How to run Windows on Chromebook hardware

Chromebooks are all over the news these days, could be partly because of the nature of business of its parent. The fact that Librem did not quite garner close to such impressions. Chromebook is an interesting and promising approach to personal and enterprise computing however may need some more value.

In this article we hope to share some flexibility of making the most out of your Chromebook hardware with a Windows operating system. Running Windows on Chromebook hardware is possible, but it requires some technical knowledge and tinkering. To begin, you would need;

Things Needed

A working Chromebook (for safety plug into power)
A working mouse 🖱 hardware
A screwdriver (only if you need it to remove a write protect screw)
Bootable Windows OS Thumb drive.
Extra Thumb drive if you would like a Chromebook OS backup.

Lets get started.

By default, the BIOS of Chromebook is locked by a write-protect screw/switch to prevent any accidental modification of the BIOS at which may render a Chromebook unusable. (at this point, you continue at your own risk) Removing the screw may void your warranty. Only proceed if you accept full responsibility.

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On successfully removing the screw, cover things up to avoid any accident to your Chromebook.

Replace Chromebook BIOS with UEFI BIOS

You need to boot into Developer Mode to begin the UEFI BIOS install. You should know that your Chromebook will be WIPED when you enable or disable Developer Mode.

Press Esc + Refresh + Power
Press Ctrl + D and press Enter to enable developer mode
Press Ctrl + D to boot Chrome OS
Open a tab and press Ctrl + Alt + T
Type in “shell” and press Enter.
Paste the following into the shell and press enter
cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh; sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 firmware-util.sh; sudo firmware-util.sh
(If you wish to back up your chromebook for latter attempt at reinstalling, you may back it up when asked. If not, do not.)
Select “Full UEFI Firmware” from the options.
Select Power Off when done.

Time for Windows OS Install

Your choice of Windows Operating system is dependent on your use case of reason for wanting to move away from Chrome OS. For optimum results, Windows 10 is recommended at this time. However feel free to try out Windows 11 at your own risk. Mr Chromebook may come in handy for your device, feel free to check them out.

How to install Windows 10 on Chromebook

Please keep in mind that attempting to install Windows on a Chromebook involves technical expertise and may carry risks. It’s essential to back up your data and proceed with caution.