How to install Google Chrome OS

So, here is the story. Not too long ago, we posted an article on the first screen shots of Google Chrome OS, then very shortly after, we posted a download to the Virtual HDD copy of Google Chrome OS. We have been following the development of this OS in part for some time now, and to say that the idea is exciting is a complete understatement.

So, lacking sleep as I generally do, I made myself the strongest coffee I have ever had in my life, and I got started with testing of the Google Chrome OS. For those who downloaded the package, and had absolutely no idea how to install it, or what to do, we decided to put together this small tutorial for you all. Here is our tutorial on how to install Google Chrome OS.

What you will need:

-Sun Virtual Box

-At least 2bg of free space, and at least 512 RAM that you can spare.

-The Virtual HDD of Google Chrome OS, download it here.

OK, now that we have all of those prerequisite’s, lets start up Virtual Box. I must stress that the general misconception about this version of the OS is that the file that you download is an ISO. This is not the case. It is a HDD image, meaning an exact replica of the HDD from a physical PC running Google Chrome OS. So, installation will vary slightly from a standard Virtual Box install.

First things first, lets start up Sun Virtual box and click “new”.

Once you continue to create your new Virtual Machine, after initially clicking on “next”, you will be prompted to enter the name of the Virtual OS, and the operating system type. At the moment, Google Chrome OS is not an option in this selection, however, Google Chrome OS is built on the Linux kernel, so we can safely select “linux” and under version, we select “other”. Click next to continue.

Here you have two different option. You can either create a brand new hard drive, or you can use an existing hard disk. In the case of Google Chrome OS, this HDD has already been created, and is what you actually download from us. Simply select the option so use another HDD, then follow the instructions below.

When you continue, you will be prompted with a page requesting you to either create a new HDD, or add an existing HDD. Click on the “add” button, then navigate to the file that you downloaded from us. Click open, then continue.

Congratulations! You have set up your Virtual Box for Google Chrome. How easy was that? So, now we get a chance to get it working, and get some screenshots. To start the OS, on the main screen in Virtual box, make sure that your newly created Virtual Machine is selected, and click “start”.

On this screen, you simply need to enter your Google credentials to log in. A little confused about why you need these credentials? I will explain in a bit more detail below the next image.

Yes, that is Google Calendar. And that is Gmail as well. The entire operating system, apart from the very few files that actually do reside on the HDD, is completely in the clouds. What does this mean? It means that you don’t install Applications on the HDD of a computer running Google Chrome OS. Instead, applications are all online (Google Docs, Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Picasa, etc). It seems that you will be able to install other applications at a later date using extensions, however, this feature is currently undeveloped.

By clicking the top left icon, this will take you to your applications. Note that you may have to sign into Google in order to access these. What a better way of personalizing your experience on a Google Chrome OS computer than to save your entire applications list in the cloud, making it readily available no matter where you are. This, in my opinion, is the standout feature of the Google Chrome OS.

The selection in the development version is obviously very limited, but as I mentioned earlier, this will most likely change with the introduction of other applications, and extensions.

So, you want to get started with Google Chrome OS. Try opening up a new browser window, and start surfing.

The concept behind this operating system is very impressive. Where it is heading and how it will launch is an entirely different question. I have had numerous debates over this over the past 24 hours. The Google Chrome OS will not support mechanical HDD’s, only Solid State drives. Now, some (myself included) would argue that it may not be necessary to use an SSD for the operation of an extremely lightweight operating system, and at the same time, for an operating system that seems to primarily have been developed for the Net Book platform, the addition of x64 support seems a bit far fetched and useless.

In my opinion, if the OS was developed to more focus on RAM utilization in the multiple data requests, writes and erases that are common in cloud computing applications, there would simply be no need for the use of an SSD. However, with Google Chrome OS, this is not the kind of operating system where you need that huge 300GB hard disk. Nothing apart from the OS resides on the HDD, everything else is temp files and in the cloud. One must remember that everything that is done on Google Chrome OS is done in the cloud. Storing documents, browsing the Internet, uploading photos, and using YouTube. If you want to do anything else, Google have even quoted that this is not the operating system for you.

All in all, I honestly feel a little boxed in working with just a browser as the entire OS, but this operating system being open source, I can see it popping up in just about every Internet cafe, in every Airport, and in a large percentage of new Net Book computers released from the end of 2011 and onwards. It is an amazingly unique idea, it is not 100% well thought out, but definitely one of the better ideas thought out in the past 10 years. Lets just hope that Google is not to stringent on what new hardware is “Google Certified” when this operating system is officially released, this is one thing that will either make or break the Google Chrome OS.

Enjoy using Google Chrome OS. If you are having any trouble installing it, please use our forums.

NOTE – This article has been written for PCpulse. Information on the launch of that site can be found here, or by subscribing.

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