Windows 8 Runs on Google Cr-48 Original Chrome Netbook
The Cr-48 was part of the Chrome OS pilot project that was never sold in retail but was given away by Google to start the development for the browser-based Chrome OS.
Even though it was designed to run Chrome perfectly, it’s system configuration is similar to a lot of other PC’s and hence it has already been used for installing variations of Linux (Chrome is based on Linux), hacked copies of OS X and even Windows 7. And now Windows 8 joins the league of those OS’ that have been installed on the Cr-48.
Windows 8 Has A 12 Second Boot Time On The Chromebook
The Cr-48 successfully booted and ran a Windows 8 install with super fast boot time of about 12 seconds. This is not entirely surprising because Windows 8 is designed to boot quickly from the ground up and the solid state disk within the Cr-48 only helps to quicken matters.
When stripped off the browser-based Chrome OS, the Cr-48 is your average netbook and hence there wasn’t much of a problem installing Windows 8. However, flashing the BIOS might pose bit of a challenge for those who have never handled computer hardware before. There are detailed instructions to be had on the whole process but one of the steps involves opening up the netbook and manually flashing the BIOS to bypass the built in protection in order to install Windows 8.
Once the flashing is done, the follow-up steps are basically the same as for any other normal netbook or laptop. You can install Windows 8 using a USB key as the source for the install.
Whilst there have been no reports of Windows 8 being installed on other Chromebooks, but looking at the system specs of the models brought out by Acer and Samsung, it is quite possible that Windows 8 will run quite well on those machines as well.
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Written by Shailpik Monday, October 10th, 2011
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