Preparing for the end of Windows 10 support: Playing with Google ChromeOS Flex
When Microsoft released Windows 11 in October 2021, I found that none of my various PCs in the office and at home were upgraded from Windows 10 to 11. This is despite the fact that all these PCs were relatively new (2018–2020 — i.e., one to three years old).
This didn’t seem like it was a big problem since I was perfectly happy using Windows 10. This fall, however, we learned that Microsoft is sunsetting Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025. My Windows 10 PCs at home still work fine and, assuming they continue to work fine past 2025, I’d like to continue to use them.
As a long time UNIX/Linux user and sys admin, I considered installing Linux. However, in my twilight years, I’d like to “fuss less” with maintaining and optimizing software on old PCs.
Since I’ve bought and and used a serious of Chromebooks since 2017 and appreciated the simplicity, ease, and lack of pain in dealing with the OS. So, I decided to give Google ChromeOS Flex (formerly CloudReady) a second try. The first time around was not a good experience because, for some reason, the ChromeOS Flex installer is fussy about USB thumb drives.
From time to time, Sandisk or other USB drives might not work as installers. Find out more in Known issues.
This time, however, I had a generic USB thumb drive that worked as expected with the installer.
One of the great things about ChromeOS, in general, is that whenever and whatever you log in to “knows about your stuff” right away. There’s a minimum of configuration, moving files over, etc. And, that’s what after trying ChromeOS Flex on my HP laptop in “Try it first” mode (running off of the thumb drive).
Although Windows 11 doesn’t like my laptop’s AMD Ryzen 5 processor, ChromeOS Flex has no qualms about working with this processor. So, the current plan is to backup my Windows 10 laptop sometime in the summer of 2025 (assuming it is still working) and install ChromeOS Flex on the SSD.
