When a laptop nears the end of its useful life, you'll notice it in multiple ways: Sluggish performance, random crashes, issues with reading and writing files, and an increasing number of error messages on screen. As your machine grows older, you’ll eventually reach the point when Microsoft and Apple will stop serving you software updates.
At this stage you're likely to be thinking about upgrading your laptop, but there's actually a way to give that old computer a new lease of life with Google's ChromeOS Flex. It's similar to the ChromeOS software that runs on Chromebooks, but it can be installed over Windows or macOS.
Because the software is simple and lightweight—basically a web browser, with extras—it means a lot of your performance and stability issues should be done away with. It's free to use, and even if you do decide to invest in a new laptop, it means you can use your existing one as a second option or to give to someone else.
Create a ChromeOS Flex Installation Drive
Google supplies an official setup utility through Chrome. Courtesy of David Nield
Google provides a certified list of models that ChromeOS Flex will work on. It’s extensive, but even if your laptop isn't listed, it's worth giving ChromeOS Flex a go, because it may still function well enough. You should only avoid ChromeOS Flex if your laptop has a “major issues expected” or “decertified” label next to it on the list.
The easiest way to create an installation drive is through the Google Chrome web browser, running on any Windows or macOS computer (it doesn't have to be the one you're installing ChromeOS Flex on). Grab a USB drive with 8 GB or more of storage on it, and make sure you don't need anything on the drive, because it'll be wiped during this initial setup process.
From inside the Chrome browser on Windows or macOS, head to the Chromebook Recovery Utility page in the Chrome Store, then click Add to Chrome (if you haven't previously installed the utility). This adds the Chromebook Recovery Utility as an extension on your browser, so you can then click the extensions icon on the toolbar (the jigsaw piece), and choose Chromebook Recovery Utility from the list.
A new dialog will appear on screen: Click Get started and then work your way through the instructions on screen. When prompted to identify your Chromebook, click Select a model from a list, then choose Google ChromeOS Flex as the manufacturer and ChromeOS Flex as the product.