We are going to explain to you how to install chromeos alongside windows 11 on the same computer, so you can choose to start one or the other whenever you want. There are several methods with which you can do this, including the one that we already told you about to install ChromeOS together with Windows 10. Therefore, in order not to make it repetitive, today we will tell you an alternative one.
What we are going to do is install ChromeOS alongside Windows 11 without the need to install any Linux distro first or use an external USB. What we are going to do is use the command console and the Linux subsystem for Windows.
Requirements to install Chrome OS
Chrome OS is a Linux-based operating system developed by Google for Chromebooks. If you want to be able to install it on your computer or laptop, you will have to make sure that it complies with some minimum specs to be able to function.
To begin with, you should know the specifications and components of your computer. To install Chrome OS, your computer needs to have any Intel Sandy Bridge or later CPU and GPU, Atom, CEleron, or Pentium processors, or AMD Ryzen or AMD Stoney Ridge processors.
You will also need the processor to be 64-bit, as well as having 16 GB or more free storage spaceand have Hyper-V or Virtualization enabled in the BIOS.
In addition to this, you will also need the motherboard to have UEFI support. This shouldn’t be a problem on Windows computers, because everyone should have UEFI unless they’re several years old.
Normally, this process used to require installing a GNU/Linux distribution as well. However, we are going to use another method available in Windows 11, since it will be enough with install ubuntu subsystem what’s wrong with it. Finally, you will need a USB to host and then launch to install Chrome OS. But before this there are some previous steps that you must take.
Disable fast startup and Secure Boot
The first thing you have to do is disable Windows 11 fast startup and hibernation. You also have to disable UEFI Secure Boot. By doing so, you’ll be helping dual boot both operating systems to work properly.
For the first, you have to search and enter the Windows 11 Control Panel inherited from previous versions. In it, in the System and security section you have to click on the option Change the actions of the power on/off buttonswhich is within the Power Options section that you will see with the icon of a battery and a cable.
In here, first click on Change currently unavailable settings, and after giving it administrator permissions you can disable fast startup and the option to hibernate Windows. When you do, do not forget to click on the option to save the changes.
Then it’s time to go for Secure Boot. To do this, in Windows settings, go to Windows Update and enter Advanced Options. Here, tap on Recovery, and then press the button Restart now from the Advanced Startup section. This will restart Windows and take you to advanced startup.
Within the advanced startup screen, click on Troubleshoot, and then on Advanced options. Here, click on UEFI Firmware Settingsand this will get you to the UEFI of your PC or laptop.
When you enter the UEFI, the interface will vary depending on each manufacturer. But usually you will have to go to tab Security or Boot Options, and in one of them you should be able to see and disable the option of Secure Boot, causing it to change from Enabled to Disabled. If your UEFI has it, disable Legacy Support as well. Then, choose the Save changes and exit option to reboot after saving the changes.
Install the Ubuntu subsystem
For some operations of the process you will need Linux, but it is not necessary that you download and install any distribution, because you can install Ubuntu directly and easily in Windows. For that, open the Terminal app and type the command rwsl –install to install the Linux subsystem. During the installation, you will have to give Windows the permissions it asks for.
When the installation is finished, the same terminal will start Ubuntu, and the first thing it will ask you is to enter a username and password. You will do everything textually, first writing the username and then the password twice.
(If you get an error installing the subsystem, a solution is to open Terminal with administrator permissions and type the command DISM /Online/Disable-Feature/FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V-All to disable Hyper-V, and then go back trying to install Ubuntu.)
Once you are inside Ubuntu through the Windows 11 Terminal, you have to write the command sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install pv cgpt to install all the components you need. When the installation is complete, you’re done, you can either close the terminal or wait until you need to use Ubuntu again later.
Create a partition for Chrome OS
Now it’s time to make a place for Chrome OS on your hard drive by creating a partition. To do it, enter the application Create and format hard drive partitionsa tool you can find just by typing “partitions” in the start menu.
Within the disk manager, right-click on the drive where it says Windows in the list, or on the secondary hard drive where you are going to install Chrome OS. An options menu will open, where you have to click on the option Dicrease the volume that will appear to you
The process is that simple because usually on the disk you will have a single partition. In the event that you want to install Chrome OS on an already partitioned hard drive, you will have to choose the partition that you want to reduce to free space at the bottom and choose the option to reduce volume in it.
After doing this, you simply have to free up a space of 16 GB or more, whichever you think you will need depending on how and what you are going to use Chrome OS for. This space will appear as Unallocated, you have to right click on it to create a new volume to which you can put the name of chromeos.
Download Chrome OS and other tools
Now, we are going to move on to the part where it is time to download things. The first thing will be download a chrome os recovery image, which is the one we will use to install the operating system. There are different versions depending on your CPU and its generation, here are the ones available to find the latest version of each one:
Intel 1st to 9th generation: Rammus
Intel 10th and 11th generation: flip (some PCs may require Kernel 5.10) AMD Stoney Ridge and Bristol Ridge: Grunt
AMD Ryzen: Zork (some Ryzen 4xxx need Kernel 5.10)
In addition to this, you will also need download brunch tool from their Github page. Finally, download the Grub2Win application to create the Dual Boot from this web page.
All the files that we have downloaded, the previous ones and these, put them in a folder with a specific name (without spaces), I have put them in a folder called chromeos inside C.
So, proceed to unzip everything inside this folder and to delete the files that you have downloaded so as not to have too many things. Brunch you will have to unzip it twice, and you will need an application to unzip files.
Proceed with the installations
Now we are going to start using everything we have downloaded, as well as other necessary things. First of all, we have to mount files downloaded from Chrome OSsomething for which you will need to remember the folder where you downloaded the recovery files.
To do this, open the Ubuntu application and type: cd /mnt/(the location of the downloaded files)” for example: cd /mnt/c/chromeos/
You will see that the terminal now shows that location in blue, indicating that you are inside. In here, now you have to type sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src (recovery image name.bin) -dst /mnt/(ChromeOS partition letter) -s (partition size).
An installation process will start, which may take a few minutes. When finished, the system will ask you if you want to dualboot, and to say yes you have to write dualboot and press enter. Doing so will give you instructions to follow.
This is important, because when you type Dualboot, the app will give you in the terminal the location of the file you created with the code which you’ll need to use to generate the entry for ChromeOS in the OS selection system.
Now, you have to launch the setup file Grub2Win that we have unzipped before. When doing so, it will tell you that the installer has to perform some downloads, and you have to click OK. This will take you to a download screen where the process will complete.
When the download is finished, you will go to the installation window. In it you will have the options to create a shortcut and launch Grub2Win when finished, and you only have to push the button Setup to move on. This other process will take a while, when finished you can close the installer.
Now, open the Grub2Win application. In this window, click on the button Manage Boot Menu which appears below without changing anything else.
You will enter the window in which you can manage the operating system selection menu that you will see when you turn on the computer. Here, to add ChromeOS you have to press the button Add a New Entry What do you have upstairs?
You will go to a screen where you have to configure the new entry for the system selection menu. Here, in Title type Chrome OS, and in Type choose create user section. This will open a notepad. And now you just have to paste in this blog of notes the code that is in the file that told you the previous process in terminal. And when you save it, when you reboot and access the Grub menu to choose the operating system, you will be able to choose Chrome OS.
