If your Chrome device operating system (OS) isn’t working properly and you see the error message “Chrome OS is missing or damaged,” you can perform a recovery. Recovery involves removing and reinstalling the OS.
Note: If you’re using a managed Chrome device, we recommend contacting your administrator first, as they will be best placed to assist you directly.
You can click here to watch a video tutorial that also outlines the same steps below in the article.
Recovery will permanently erase all data on the device’s internal storage (including Chromebit and Chromebox devices).
What you’ll need
The Chrome device showing the “Chrome OS is missing or damaged” error
Another computer (Windows or Mac) with Chrome installed
A USB flash drive with at least 4 GB of storage (all data on it will be erased)
Step 1: Download a new copy of ChromeOS
On a computer with the Google Chrome browser installed:
Open the Chrome browser
Download and install the Chromebook Recovery Utility
Open the app
Click Get started
Select Choose a model from a list
Click Continue
Insert your USB flash drive into the computer
Select the USB drive from the dropdown menu
Click Continue
Click Create now
Once you see the message “Your recovery media is ready”, safely remove the USB flash drive or SD card.
Step 2: Enter recovery mode
On the Chrome device with the issue:
Disconnect any connected devices (e.g. mouse, external drives)
Enter recovery mode based on your device:
Chromebook:
Press and hold Esc + Refresh, then press Power
→ Release Power, then release the other keys when a message appearsChromebox:
Turn the device off
Press and hold the recovery button (using a paperclip)
Press Power to turn it on
Release the recovery button when a message appears
Chromebit:
Unplug the device from power
Press and hold the recovery button (using a paperclip)
Plug the device back into power
Release the recovery button when a message appears
Step 3: Start recovery
You should see one of the following messages:
“Chrome OS is missing or damaged. Please insert a recovery USB stick or SD card.”
“Please insert a recovery USB stick or SD card.”
Insert the USB flash drive or SD card you created earlier
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete recovery
Contact Google Support if issues persists
If the steps above don’t resolve the issue, please contact Google Support, as they are best equipped to assist with ChromeOS and issues related to their hardware. ScreenCloud support can only help with issues specific to the ScreenCloud Player app on ChromeOS.
You can contact Google Support here.