I would like to say a big thank you to you, I am using Asus Vivobook, it was turned off on sept 2020 and few days back in May 2026 I turned it on back and somehow the PC worked but it was dead slow.. I thought of giving a last try and came across your video and now this PC has got a new life.. I am even using Google AI studio and many other AI apps in this laptop and thanks to you once again for the video ❤
@stvargas69 Says:
If you have an older rig that has no WiFi card you need to either install one or have ethernet . Chrome doesn't have too many WiFi dongles that are compatible for the system
@anow3594 Says:
Would you be able to use MS-Office on ChromeOS Flex ?
@SallyPatel-gc5ns Says:
Chrome top
@mrdev9843 Says:
You look like Robert Redford
@gordonstewart7721 Says:
Thanks, all worked great and enables me to ditch Windows without the expense of purchasing an iMac or, heaven forbid, a Win11 PC. All peripherals OK... except for Fujitsu Scansnap scanner which is practically redundant anyway. Had some pause for checking I had the spec of my PC within the supported list and that I knew how to exit to boot from USB flash drive, (rehearse this to familiarise yourself) so other than the expense of that ($4.80!) it has all been at no cost other than time. Impressed with the result and will next install on my laptop.
Have also turned off AI SMART features in Gmail, which you may wish to check in settings and consider doing likewise.
Thank you
@policedepartmentchronicles1913 Says:
Who do they think they are Microsoft? It’s not Microsoft. It’s micro spy. Referring to data collection. 😅
@baranjan4172 Says:
What if I have multiple hard drives? Doesn't it give an option to select which one I want to install ChromeOS Flex on?
@BlensonPaul Says:
Final nail in Microsoft's coffin!!
@BobTravellin Says:
I was planning to migrate from my old Lenovo W530 to Mint or Zorin and I have all my Documents, Photos and Music backed up in preparation for this. However, Chrome OS Flex appears to be a good third option for me - certainly the install process looks much easier (I am a complete Linux novice). I assume if I go the Chrome route I can transfer my saved Documents and Photos to the Google Docs and Google Photos applications respectively for cloud storage and future use, but I'm not sure about the Music. Mint and Zorin both have VLC Music Player, I believe - is it possible to install that on Chrome OS and use it to play my stuff? Also am I locked into the Chrome browser or I can I add Vivaldi, which is my default choice currently on my W10 system? I would very much appreciate your advice! Thank you.
@daffyduk77 Says:
Great video thanks
@rylandweet7750 Says:
I use external audio interfaces, will regular drivers for windows from the companies site work for these OS’s?
@nikosaek781 Says:
the micro soft refference was verry funny
@franciscoortiz6980 Says:
BE VERY CAUTIOUS.... Chrome OS does NOT support many installed software. Turbotax can not be installed on local drive. Itunes will NOT run on chrom os. And chrome OS does NOT have andy CD burner software. Basically it will turn your computer into ONLINE ONLY tablet. So this is basically a last ditch option.
@Romania_Rockhound Says:
thanks, your explanations helped me a lot.
@RussGreeno Says:
I have had several ChromeOS devices and found them great to use. Unfortunately with Flex, I had issues with TPM which resulted in the system popping up an error saying it needed to be reinstalled. After three attempts, I decided to go with Ubuntu. I could have disabled the TPM and went software encryption only, but at the time I wanted to keep it on.
@Pierwalker Says:
Have you covered converting old Chromebooks to Linux?
@joekerr8334 Says:
I cannot understand why anyone would want to transform a Windows 10 PC into a Chromebook unless they are giving the PC to an IT illiterate.
"The Chrome OS user base is smaller than the user base for Linux, with recent data showing Linux with a 3–4% desktop market share and Chrome OS around 1.5–2%. "
@RCS-ONE Says:
Well, everything worked until I started the real installation and after that it got stuck in a loop of rebooting. Did I do something wrong ? I tried to use different ports but didn't help. A tip would be very appreciated ! Thanks.
@SushiOringiri Says:
I dont like chromeos but it makes ur pc faster i kinda like it
@laxdna3030 Says:
Chrome OS Flex or Debian XFCE? For old PC I believe Debian will be better. What is the use case for Chrome OS Flex?
@dylanstoops9746 Says:
I just installed Windows 10 on my chromebook
@smievil Says:
5:51 on my win98 it used to go up to 99% really fast and then take it's sweet time to get to 100%
@gtaylor2770 Says:
I doubled the RAM on my computer and then, thanks to this video, I got rid of Windows entirely. Thank you, Chris.
@discuss1on Says:
I love to toggle fullscreen mode just by raising my eyebrows in ChromeOS Flex with face control.
@lifewatery7472 Says:
I installed ChromeOS with Brunch.
