- Run Windows Exe On Chromebook
- How To Run Exe Programs On Chromebook
- Run Windows On Chromebook
- Files Chromebooks Can Run
- Run An Exe On Chromebook
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- Jan 04, 2018 How to get.exe files on a chromebook! Run Linux Apps on your Chromebook - Duration: 11:04. Gary Explains 39,733 views. How to Get FortNite on Chromebook - Duration: 11:53.
- Nov 10, 2017 It doesn't have to be a powerful Chromebook to run Windows apps on a Chromebook, although it must have an Intel processor. That's because CrossOver uses Wine, a lightweight program that's been used.
- Chromebooks are optimized to run ChromeOS. If you’re running Windows, or even Mac programs, you’ll find they don’t run on the Chromebook. Google designed the Chromebooks as easy and reliable.
Chromebooks don’t normally run Windows software—that’s the best and worst thing about them. You don’t need antivirus or other Windows junk…but you also can’t install Photoshop, the full version of Microsoft Office, or other Windows desktop applications.
Luckily, there are ways to use Windows desktop programs on a Chromebook: either running them remotely on an existing Windows system, through various Android workarounds, or getting your hands dirty in developer mode and running them on your Chromebook itself.
Option One: Access a Windows Desktop Remotely
May 23, 2018 The “EXE” stands for “executable” and Chrome OS does not run executable files. Plain and simple. This is one of the reasons why Chrome OS is so secure and not vulnerable to viruses.
Google’s Chrome OS is meant to be a lightweight operating system, so why not embrace that? We recommend running Windows software on your Chromebook by accessing a remote Windows computer and doing it there. There are two different approaches you can take.
Access Your Own Windows Computer: If you already have a Windows computer, you can access it remotely and use it to run your Windows software. You can do this using Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop beta webapp. You’ll be able to connect to your Windows desktop from your Chromebook (or any other computer running Chrome) and have complete control over your remote machine, allowing you to work with Windows applications.
The downside here is that your Windows computer will have to be running at home whenever you need to access it from your Chromebook. It’s a convenient solution for personal use, but businesses won’t want to manage a separate Windows computer for each Chromebook user.
Host Windows Applications on a Remote Server: Chromebooks can use Citrix Receiver to access Windows applications hosted on a Citrix server, or use an RDP client to access a remote desktop hosted on a Windows server. This is ideal for businesses that want to host their own servers and give their users light, thin clients that allow them to remotely access the hosted software.
As a home user, you could choose to purchase service from a company that would host a Windows desktop for you and allow you to access it remotely, but you’d probably be better off using your own Windows computer instead.
Option Two: Use Developer Mode and Install Wine
Wine is an open-source compatibility layer that allows Windows applications to run on Linux and macOS. Wine is desktop software, and there isn’t a version of Wine designed for Chromebooks…but there are workarounds.
Since Chrome OS is based on Linux, there are two ways to run Wine on your Chromebook: using Crouton to run it in Linux, or by using the new Wine Android app.
Important: Wine in Linux won’t run on ARM Chromebooks, and the Android version only supports Windows RT apps. Wine should work properly on Intel Chromebooks, however.
Use Wine with Crouton: To install the desktop version of Wine, you’ll need to enable developer mode and install Crouton to get a Linux desktop alongside your Chrome OS system. You can then install Wine on the Linux desktop and use it to install Windows programs just as you’d use Wine on a typical Linux desktop.
This would allow you to run the standard version of Microsoft Office on a Chromebook, although you’d be better off with Microsoft’s official Office Web Apps or Android apps—unless you require advanced features.
Whenever you want to use a Windows program, you could just switch between your Chrome OS system and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut—no need for rebooting.
Use Wine for Android: Wine also has an Android app that’s still currently in beta, but if you have a Chromebook that runs Android apps, it can allow you to run Windows programs without installing Crouton. It’s not yet available in the Google Play Store, so you’ll need to put your Chromebook in developer mode and sideload the APK.
Once Wine is installed on your Chromebook, just launch the app like normal get access to a minimal, emulated version of Windows. Keep in mind that this is still very much in beta, so it doesn’t work perfectly. That said, I would recommend at least trying this option before going through the trouble of setting up Crouton if all you plan on doing is using it for Wine.
Wine isn’t perfect, so it won’t run every Windows application and may not run some applications without manual tweaking. Consult the Wine application database for more information about supported applications and tweaks you may need.
Option Three: Use Developer Mode and Install a Virtual Machine
![Run Run](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124863842/420604168.jpg)
RELATED:4+ Ways to Run Windows Software on Linux
If Wine doesn’t support the program you want to run, or it’s just too much of a hassle, you can also run a Windows virtual machine from the Linux desktop with Crouton. Much like the above option, you’ll need to enable developer mode and install Crouton to get a Linux desktop alongside your Chrome OS system, then install a virtualization program like VirtualBox. Install Windows inside VirtualBox just as you would on a typical computer—you can switch back and forth between your Chrome desktop and Linux desktop with a keyboard shortcut.
Important: Typical virtual machine software like VirtualBox won’t function on ARM Chromebooks. You’ll want to have an Intel-based Chromebook to try this out.
Virtual machines are the heaviest way to do this, so you’ll need powerful enough hardware to drive the virtual machine software, Windows, and your desktop applications. Newer Chromebooks modern processors may be able to handle this better than older, slower Chromebooks. Virtual machines also take up a lot of disk space, which Chromebooks don’t often have—not a good combination.
