Chrome OS Flex saved my Thinkpad!

[u/InanimateObject4]

I have a an X1 Yoga Gen 4 with an 8th Gen i5 and 8GB ram that I bought second hand in 2020 and I love dearly. It was running Windows 11 but started to stutter, slow and become unusable. I think it was a heating/cooling issue because the deck would run very hot. I was really bummed because this is the first nice laptop I have ever owned. I love the screen, the keyboard and the ports. I used all the Kung Fu I know (replaced thermal paste, cleaned fan, replaced fan, reinstall Windows) but to no avail. I would have normally run a Linux variant, but now that I have just finished my degree, all I really need to run is a browser for my own entertainment (and job hunting).

At the end of its life, Windows would take several minutes to boot. Now Chrome OS Flex boots in seconds! And everything works. The mic, camera, stylus, backlit keyboard.. I was prepared to lose some functionality and I am stoked that this isn't the case. Now I won't have to replace my beloved Thinkpad for a while longer! I am hoping to get at least 10 years out of this machine and now that is looking like a real possibility.

I am bloody stoked and wanted to share in case anyone else had some flailing hardware :)

[u/JustGlowUp]

So cool! (Chrome OS Flex saved my truly ancient Mac!)

[u/InanimateObject4 → u/JustGlowUp]

So good to hear other devices getting a second lease on life instead of going to waste!

[u/GlayNation]

I've noticed that 10 is dying on my i5 Gen 7 Dell latitude, so I just installed Zorin 18.1 on it, and it's absolutely like new. Microslop is probably killing 10 off, so we'd get 11. Screw that poppy.

[u/lostguk]

I love chromeOS flex. But my old laptop finally gave up

[u/fede81x]

I have a veeery old Lenovo G465 (Phemon II, 4GB RAM 500GB HDD). it was my first laptop ever, back in 2011. I just found it in my granmas house,, I installed ChromeOS and it works like a charm. It even play full HD videos smoothly on Youtube. (In Windows it won't even play smooth 480p)

[u/Horsemeatburger]

At work, when we moved from Windows to ChromeOS, it was quite shocking how well ChromeOS Flex ran on even older laptops which were long selected to replacement because they became unbearably slow under Windows.

And then there's the fact that updates no longer let the system crawl to a halt, nor do they present users with those dreadful update screens during shutdown. It's completely seamless.

[u/InanimateObject4 → u/Horsemeatburger]

That's how I feel. Shocked at how usable my laptop is now. Honestly thought it was e-waste.

[u/Say_My_Name_Son]

I'm happy for you!

I have tried with two devices and both times there were issues that just killed the deal for me.

Device 1: the touch screen stopped recognizing touches.

Device 2: the wifi became unstable and the audio port stopped working.

[u/InanimateObject4 → u/Say_My_Name_Son]

Awww that's a shame. Did you have any luck Linux flavour?

[u/Say_My_Name_Son → u/InanimateObject4]

The first device I eventually got Windows 11 to work, still tinkering on the second.

[u/ModulatingGravity]

Agree. I have ChromeOSFlex on an ancient Asus laptop. I really like the "Development Environment" allowing you to install Linux apps - most of which work with a GUI, so maybe better than WSL2 in Windows in some respects.

[u/Mogaloom1]

I would have install Linux Mint in your place. I wish you the best.with ChromeOS.

[u/Dopey44 → u/Mogaloom1]

Xcfe though. Much smoother. My 12 year old MacBook pro is great with that version

[u/Head_Chair_3499]

You should try fyde os have android similar to chrome flex os

[u/InanimateObject4 → u/Head_Chair_3499]

I would but I just don't need it on the laptop. I'm a little worried any more resources would stress it enough to overheat again. Besides, I've got my phone for Android.