How-to: Bring an old Mac back to life by installing Chrome OS on it for free
Is there an old out-of-date Mac that you desperately miss using? Well, you’re in luck because it’s incredibly easy to install a modern version of Chrome OS on old Intel Macs for free. CloudReady isn’t a new product by any stretch, but I had always been itching to try it out. Just last year, Google acquired Neverware, the company behind CloudReady. This means that Google offers an officially sanctioned way of reviving old computers with Chrome OS. Here’s how to get CloudReady up and running on an old Mac…
Officially certified Macs include:
iMac 9,1 (24″ Core 2 Duo Early 2009)
iMac 11,2 (21.5″ Core i3 or Core i5 Mid 2010)
iMac 12,1 (21.5″ Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 Mid 2011)
Mac mini 5,2 (Core i5 or Core i7 Mid 2011)
Mac mini 7,1 (Core i5 or Core i7 Late 2014)
MacBook 5,2 (White 13″ Core 2 Duo 2009)
MacBook 6,1 (Unibody 13″ Core 2 Duo Late 2009)
MacBook Air 5,1 (11″ Core i5 or Core i7 Mid 2012)
MacBook Air 6,1 (13″ Core i5 or Core i7 Mid 2013-Early 2014)
MacBook Pro 5,5 (13″ Core 2 Duo Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro 9,2 (13″ Core i5 or Core i7 Mid 2012)Macs that should work with CloudReady but aren’t officially certified include:
Any aluminum iMac from mid 2007 with more than 2GB of RAM
Any white or silver Mac mini from mid 2007 with more than 2GB of RAM
Any white or black MacBook from mid 2007 with more than 2GB of RAM
Any non-unibody or unibody MacBook Pro from mid 2007 with more than 2GB of RAM
Any MacBook Air model (all models have at least 2GB of RAM)
Any tower or trash can Mac Pro from mid 2007 with more than 2GB of RAM…