Option Four: Use CrossOver for Android
If you’re using a Chromebook that supports Android apps, an Android app called CrossOver will let you run Windows programs alongside your Chrome apps. It’s still beta, but early testing has been positive.
Run Windows Exe On Chromebook
CrossOver works similarly to Wine on Chrome OS, but it takes more of a hands-on approach in walking you through installing applications. When you open the app, you can search for specific Windows software and it will walk you through installing them. It will search for the appropriate installation files and even download them for you in most cases. It’s pretty simple to use.
Once the application has been installed, you can run it alongside your Chrome apps as if it were native. In my experience with CrossOver, apps were hit and miss—which is to be expected since the app is still in beta. It still shows a lot of promise for the future of Windows software on Chromebooks, especially if you only need one or two specific programs.
Option Five (Sort Of): Run Linux Software in Developer Mode
Lastly, you may not need to run a Windows program at all—many Windows programs have their own Linux versions, and can run on a Chromebook using Crouton’s Linux desktop without much fiddling. For example, if you want to run games on a Chromebook, Steam for Linux offers many games for Linux, and its catalog continues to expand. So this technically isn’t “running Windows software”, but in some cases, it’s just as good.
Bear in mind that many Linux programs, such as Minecraft, Skype, and Steam, are only available for Intel x86 processors and won’t run on devices with ARM processors..
Can I Just Install Windows on My Chromebook?
RELATED:How to Install Windows on a Chromebook
I know, none of the above options are really ideal. If you find yourself wishing you could just install Windows on your Chromebook…well, you might be able to. There are some projects out there that allow users to install Windows, but it’s a pretty in-depth process. Not only that, it only works on a specific set of Intel Chromebooks, so the majority of the options out there don’t actually have support. But check out that guide for more information, if you’re curious.
Otherwise, you’re better off using one of the options above—or just getting a Windows laptop, if you absolutely need to.
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For many users, cloud-based Chromebooks offer a great mix of simplicity and affordability, free of some of the hassles associated with Windows PCs. But of course there's a downside to that: Google's operating system doesn't run Windows software.
If you occasionally find that to be a problem, particularly when you're out and about, there's a solution. Chromebooks can access Windows apps, and in fact can run Windows proper -- after a fashion. (Pro tip: This works with Mac and Linux systems as well, but for purposes of this tutorial, the focus is on Windows.)
Pass the remote
No, you don't need some kind of special emulator. Instead, the key to this operation is remote access: using your Chromebook to connect to a PC that's running Windows -- your desktop back home, for example, or the work laptop you left on in your office.
If you've never tried this, it may sound odd -- but it works quite well. The Windows PC runs a remote-connectivity app that stays active while you're away; the Chromebook connects to that app and accesses the remote Windows desktop inside your browser, where you can run programs, update settings or whatever. For all intents and purposes, it's like you're sitting in front of your Windows machine -- while you're in front of your Chromebook.
Getting started
There are many remote-access tools that make this possible, but the best place to start is with Google's own Chrome Remote Desktop. It's free, easy to set up and effective.
To get started, fire up your Windows PC and install Chrome Remote Desktop (hereafter 'CRD'). Once you get to the main setup screen, you'll see two options: Remote Assistance and My Computers. Click the Get started button in the latter section, then click Enable remote connections. Agree to install the CRD Host Installer. (Once it's downloaded, you'll need to manually launch the installer.)
Next, you'll need to choose a security PIN for that host PC. It needs to be numeric and at least six digits. Once that's done, just make sure to leave your Windows PC running, and to tweak the power settings so it doesn't go into standby mode after a period of inactivity. Although some remote-access tools can remotely waken a sleeping PC, CRD isn't one of them.
Making the connection
For this to work, your Chromebook needs to be signed into the same Google account as your desktop. Once again, head to the Chrome Web Store to access CRD -- though it should already be installed as part of your Google accounts keeping in sync. You just need to click Launch app.
Once again, click Get started in the My Computers section. You should see your desktop listed there; click it, then enter your PIN. To save time in the future, click the check box that prevents you having to enter the PIN every single time. Then click Connect.
And that's it! Now you should see the Windows desktop in your browser. Your mouse and keyboard will work as always within the confines of that browser window.
How To Run Exe Programs On Chromebook
What to expect when you're connecting
Run Windows On Chromebook
There are a few things you should know about remote connections like this:
Files Chromebooks Can Run
- For best results, enlarge the browser to full-screen. If you need to return to Chrome, mouse over the little gray bar in the upper-right corner and minimize the window or exit full-screen mode.
- The speed of your internet connections -- both the Chromebook's and the Windows PC's -- will determine how fluidly the remote desktop behaves. A slow connection will result in slow screen updates.
- Speaking of speed, this might not be the best option for things like streaming video or playing games, though such tasks are possible if the connections are good. Note, however, that anything involving audio (like listening to an iTunes playlist) will be heard not just on the remote Chromebook, but also on the desktop. You might want to mute the latter's speakers before leaving.
- Owing to differences in screen resolution, what you see on your Chromebook might look a little grainy. If you want a clearer image, click the aforementioned menu bar, choose Options, then disable Shrink to fit. That will likely require you to scroll around the virtual desktop, but you'll see the much sharper native resolution of your Chromebook.
- If you're hoping for a direct way to transfer files, there isn't one -- but you can use something like Google Drive, same as you would if you weren't remotely connected. Cloud-syncing is your friend.
Run An Exe On Chromebook
If you've found another Chromebook-to-Windows remote-access solution you like better, talk it up in the comments!