How To Install Windows On A Chromebook

Chromebooks don't ordinarily run Windows software—that'south the best and worst thing about them. You don't demand antivirus or other Windows junk…simply you also tin can't install Photoshop, the full version of Microsoft Part, or other Windows desktop applications.

Luckily, there are means to use Windows desktop programs on a Chromebook: either running them remotely on an existing Windows system, through various Android workarounds, or getting your easily dingy in programmer mode and running them on your Chromebook itself.

Option One: Access a Windows Desktop Remotely

Google'due south Chrome Bone is meant to be a lightweight operating system, and then why non embrace that? We recommend running Windows software on your Chromebook past accessing a remote Windows figurer and doing information technology there. There are two different approaches y'all tin take.

Access Your Own Windows Computer: If you already accept a Windows computer, yous can admission it remotely and use it to run your Windows software. You tin can practise this using Google's Chrome Remote Desktop beta webapp. You'll exist able to connect to your Windows desktop from your Chromebook (or any other estimator running Chrome) and have complete control over your remote machine, allowing yous to work with Windows applications.

The downside here is that your Windows computer will have to be running at dwelling house whenever you need to admission it from your Chromebook. It'due south a convenient solution for personal use, just businesses won't want to manage a divide Windows computer for each Chromebook user.

Host Windows Applications on a Remote Server: Chromebooks can use Citrix Receiver to access Windows applications hosted on a Citrix server, or use an RDP client to access a remote desktop hosted on a Windows server. This is platonic for businesses that desire to host their own servers and give their users lite, sparse clients that allow them to remotely access the hosted software.

As a home user, y'all could choose to purchase service from a company that would host a Windows desktop for you and allow you to admission it remotely, but you'd probably be better off using your own Windows computer instead.

Selection 2: Utilize Programmer Fashion and Install Vino

Wine is an open-source compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on Linux and macOS. Wine is desktop software, and in that location isn't a version of Vino designed for Chromebooks…but there are workarounds.

Since Chrome Bone is based on Linux, at that place are two ways to run Wine on your Chromebook: using Crouton to run it in Linux, or past using the new Wine Android app.

Of import: Wine in Linux won't run on ARM Chromebooks, and the Android version only supports Windows RT apps. Wine should work properly on Intel Chromebooks, however.

Use Wine with Crouton: To install the desktop version of Wine, you lot'll need to enable developer manner and install Crouton to get a Linux desktop aslope your Chrome OS system. You lot tin can then install Wine on the Linux desktop and use information technology to install Windows programs just every bit you'd use Vino on a typical Linux desktop.

RELATED: How to Install Ubuntu Linux on Your Chromebook with Crouton

This would let you lot to run the standard version of Microsoft Office on a Chromebook, although you'd be better off with Microsoft's official Office Spider web Apps or Android apps—unless you crave advanced features.

Whenever yous want to use a Windows programme, you could only switch between your Chrome OS system and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut—no demand for rebooting.

Use Wine for Android: Wine also has an Android app that'southward still currently in beta, only if you have a Chromebook that runs Android apps, it tin allow y'all to run Windows programs without installing Crouton. It's not still bachelor in the Google Play Store, so yous'll need to put your Chromebook in developer mode and sideload the APK.

Once Wine is installed on your Chromebook, only launch the app like normal get access to a minimal, emulated version of Windows. Keep in listen that this is notwithstanding very much in beta, so it doesn't work perfectly. That said, I would recommend at least trying this option before going through the trouble of setting up Crouton if all you lot program on doing is using information technology for Wine.

Vino isn't perfect, so information technology won't run every Windows application and may not run some applications without manual tweaking. Consult the Wine awarding database for more data almost supported applications and tweaks you may need.

Option Three: Apply Developer Mode and Install a Virtual Machine

RELATED: four+ Means to Run Windows Software on Linux

If Wine doesn't support the program y'all desire to run, or it's just likewise much of a hassle, you tin also run a Windows virtual machine from the Linux desktop with Crouton. Much like the above choice, you'll demand to enable developer mode and install Crouton to get a Linux desktop aslope your Chrome OS system, then install a virtualization program similar VirtualBox. Install Windows inside VirtualBox just as you would on a typical figurer—you tin can switch back and along between your Chrome desktop and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut.

Important: Typical virtual machine software like VirtualBox won't function on ARM Chromebooks. You'll want to accept an Intel-based Chromebook to endeavour this out.

Virtual machines are the heaviest way to do this, so yous'll demand powerful enough hardware to drive the virtual motorcar software, Windows, and your desktop applications. Newer Chromebooks mod processors may exist able to handle this ameliorate than older, slower Chromebooks. Virtual machines as well have upwards a lot of disk space, which Chromebooks don't oft have—not a adept combination.

Pick 4: Apply CrossOver for Android

If y'all're using a Chromebook that supports Android apps, an Android app called CrossOver will let you run Windows programs aslope your Chrome apps. It's however beta, but early testing has been positive.

CrossOver works similarly to Vino on Chrome OS, simply information technology takes more of a hands-on arroyo in walking yous through installing applications. When you open the app, you tin search for specific Windows software and it will walk y'all through installing them. It volition search for the appropriate installation files and fifty-fifty download them for you in most cases. It'southward pretty simple to use.

In one case the application has been installed, y'all can run it alongside your Chrome apps as if it were native. In my experience with CrossOver, apps were hit and miss—which is to be expected since the app is still in beta. It still shows a lot of hope for the future of Windows software on Chromebooks, especially if you only demand i or ii specific programs.

Option Five (Sort Of): Run Linux Software in Developer Mode

Lastly, you may not need to run a Windows program at all—many Windows programs take their own Linux versions, and can run on a Chromebook using Crouton'southward Linux desktop without much niggling. For example, if you want to run games on a Chromebook, Steam for Linux offers many games for Linux, and its catalog continues to expand. So this technically isn't "running Windows software", but in some cases, it's just as good.

Behave in mind that many Linux programs, such as Minecraft, Skype, and Steam, are but available for Intel x86 processors and won't run on devices with ARM processors..

Tin I Just Install Windows on My Chromebook?

RELATED: How to Install Windows on a Chromebook

I know, none of the in a higher place options are actually platonic. If you find yourself wishing y'all could just install Windows on your Chromebook…well, you might exist able to. At that place are some projects out there that allow users to install Windows, but it'southward a pretty in-depth process. Not only that, it only works on a specific set up of Intel Chromebooks, and so the majority of the options out at that place don't actually have support. Just bank check out that guide for more information, if you're curious.

Otherwise, y'all're ameliorate off using one of the options higher up—or only getting a Windows laptop, if y'all absolutely need to.