In order to get the most from chromeOS’ minimal resource utilization features, it’s best to install chromeOS onto an SD card or flash drive, but it has to be chromeOS Flex – Google’s official build for non-ChromeBooks. Note: those models notated with “G” are the only ones fully supported by Google, so if you attempt to use chromeOS Flex on an unsupported model, you’re likely to face issues. You’ve been warned.
Also, you could use a SD card on Macs without an SDXC slot using an adapter (or a USB flash drive in any case), but not only will you have potential compatibility issues, you’ll also have the added difficulty of not losing it and/or keeping it plugged in without breaking it. We’re interested in testing chromeOS Flex on non SDXC Macs, but there aren’t any USB-C adapters or flash drives that would be flush to the sides of the Mac, effectively avoiding the added difficulties. Compatibility issues might remain though; we’ll see.
Those who do have Macs with an SDXC slot are best off getting a microSD card and adapter that allows the microSD card to be completely flush to the sides. That way you can just leave the microSD card in there all the time. In this vein, the 2014 MacBook Pro is the most ideal option. It is fully supported by Google and offers the best experience as a “Think quadratic.” machine. However, due to the 2020 MacBook Pro’s lighter weight and stronger processor, it is the best overall option though. Whatever your plans, set aside the SD card and adapter because you first have to create an installer USB.
Fair warning now, INSTALLING CHROMEOS FLEX WIPES OUT WHATEVER DRIVES IT DETECTS. You should only perform this step if you have a Mac with a removable HD, so that the SD card or USB is the only “HD” detected by the chromeOS Flex installer. The other option is to see if a friend, who’s already done this method, can use cloneZilla or similar to clone their SD card or flash drive to another and then give it to you. If this option works, we’ll eventually make them available at thinkquadratic.com. You’ll only need to provide shipping and handling and we’ll get one out to you.
The other option is to use a Linux-based framework called Brunch to install chromeOS (not Flex) directly to a partition on the internal disk. It’s feasible to say Brunch/chromeOS could also be installed to an external device, but this is really only worth pursuing on T-chip Macs; plus, more testing will have to be done on this. If you’d like to skip to the Brunch/chromeOS method, just jump over Step 7 to Step 7a.
Step 7: Create chromeOS Flex Installer USB
- Boot into Windows (or macOS if you can format drives as NTFS)
- Install the Chrome web browser and open it
- Go to the Chrome web store and download the “Chromebook Recovery Utility”
- At the top right, click “Add to Chrome”
- When prompted, click “Add Extension”
- At the top right of your Chrome browser window, click “Extensions //Manage extensions”
- Next to “Chromebook Recovery Utility,” toggle the switch to the right
- Launch the “Chrome Recovery Utility” extension
- With USB inserted, click “Get started”
- In new popup window, click “Select a model
from a list”
- Choose “Google chromeOS Flex” for the “Manufacturer” field
- Choose “chromeOS Flex” for the “Product” field
- Click “Continue”
- From the dropdown menu, select the USB drive
- Click “Continue”
- Click “Create now” Note: During the process, it is normal for “Chrome Recovery Utility” to show unusual percentages
- Wait for a message that your recovery media is ready
- Plug in the SD card or flash drive onto which you will install chromeOS Flex
- Open Disk Partitioner (or Disk Utility on Mac)
- Ensure you have the SD card or flash drive selected/highlighted
- Format the SD card or flash drive to NTFS with a GUID partition table
- Wait for the operation to complete
- Shutdown
Again, Step 7 only created the installer; the only way to install chromeOS Flex to the microSD card or flash drive (so that it is natively bootable) is to do so with the internal hard drive removed; this is because the installer will wipe whatever it sees as the primary drive; so, OPEN YOUR MAC AND REMOVE THE HARDRIVE BEFORE CONTINUING. IFIXIT HAS TONS OF GUIDES ON HOW TO DO THIS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF DATA!
Step 7 Continued: Install chromeOS Flex to SD card or flash drive
- With all internal HDs removed…This is the last warning…Plug in the chromeOS Flex installer USB
- Boot into the chromeOS Flex installer USB by
holding down “Option,” since rEFInd is on the EFI partition, which is on the
internal drive, which should be REMOVED...last warning
for real this time!
- Go through the prompts to install chromeOS Flex to the SD card or flash drive
- When finished, shutdown and remove the installer USB, but not the chromeOS Flex SD card or flash drive
Reinstall your internal drive into Mac and power up. rEFInd should now see chromeOS as an option (which is another as of yet unmentioned benefit in going this route; if you use the Brunch method instead, there’s a boatload of trickery involved to get it booting directly from rEFInd). If it doesn’t show up right away, just hit “Escape” and it will appear. Once visible, select it to test and configure chromeOS Flex to your liking. Again, there will likely be compatibility issues if you are using any Mac other than those supported by Google. For instance, if your Mac has a dGPU, it may just hang on the chromeOS logo…not much you can do in that case, other than use the Brunch/chromeOS method.