Setting Up Google Chromebook Questions

Bought an acer 14 chromebook and still have not opened it yet. I would like to set it up but i read you need to log in with a google account. Is this necessary at the beginning? I read you could sign in as a guest for privacy but could you set up google chrome without a google account and use it private?

 

I believe you have to log in with a google account for the first time setup.
After that you can log out, and use guest mode which gets wiped every time you log in/out of guest mode.
Guest mode is just pure stock chrome browser, and doesn't allow you to install or use any addons like adblocker, or chrome extensions.
On first time setup make sure to allow "share network with other users" so that guest mode will auto connect to any wifi you are logged on to.
Note: The google account you first setup the chromebook with is the account that will be given any chromebook offers that came with the purchase of that chromebook.

 

Hi there thanks. The thing is because i want to web browse privately, i still should use my legit google account then when setting it up? Could i create a brand new google account for this? Im not very interested in any chromebook offers. The thing is even if i create a new google account, i still have to connect it to a phone number right? Back then i recalled you didnt had to put in a cell number but afterwards you had to.


The thing is i want to browse/surf anonymously. Also i plan to stream tv/sports and mainly porn etc. But then it would be related to my gmail account or not? The thing is i definitely need adblocker and that would definitely require it on those sits. Such as imagine you stream/download etc. On a windows computer, well there is no login issues you put in when you first log in etc. Obviously watching porn is normal but if you download some files from others in forums, that should be still fine? Im talking about forums where ppl post videos to download etc. But it would be connected to my google account? But if i use guest mode, could i still download it or not? It would be files that you open with winrar and play with vlc player etc.

 

You may just want to create a new google account if you don't want it associated with any of your other accounts.
I'm not sure if its possible to create a google account without a phone number. I guess you could google that.
If you want to use the VLC player app (or any play store apps) from the app store your going to have to be logged in to your main account and not the guest account. You can however log in and then open an incognito window and browse using that without that info being saved into your google history. you may have to allow adblockers and other addons to be allowed to run in incognito mode in the chrome extentions screen.
It's also possible to install other browsers (firefox, etc..) from the app store. Those shoudn't be sync'd to your google account as long as you have your settings set to not sync / backup app data.

 

Can you not just side-load the app (VLC, Firefox etc...) APK files and install them this way? Would skip the app store altogether. This works with Android but not sure about Chrome OS. I'm aware of the possible security issues involved doing this - I'm only asking on academic grounds, since I've wondered about this and imagine that it is possible. Alternatively, I guess you could use one of the various apps around to create an APK file from another Android system that has the app installed from the App store and then move that to the Chromebook via USB etc... which would make it less sketchy getting the app APK's in the first place.

... Sketchy thread is sketchy...

 

HI there thanks for that information. Does anyone know hot to create a dummy google account that isn't linked to my real name etc? I could of course use my regular google account but i want privacy etc and people say you should use a dummy account. But google requires a cell number now. I checked videos online and back then i believe you could, not i dont think you can etc.

 

If you’re worried about privacy, it seems that you forgot that your ISP can track your activity regardless of what computer/OS/etc you use.

 

Hi jarhead, im well aware of that. But i meant more of my google account connected to it.

 

Hi there okay i logged into the chromebook.


Few questions i have


1. The 32gb i have. I have about 22gb free when i went to the settings or something like that. How can i view my processor and the ram?


2. So i notice everything is used with chrome. But if i have multiple chrome windows opened, i can't have it opened in tabs such as never combine taskbar buttons? So if i have 5 tabs, i can't have them all showing each one?


3. For programs like adblocker and similar programs, do i download them from play store or from google ad blocker and download the extension etc? What programs do you recommend i download from the play store?

 

Okay so i connected the internal hard drive with enclosure into a usb. It recognize it but then it doesn't show recognized anymore. How do i fix this issue? How do i eject the hard drive or usb? I cannot find it on the bottom right corner etc.

 

Hey all i keep getting message

whoa there be careful chromebook. I get this message over and over. Does this mean my internal hard drive connected to the enclosure is corrupted or not? I just shut down my laptop. But could hear the internal hard drive is moving etc.

How do i access my internal hard drive in enclosure on the chromebook. Can someone tell me how to solve this issue?

 

Few questions i have

1. The 32gb i have. I have about 22gb free when i went to the settings or something like that. How can i view my processor and the ram?

You can install an extension from the chrome store. Here is a couple I use:

Cog - System Info Viewer
System

2. So i notice everything is used with chrome. But if i have multiple chrome windows opened, i can't have it opened in tabs such as never combine taskbar buttons? So if i have 5 tabs, i can't have them all showing each one?

I'm not sure if that's possible. Check the chrome store for an extension.
remember you can always use the show windows button above your number keys to view all tabs/windows. It looks like this: []|||

3. For programs like adblocker and similar programs, do i download them from play store or from google ad blocker and download the extension etc? What programs do you recommend i download from the play store?

