How To Install Google’s Chrome OS On Mac using Parallels Desktop 5

By

post-22551-image-02041164c9bc0cd126053ffb382886fc-jpg
CC-licensed screencap from Wikipedia.

Google’s Chrome Operating System is a Google’s answer to Mac OS X or Windows 7  — a lightweight operating system designed for netbooks and other portable devices. It’s also designed for an always-on connection. The Net is as much a part of the system as the software installed on the computer.

It’s also lightweight, fast, and easy to use. Boot up in just a matter of few seconds, log in and get onto the internet instantly. No distractions at all. Moreover, everything remains in  the cloud so you never have to worry about running out of the disk space.

It’s also fun to play with. Here’s how to install it on a Mac using Parallels Desktop 5 virtualization software. Be aware that Chrome OS is currently in pre-alpha developmental stage. Install at your own risk!

Ingredients:

  • Any Mac — a MacBook or iBook is ideal (this tutorial was tested only on OS X 10.6.2)
  • Compatible Chrome OS Virtual Machine file prepared for VMWare, located here.
  • Parallels Desktop 5.0 for Mac

Here’s how you can install it:

1. Make sure you have Parallels Desktop 5.0 up and running on your Mac. Download the Chrome OS Virtual Machine file from the gdgt portal here – you’ll need to register to be able to download.

2. After the download, extract the ‘chrome-os-0.4.22.8-gdgt.vmdk.zip’ file to obtain ‘chrome-os-0.4.22.8-gdgt.vmdk’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.15.05 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.15.38 PM

3. Open Parallels Desktop 5 application on your Mac and click ‘file’ in the menu bar, then select ‘Import’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.16.07 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.17.29 PM

4. A wizard window should now pop-up. Select the ‘Continue’ button near the bottom-right corner. Now, select ‘Existing Virtual Machine’ and select the ‘Continue’ button again.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.18.09 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.18.21 PM

5. It will now ask you to choose the location of the extracted ‘chrome-os-0.4.22.8-gdgt.vmdk’ file. Click on the ‘Choose’ button and locate the file on your Mac. Select it and choose ‘open’. Select Continue.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.18.31 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.22.20 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.22.31 PM

6. It will now show a pop-up warning asking if you want to continue, select ‘Continue’. Now, specify a name for the Virtual Disk, which is ‘Chrome OS 0.4.22.8’ in the screenshot above. After a few minutes of ‘Migration’ process, it will tell you when complete, select ‘Done’ and this will close the window.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.22.35 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.22.56 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.23.47 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.24.43 PM

7. Now make sure you have a file named ‘Chrome OS 0.4.22.8.hdd’ in the Parallels folder located in your Documents directory.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.25.13 PM

8. Open Parallels Desktop again in the menu bar, select ‘File’ and then ‘New’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.29.50 PM

9. A ‘New Virtual Machine Assistant’ will show up. Select the ‘Skip Detection’ button located in the bottom-left corner. Now, select the ‘Operating System as ‘Other Linux kernel 2.6’ under ‘More Linux’ from the list. Select ‘Continue’

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.30.00 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.30.54 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.30.59 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.31.09 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.31.32 PM

10. In Virtual Machine Type, select ‘Custom’ and select ‘Continue’. Now, specify the number of processors and RAM you want to allocate for the Operate System while it’s running and select ‘Continue’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.31.55 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.32.15 PM

11. For the ‘Hard Disk Options’, select ‘Existing Image File’ and click ‘Continue’. Now, locate the ‘Chrome OS 0.4.22.8.hdd’ that you created before and select ‘Choose’. Click ‘Continue’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.32.26 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.32.59 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.04 PM

12. In ‘Networking Type’, select ‘Bridged Networking’ and then ‘Continue’. Now, in list of Network Adapter, choose ‘AirPort’ and select ‘Continue’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.30 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.35 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.38 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.42 PM

13. In ‘Optimization Options’, select either of the two options and click ‘Continue’. Now, type in the name of Virtual Machine to be created and select ‘Create’ located near the bottom-right corner. After some processing, it will give success message. Click ‘Done’.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.33.47 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.34.21 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.34.27 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.34.33 PM

14. Double click the newly created Chrome OS Virtual Machine shortcut on the Desktop and click on the ‘Click to Start’ button. When it asks you for login details, type in your GMail ID and Password and tap return.

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.35.13 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.35.14 PM

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.35.29 PM

15. Voila! You now have the brand new Chrome OS. Go flaunt it. ;)

Screen shot 2009-12-03 at 8.36.40 PM

All credit for creating the VMWare Virtual Machine file goes to the fine folks at gdgt.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.