PC World - USA (2020-10)

90 PCWorld OCTOBER 2020

HERE’S HOW TURN AN OLD LAPTOP INTO A CHROMEBOOK

You might not even need to spend

anything if you have an older laptop already

lying about. Installing the equivalent of

Chrome OS onto aged hardware takes less

than an hour’s worth of elbow grease, and the

final result often feels snappier than today’s

dirt-cheap Chromebooks. Woot!

Here’s how to do it.

CONVERT A LAPTOP INTO

A CHROMEBOOK

For this project, we’ll be using Neverware’s

CloudReady operating system, which is

based on Chromium OS—the same open-

source code that Google built Chrome OS

on. You can read more about the basic

differences between the two if you’re curious

(go.pcworld.com/dif2), but all you need to

know is that Neverware has made the

experience of using CloudReady all but

identical to Chrome OS.

Note: CloudReady lacks access to the

Google Play Store—so if support for Android

apps (like Minecraft) is integral to your needs,

you’ll have to buy an official Chromebook.

STEP 1: CHECK THAT YOUR

LAPTOP WILL MEET THE

REQUIREMENTS

Like Chrome OS, CloudReady’s system

requirements (go.pcworld.com/clrd) are very

minimal. The laptop must have 2GB RAM,

16GB storage, and full BIOS access, as well as

have been manufactured after 2007, ideally.

You will still need to check your CPU model,

though, as Neverware says that processors

with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA)

500, 600, 3600, or 3650 graphics hardware

don’t meet CloudReady’s performance

standards. (In other words, Atom processors

from the

Silverthorne [go.

pcworld.com/

slvt], Lincroft [go.

pcworld.com/

lncr], and

Cedarview [go.

pcworld.com/

cdvw] families,

which were found

in low-end laptops

between 2008 and

early 2012.)

Your best-case

CloudReady’s system requirements are very minimal: Just 2GB RAM, 16GB

storage, full BIOS access, and manufactured after 2007.