This is the only one I use and trust on all my OS's: Ublock Origin.

Okay so i connected the internal hard drive with enclosure into a usb. It recognize it but then it doesn't show recognized anymore. How do i fix this issue?

I'm not sure.

How do i eject the hard drive or usb? I cannot find it on the bottom right corner etc.

Open the files app. On the left you'll see your mounted drive and it will have an eject arrow after it.

 

I'm not sure, I'll have to look into this. Manually there is a way to open a terminal and browse to some folder areas, but you won't be able to do much. If you think the drive has errors, you could do a powerwash and it will reformat the drive and then you just log in again as if the chromebook was new.

 

hi there. Thanks.


Could you check out my thread here?


http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/is-my-internal-hard-drive-damaged.814861/


I have issues with the chromebook recognizing the internal hard drive enclosure. I had unplugged it while it was on chromebook and thought i damaged it. I then put it in window 7 desktop and it checked sectors etc and took over 3 plus hours. But it does recognize it on desktop. It does not on my chromebook.


I listed everything i did. I used an old usb stick and it worked on chromebook. So if thats the case, it isn't my usb port on chromebook. But the internal hard drive seem to work on windows 7 desktop.


Do you have any advice here? So maybe powerwash my chromebook is what you suggest? However, why does my usb stick work then?

 

I agree with what was said in that thread. your hard drive in that enclosure may be trying to draw too much power from the chromebook usb port, causing it to not work and not be recognized. A splitter like they suggested may work. I have one for my enclosure.

I looked at my old 320gb laptop drive and it draws 700ma. A usb port usually only puts out 500ma. this is also why when you charge a cell phone from your laptop via usb, it charges really slow. Normally cell phone chargers put out around 2000ma.

If you look at one of these cheap enclosures on newegg, you'll see they come with the power splitter cable because one usb port doesn't put out enough power.

After reading all the info you posted, I'm thinking it's either a power issue as above or just an incompatibility between the chromebook and that enclosure. I wouldn't bother with a powerwash. The flash drive works because they are pretty much universal and draw almost no power.

You could buy a larger capacity flash drive and use that, or maybe just some cheaper flash drives.

 

Hi there. The thing was when i first plugged it in, it worked with zero issue. Im pretty close to sure it was because i unplugged it when i shouldn't have because i didn't eject it first. It has that error message over and over again. Also it has no blue light showing anymore after say a few seconds.


Well should i try power wash the chromebook? There is nothing wrong with doing that right? Basically as long as i use my google account information, its the same thing? only thing i downloaded for chromebook was that ad block plus blocker etc.


So you are telling me an external hard drive wouldn't work for this chromebook then either? I don't want to try to plug it into the laptop outlet in case something damages the external hard drive. Because 64gb is the max usb hard drive i would buy. But i would obviously prefer an external hard drive but i thought internal hard drive enclosure i was told was same thing etc.

 

Hi there. I just plugged in a seagate external hard drive into the usb port in my chromebook. It recognizes it and has no issues. Thus this has nothing to do with the usb port on my chromebook.

When i plugged in the internal hard drive enclosure into it before this, it did recognize it for a second as it showed up with the name database i believe.

Then i did this again and you could see when you open files up, it shows the name of the hard drive as datapart. It would keep showing up and disappearing after few seconds

Then on the bottom right corner, it would have the same message over and over again in like 30 plus notificaitons

Removeable device detected

Explore the device's content in the files app


Whoa, there. Be careful.

In the future, be sure to eject your removable device in the files app before unplugging it. Otherwise, you might lose data.

 

Want to add something else but my last post before this is important to this.


I bought this enclosure many years ago from amazon. . The only reason i bought it was because my old laptop did not work anymore so i was told to buy an enclosure because if you have an ssd that works but that laptop doesn't work, you could use enclosure and then access the ssd hard drive with a separate computer.


This is the exact one i have on amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-FE20...5&sr=8-2&keywords=inatek+hard+drive+enclosure


The thing is i have both an external hard drive and an internal hard drive with this enclosure. I know that when i bought them, i believe each one with a cable, for sure the external hard drive did. I used the same usb cable for both the internal hard drive enclosure and the external hard drive enclosure. I have no idea which cable im using. Could that be the reason or not? I will have to look for the other cable but i don't think i could find it. But could it be possible the cable im using is for the external hard drive? And the one thats internal hard drive, its different and i can't just use that external hard drive cable in place of it even thought if its?


Because when you buy an enclosure like the one i posted about in the link, they supply you with the cable right? Thus when i bought each the enclosure and the external hard drive, i should have gotten a cable for each? But are these cables the same or not? How do i know which cable im using?

 

Okay so in those 2 usb ports on my chromebook, i had the usb for my wireless mouse in the top usb port. I just now decided to put that usb for wireless mouse in the port below it and then plug in the internal hard drive enclosure into the top usb port and does work on the other usb port. I only have 2 usb ports on the chromebook. The top usb port i had plugged in the usb for the wifi mouse i use.


