudReady, a New York based company has got you covered. As mentioned earlier, Chrome OS is based on Chromium open source project, so while Chrome OS can only be used by Google licensed manufactures, Chromimum is free and open to be used, modified and redistributed by anyone. CloudReady makes use of the open-source nature of chromium OS to develop, maintain, and distribute a forked version of chromium OS known as ‘Neverware’. So, while you’re not necessarily getting Chrome OS on your PC when you install CloudReady’s solution, you’re not really far off either. Still not sure? Can’t make up your mind on whether you want to install CloudReady’s Neverware on your laptop or PC? Well, just like the majority of other Linux distributions out there, Neverware can be booted into live from a USB. In case, that sounded a bit too technical; in layman terms, you can run Neverware from a USB without having to install the operating system on your primary storage.

What do i need to get Neverware running on my PC?

Now, lets move onto system requirements. You can virtually run Neverware on almost any laptop out there, provided it has a USB port and does support booting from a USB device. While you can run Neverware on any laptop device, some are better supported than others; for this purpose, there’s a list of over 350 certified laptop models provided on Neverware’s website. As per Neverware’s guidelines, here is what you need to get started:

• A USB drive with 8GB or more of storage.
• A Mac, PC or Chromebook running Google Chrome browser.
• 20 minutes or more of time for the USB installer to perform its due process and create and bootable USB drive with Neverware OS configured on it.

How to install or live boot Neverware on your computer

Here’s a brief step by step guide on how to go from creating a bootable USB to actually running Neverware on your computer. Before you begin, its important to mention that Neverware comes in three different variants; Home, Education and Enterprise are the three versions available. As a normal user who is using it on a single computer and doesn’t require any add-on management features baked into the operating system, you’ll go for Home version, that doesn’t cost anything and is FREE.

Part 1: Step 1:

Download CloudReady USB maker application from their website.

Step 2:

Launch the application and allow the application to make changes to your pc upon the pop-up warrant.

Step 3:

Plug-in your USB device in case it was not already plugged in.

Step 4:

Follow the instructions and keep on clicking on the next button when prompted.

Step 5:

The installer will now start downloading the Neverware file.

Step 6:

Once done downloading, the installer will etch the file onto the USB drive, turning the USB into a bootable drive with Neverware OS.

Part 2:

Now that you’ve got successfully created a bootable USB drive having Neverware on it; the next obvious step would be to run it on your computer, this is how:

• Plug-in the bootable USB drive into your computer.
• Turn on your computer and initiate custom boot, that is, enter your computer’s boot zone wherein you can choose whether you boot(start/run) your normal windows/Linux operating system or to boot another operating system from another bootable source.
• Depending on your computer manufacturer, the hot key (Special key i.e F1,F2 etc) may vary. But you need to start pressing the hot key repeatedly as soon as you start your computer, until it enters the custom boot zone. For example, for HP systems, the key is F9, for Dell and Acer systems its F12.
• Once you have entered the custom boot zone, select to boot from your USB drive.
• If provided with the option, choose “try Neverware without installing”, otherwise this option is selected by default.
• Now, simply follow the configuration procedure and enter the required details.
• That’s it, congratulations. Welcome to your Neverware powered chromium OS PC.

Written By: Muhammad Ahmed, Originally published at https://techfigured.net on August 13, 2020.