@dickellingson6065 Says:
Fine presentation! Thank you!! Can I still use Windows programs such as Winamp?
@ProfPtarmigan Says:
Great video. I was thinking of putting linux-lite on an old PC as it now won't boot windows but will boot a bootable clonezilla usb stick. I then came across your video which was very informative on other small Linux distros. FydeOS looks promising as the latest version (V2) has native support for OneDrive (I would need to install rclone on linux-lite but it does come with Libre Office).
Have you come across linux-lite and do you know how the UI's compare? I am looking for something with offline office compatible apps as well as online MS Cloud Based Office support with good Web browsing and OneDrive access to multiple accounts.
@richardseville8122 Says:
Hi there, another very informative video, cheers Chris
@asai9868 Says:
Do i still need to have rufus installed on the device i want the FydeOs in? Bcs download the os onto the thumb drive on another device
@heirtothethrone000 Says:
Looks like nothing works with invidia graphics cards
@urbancyclingpdx Says:
Thanks. 👍🏻
@milangerloff5252 Says:
Why anyone in their right mind would downgrade from windows to chrome OS??
@Tarkka7 Says:
HP probook 655 G2 wouldn't let me install Ubuntu so I installed Chromebook. Thanks for the clear instructions.
@poorlyboy.713 Says:
great video, managed to install on 2 old laptops and its given them a new lease of life'thanks.
@williamgarcia9858 Says:
I had a Chromebook but got rid of it as I found out it didn't allow me to load certain websites, yes, the censorship is real.
They loaded fine in mobile or in Windows just not on the Chromebook.
@rysterstech Says:
For Mac Users: To boot from your chrome os flex usb drive, shut down the system fully,hold down ALT-OPTION, turn the pc on, still holding option until a boot selection screen appears, then select the yellow EFI Boot from the options that appear, you might have to replug in your usb drive. On older Macs, it may take up to 10 minutes to begin booting once you select your drive, but you should eventually make it to the setup page where you can try out Chrome. Clear your NVRAM if you are having trouble booting from USB, never do this on a fully installed system, you might break your boot loader.
Don't Mix Chrome OS Flex (or any linux) with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (an amazing tool that lets you easily run the latest macOS on unsupported Intel Macs as old as 2007), even on systems with multiple physical drives like a Mac Pro, it will break your OpenCore configuration, and thus your ability to boot into macOS and unless you have a USB Drive with your machine's OpenCore on it from when you first used OCLP, you will have to either use another Mac to create a USB drive so you can boot into macOS to reapply your config, boot to an officially supported macOS version on another volume. This is at least my experience in my 2017 MacBook Air, yours may vary.
@FabianNemesis Says:
From my experience it feels like using Chrome Web Browser as an OS. Linux is better for potato PC.
@EdehKamsi-q7h Says:
does chrome os flex comes with on screen keyboard
@EdehKamsi-q7h Says:
does it come with playstore
@arisaffandy Says:
Rodent simulator eh? Meowhaha! 😂
@katya6 Says:
chris, didya review about pearos?
please, give us your review about it if ya didn yet.
@Videogame9559 Says:
Thanks christpher installed Chrome os all installed great video thanks again
@paulanderson7796 Says:
I wish I had your patience, Chris. Thirty years in commercial IT management, I was very capable technically. What I really couldn't hack was desktop users. I'd feed 'em what they needed to do their jobs. End users are a nuisance. We have help desk to deal with 'em. Arrogant? Possibly. But without my knowledge and input their jobs would be far more cumbersome. I do appreciate as well that without them I wouldn't have my job either. Mutual dependency.
@JAYASHREESAHOO-y1o Says:
Hii I am an window 10 user and I want to switch to Linux but I am really confused what to choose zorin os core or Linux mint what should I choose
@阿虎叭 Says:
Dear Mr. Christopher Barnatt,
My name is Gary, and I represent MYIR, a manufacturer specializing in ARM-based System on Module (SOM) products.
We greatly admire the high-quality content on your ExplainingComputers YouTube channel, which aligns closely with our product domain.
We are interested in exploring a collaboration to feature our SOM products on your channel.
Noticing that your channel’s description mentions this email for business inquiries.
Could you kindly share details about the collaboration process, including potential formats (e.g., product reviews, sponsorships, or other opportunities) and any specific requirements?
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response and the possibility of further discussing this opportunity.
@David.W.Kelsey Says:
Why would you want to ruin windows 10?
@cometsshiv Says:
My old laptop has an intel i3 first gen, which os is best for it?
@studiotwo Says:
As an aside, I actually think Chrome Flex is what Windows 365 Link should have been - a light (browser based) version of Windows that would allow you to sign in to the device with your M365 Account and give access to cloud services via a browser (a kind of Microsoft Edge OS).
LATEST COMMENTS