No error message is more frightening to Chromebook users than "Chrome OS is missing or damaged." Fortunately, you can address it in a number of ways that will get your laptop back up and running.
Instructions in this article apply to laptops with Chrome OS, regardless of which company made the device.
Try these steps in order until your Chromebook can boot successfully:
Powerthe Chromebook off and on. Press and hold thePowerbutton until the device turns off, then wait a few seconds and press thePowerbutton again to turn it back on.
Powerwash (reset) the Chromebook to factory settings. If you're able to log in to the Chromebook, powerwash Chrome OS to return the machine to its original state.
Performing a factory reset erases your locally stored files, so make sure you back up everything to your Google Drive.
Recover Chrome OS. If the computer is still stuck at theChrome OS is missing or damagedscreen, then your only option is to perform a fresh install of the operating system. You can find instructions on how to do that below.
Reinstalling Chrome OS in recovery mode completely wipes the hard drive, including your downloads and personal files.
Reinstall Chrome OS.To reinstall a Chromebook's operating system, you need another working computer with Chrome OS, macOS, or Windows, as well as a formatted USB flash drive or SD card with a minimum of 8 GB of space.
Your Chromebook should function now as it did when you first purchased it. If the problem still isn't fixed, you may have a hardware issue. Contact Google or the device manufacturer for further assistance.
How to Fix It When Your Chromebook Won't Turn OnThe "Chrome OS is missing or damaged" error appears when a machine encounters problems loading the operating system. You usually encounter it during startup, but the message can also appear at random while you're using the computer. The error screen looks slightly different depending on the device model, but the potential solutions are the same for all Chromebooks.
FAQTo fix a 403 forbidden error, check for URL errors, ensure you're specifying the correct website, and clear your cache and cookies. Contact the website directly to see if the error is a mistake. If it's a popular site, check Twitter for news about what's going on with the error.
You won't be able to fix Chrome privacy errors if the site has an expired SSL certificate or another SSL certificate problem. However, to see if the problem is on your end, try reloading the page, clearing the cache and cookies, opening the page in Incognito Mode, or disabling antivirus software.
The Google Chrome critical error alert is a scam. Don't call the number listed. Go to Chrome's menu, selectMore Tools>Extensions, and remove suspicious extensions. Go toSettings>Manage Search Enginesand delete suspicious search engines and URLs. You can also reset Chrome to its default settings.