92 PCWorld OCTOBER 2020HERE’S HOW TURN AN OLD LAPTOP INTO A CHROMEBOOK
versions, which would be purchased by an
institution.
Using a Windows PC to create the flash
drive installer is easiest, as you can download
the USB Maker and let it take care of the
whole process. For Macs, Linux PCs, and
Chromebooks, you’ll need to download the
CloudReady Home Edition image first, then
follow Neverware’s instructions for manually
building your installer.STEP 3: BOOT TO
FLASH DRIVE
In order to boot to your newly created flash
drive, you must bypass your laptop’s
automatic boot order, which usually defaults
to the primary storage drive. You’ll do this byhitting a key
on your
keyboard
when your
PC first
powers up,
similar to
entering the
BIOS. Search
online for
how to
access the
boot priority
menu for
your
particular
laptop, since
it’s not universal. For example, our Lenovo
ThinkPad X240 required mashing F12 right at
startup, while for our HP Spectre x360, it was
F9. CloudReady even provides a list of boot
keys for major laptop makers (go.pcworld.
com/mjlp).
An alternative method is to enter your
laptop’s BIOS (again, you will need to search
for which key to press when powering on
your laptop) and rearrange the automatic
boot order, then undo that change after your
CloudReady install.
In either case, you should be able to
choose the USB drive as your boot device. A
white screen with the CloudReady logo will
appear shortly thereafter.
Tip: Did you end up in your laptop’sThe easiest way to prepare a CloudReady installation flash drive is with a Windows PC.