So what does that mean? That the other usb port is damaged? Well that can't be it because a regular usb stick and a 1tb external hard drive works on that port. Right now i connected the usb for my wireless mouse to the usb port where it could not connect/recognize on my laptop.


I did not want to do this earlier in case it might damage the usb for my wireless mouse. Thoughts on this?

 

Can someone tell me how to enable flash on chromebook? The message i get is flash version 10.1 or great is required.

 

Anyone can tell me how to enable flash on chromebook? Its somewhere in the chrome settings right? I saw option to turn it on and i think i did it but still same errors.

 

It's under "content settings", so go into settings and at the top search for flash. Then scroll down and click on content settings. From there you can turn on flash fully or specify by website.

also of note: you can check your flash version and check for any flash updates by going to chrome://components and scrolling down to flash.

If your still getting warnings your flash isn't up to date and they want you to click on a link or download something its probably malware.

 

Hi there when you mean turn on, you mean move the thing to the right or so? Because it doesn't say exactly its on.


It keeps saying update to flash 10.1. So where do i download 10.1 and how do i know if i have up to date flash?


Well if i click on link and its malware, well its a chromebook and still okay or would i have to format it?

 

Ok I see what your saying. Even though that toggle is showing as Off (meaning flash should run), flash has been blocked by default in Chrome (browser) since around version 59 (mid 2017).

Try going to the website you want and clicking on the secure/not secure in the url bar and turning Flash on from there.

 

1. You can't download and install flash on Chrome OS; Flash is built into Chrome browser.

2. To know if you have the latest version of flash, go to chrome://components/ and scroll down to "Adobe Flash Player" and click "check for update". You can also visit this site to see what the latest flash version is for all platforms.


Well if i click on link and its malware, well its a chromebook and still okay or would i have to format it?
You would be ok. The only thing it could do would be to possibly install some browser extension, or show you a fake "you've been infected with some virus" webpage or popup. You can see what browser extensions you have installed here: chrome://extensions/

 

hi there does that mean certain websites won't work then?

another thing. I let someone use my chromebook to test things out and now the wallpaper or background of it changed to something very different. Its like rock and water etc. Can someone tell me how to fix this or what was the previous wallpaper?

 

hi there does that mean certain websites won't work then?

I'm not sure what you mean but chrome (browser) blocks all flash from running due to its abuse for malware, etc. It's just a safety thing. If your on a site and you want to allow flash, follow my directions above.

Can someone tell me how to fix this or what was the previous wallpaper?

To change wallpaper either right click on the desktop and choose " change wallpaper" or download a picture to the downloads folder and when you open it or right click on it, you can set it as wallapaper. Pretty much exactly the same as on a windows pc.
If someone wants to use your chromebook, logout and make them use guest mode.

Note: to right click on a chromebook you have to do a 2-finger tap on the trackpad.
1 finger = left click
2 fingers = right click / 2 finger drag = scroll up / down on a website.
3 fingers tap on a link opens it in a new tab.

Also don't forget you can open the search key (located where caps-lock used to be) and there is a help app to answer FAQs. You can also see all keyboard shortcuts by pressing Ctrl + Alt + ?

Hope you are enjoying your new chromebook.

 

Hi there thanks for that information. Wanted to ask another thing.

Do you guys set vpn up with chromebook and is it easy to do so? I want to use chromebook with vpn.

 

I haven't used VPN on a chromebook.

This guy had a nice write up last year:
https://www.computerworld.com/artic...-chromebook-a-scorecard-of-vpn-providers.html

 

hi there thanks for that information. Another question i have. I downloaded some files and some i could open it and view the files such as videos and pictures. Some i cannot, thus when i open the file, it doesn't show anything. It shows the file such as the name and .rar. So how to i extract these files? Or maybe these files are corrupted and doesn't work? Because i don't think that is the case? Because when i click on it, it plays but plays nothing...


Because i assume if there were issues, the other files would have issues? I downloaded rar from play store. But why can i not open many files i downloaded?

 

Hey all got an issue here. I downloaded many files with my chromebook. But many of these files are .rar. Some of them are videos and after i download it, i could just view it like that. Others you seem to have to extract it. I downloaded a rar program from play store to do this. But it seemed everytime i wanted to play a video, i have to extract it 3 times etc. Does anyone know how i could fix this issue? Because in windows after you extract a file, it should be available to play just like that. Also some videos i cannot even seem to extract. Also do most of you use the default player to play videos or vlc player?


Thanks.

 

But it seemed everytime i wanted to play a video, i have to extract it 3 times etc. Does anyone know how i could fix this issue?

I use the RAR program from the playstore too. I'm not sure why you're having to extract it 3 times.. make sure to extract it and save it in the /downloads folder.

Also some videos i cannot even seem to extract.

Maybe they are corrupt?

Also do most of you use the default player to play videos or vlc player?

Lately I've been using VLC because with large video files it seems the default player has a hard time when you skip far ahead / behind.