Chrome OS Flex: Google’s New PC OS

Chrome OS Flex is a new version of Chrome OS, the cloud operating system used on Google chromebooks. As this video demonstrates, it can be installed on almost any PC, allowing -- for example -- new life to be brought to an old laptop.

My video on “PC BIOS Settings” -- which includes information on booting from a USB drive -- is here:

My video on using Diskpart to recover a USB drive that has been used as an installation media is here:

And my video on the Rock Pi X SBC is here:

Please note that as an Amazon Associate I earn a commission from any qualifying purchases you may make via the above link.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:46 Google’s PC OS
04:53 Guest Test
08:07 Full Install
11:24 Cloud Working
13:47 Another Option

#ChromeOSFlex #ChromeOS #ExplainingComputers

[andrekz]

I enjoy watching these videos showing extremely light OSs working on old hardware. It's very inspiring

[chrisrasmussen]

It’s cool to see how far Chrome OS on unsupported devices has come in the last decade. From the Hexxeh releases compiled by a high school kid in England to releases formally made by Google for developers.

[DS-uqks]

Chris's idea to use diskpart is a great idea, certainly for more than just this! You can also uninstall the software from the USB using the same tool. Select the gear in the top right corner of the window when prompted to identify your Chromebook and you will see the selection, erase recovery media. In my experience, plugging the drive into Windows generates several open windows and formatting notices, since my default is to open the window on USB folders.

[dougcollins]

Just tried this out on an old Dell Studio laptop (nice 17" screen and better than normal sound) that originally came with Windows Vista. I replaced the original HDD with a 250GB SATA SSD and loaded Chrome OS Flex - and it all runs very nicely. Even the built in media player touch panel works (Volume controls and Play, Pause Stop buttons) - and it can cope with 1080 video on Youtube. Very impressed so far.

However the one issue that seems to be quite common is that printer support is unpredictable - especially when you want to use an older printer. While both WiFi and USB printing is potentially supported the range of printer models that work is limited - and you can't install any drivers to get around unsupported printer issues.

With a WiFi enabled printer that refuses to work you may have a manual setup option if the printer supports IPP (Internet Printer Protocol). However if you only have USB cable connection it appears you are limited to the printers in the supported printers database - and even those can be removed by Google at any time due to age. Many reports of printers working for months and then you get the dreaded ".... printer is no longer available" - basically Google saying "your printer is too old buy a new one". The system can still see the printer and display it's description - but you can no longer Save it to the active printer list.

It seems printer support for older printers is best for HP printers, and much less so for older Epson and Canon models. For other manufacturers it is really only very recent models that are likely to be supported. Even current printers often make no mention of Chrome OS support in published specs - you have to go to Chromebook support pages to see if a particular printer is listed as supported.

[perrypereyra]

never thought I'd fall in love with 2010s kind-of-video; please don't change

[RealBillP]

Thanks! Another Great Video! Thanks for all of the knowledge that YOU share with the World!

[bradw]

Chris, thanks for your video. I've been using Chrome OS Flex on an old (2011) Apple Mac Mini that's no longer supported, and it works very well. I love the idea of running a simple OS on older hardware. I've been using this for months, and I'm very happy with it. Thank you again for your video.

[CharloBagis]

I installed Chrome OS flex on my 11 year old Fujitsu AH531, which is not on the list of tested devices but I had nothing to lose and gave it a try. I was impressed with the performance, much better than the Lubuntu distribution I had before

[Praxibetel-Ix]

I remember the two occasions in which I used ChromeOS and enjoyed it quite a bit. ChromeOS Flex definitely shows a lot of promise and I can see it becoming just as good an alternative to Windows as the other one!

[rmcguirephoto]

I've been very impressed with ChromeOS Flex after playing with it on a 10-year-old laptop. I like that it can run many Linux programs, and can also run web-based Microsoft Office, so most of the applications I use regularly can be duplicated on ChromeOS Flex. The exception, of course, is the Adobe applications, however there are some open-source alternatives, which are functional, but less elegant. It's unfortunate that you can't run Android applications, but hopefully that will be added to a future release.

[igfoobar]

I love how Chris has transformed his sign off schpiel into something that is now starting to sound like a song.

[wrxs]

Another good video Chris, the attraction for myself and presumably many others for the Chrome OS Flex, is you do not need a heavily weighted Windows operating system just to go to the browser. Constant windows updates, annoying news and weather pop ups, plus an operating system that gobbles up resources and is slow to start.

[edwardharding]

Great video as always, I love these type of videos! I would like it if you could create a tutorial/series on how to set up a basic AWS server with Active Directory and File Sharing as I am really interested in that and would like to know more about it.
All the other guides that I have been looking into are really long and complicated and I would love a series or video from you demonstrating how to set it up.
Thanks again for this video.

[glennstrandgulliksen]

My go-to channel for anything computer related i´m wondering about 👌

[jose.inestroza]

Greetings to everyone. As always such a fantastic content from Mr. C.B..

I'm using Chrome OS Flex including the use of the Linux Containers, with Java Enterprise Edition on Eclipse 2022-03, Git, Python 3.x with no issues at all, for over a month now on a 4th generation Intel with way more than 4GB of RAM and the system feels like a powerhouse in my perspective, on a 9 years old HP Laptop with its original HDD (no SSD).

Seems like it is truly a viable option for everyone to buy brand new "old generation hardware", lets say like Intel 6th Gen and up, to use as everyday computer, and not just for learning, but for doing real work like teaching, software development & research. #NoMoreeWaste

[moonlambo]

YouTube keeps unsubbing me from this channel, so annoying. Glad to see you are still making videos!

[PeterJasper]

Thanks for another informative video. ChromeOS Flex looks like a great option for some aging laptops/notebooks, but not too old if they have to be 64 bit and have 4 GB of RAM. Old computers never die they just get updated operating systems ...

[Bluejohn]

Excellent video, i followed your instructions yesterday to give new life to an old laptop which had already had so many distros on it over the years that it had become a little unstable, now works perfectly, and it's quick too, so thank you very much.

[paulmiller]

Thanks Chris, great video. It is great to know of such an option. Especially useful for friends wanting a simple low cost option for friends and ideally their kids.

[kylecurtis]

Wish I had a computing teacher like you when I was at school!