These Chromebooks can now dual-boot Windows 11 and Chrome OS

Lenovo Chromebook C340 11 Hero — (Image credit: Future)

What you need to know

It's now possible to dual-boot Windows 11 and Chrome OS onto select Chromebooks.
At the moment, only three models support dual-booting, and they all run AMD Ryzen 3000-series CPUs.
The functionality is limited because it requires an SSD rather than an eMMC.

Many of the best Chromebooks are also available as Windows laptops, but why purchase two devices when you can have just one? That's the idea behind a project that allows users to dual-boot Windows 11 and Chrome OS onto a single device (it also works with Windows 10). Reddit user coolstarorg shared that three models are currently capable of running both operating systems: the HP Chromebook 14b, HP Chromebook Pro 645 Enterprise, and Lenovo Yoga C13. They added that the ASUS Chromebook Flip CM5 could also be supported with a little extra effort.

A key factor that limits which devices can dual-boot Windows and Chrome OS is that an SSD is required. Many Chromebooks have eMMC drives. In their post, coolstarorg noted that "eMMC can be read/written to from Windows, but UEFI can't boot from it yet."

Here are the features that work:

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Windows Boots
NVMe SSD is bootable and functional
Keyboard
Keyboard Backlight
Trackpad (Elan verified, Synaptics has drivers available that should work)
Touch screen (HID and Elan have drivers available)
Graphics Acceleration
HDMI and USB-C video output
Brightness Control
Sleep/Wake and Power management
Audio (Speakers, Headphones, Microphones)
WiFi + Bluetooth
Webcam
USB-A and USB-C ports
SD Card Slot

If you dual-boot Windows onto one of the supported Chromebooks, you won't be able to use a fingerprint reader to sign in to Windows Hello.

While the ability to dual-boot Windows and Chrome OS onto a device is an attractive option, it's important to note that this functionality isn't officially supported. As such, you should only follow the how-to guide if you know what you're doing.

There are alternatives to running Windows or Windows applications on Chromebooks as well, such as Cameyo and Parallels Desktop.

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.