Welcome to

CloudReady!
Lets get started

by

Quick Start Guide

Detailed Installation
Instructions

Configuring
CloudReady

Forums & Support

Before you begin - important information

Efficient instructions for IT professionals

USB installer creation

Booting from USB

Dual-boot and standalone installation notes

The installation process

General settings

10 Recommended network and proxy settings

11 Enrollment and admin notes

12 How to get help with CloudReady

Before You Begin

Time Required
20 minutes for USB installer creation, 1-2 minutes
per machine to trigger the 20 minute installation
process.

Dual-boot or
standalone?

Process Overview
Deploying CloudReady is a 2 step process.
The first step is to use any computer to create
a CloudReady USB installer from the file you
downloaded. You do not need to create a USB
installer on a machine which you intend to install
with CloudReady. The second step is to boot
from the USB installer on a computer of your
choice, and install CloudReady.

CloudReady can be installed on a computer

in two different ways. With a standalone
installation, CloudReady will be installed as the
only operating system on the computer. Any
existing content on the computers hard drive
will be erased and overwritten.

What Youll Need

Youll need one or more USB 2.0 drives with 8
or 16 GB of storage. Make sure there is nothing
important on them - this process will completely
erase them! There is no limit on the number of
CloudReady USB installers you can create.
Back up Important Data on All Machines
Installing standalone CloudReady will erase all
data on your machine.

With a dual-boot installation, CloudReady will

be installed alongside your existing Windows
operating system. When your computer
starts up, you will be given an option to select
CloudReady or your previous copy of Windows.
Existing content on your computers hard drive
will not be overwritten when CloudReady is
installed.
Please note: Not all computer models and
operating system configurations are compatible
with a dual-boot installation of CloudReady.
Please consult page 7 of this guide for more
detailed information.

Review Important Computer Model

Information
Every computer is different. Some dont support
dual-boot, and many require specific steps to
enable installation. Please check the unique
information for each model by clicking on its
name.
Prepare your network
To use CloudReady you must whitelist the
following domains entirely on your firewall or
filtering system:
neverware.com
dl-ssl.google.com
You may also need to allow .deb file types to be
downloaded. Visit https://network.neverware.com
to check connectivity.

Quick Start Guide

1. Download your installation .zip file from
Neverware. If you are using a free trial of the
Education version, you will receive a custom
download link at the end of the sign-up process.
The same link will also be emailed to you.
2. Create your USB installer using
the Chromebook Recovery Utility, available on
the Google Chrome Web Store. Open the utility,
click the gear icon, select use local image and
then select your .zip file. When prompted, plug
in a USB stick with 8GB or 16GB of storage.
Creating a USB installer take 5-10 minutes.
During the process, it is normal for the utility to
show unusual percentages.

5. A wizard will pop up to guide you in your

installation - you can choose either standalone
or dual-boot install options. A standalone install
will erase your entire hard drive. Dual-boot
installation will not work on all machines - please
see these requirements for more information.
6. When installation is finished, your machine will
shut itself down. You can then unplug your USB
installer, turn the machine back on, and use it!

3. Insert your installer and boot from USB on

a machine you wish to install with CloudReady.
CloudReady will live-boot to a setup page - you
do not need to configure any network settings
yet.
4. Click the bottom-right system tray and choose
Install CloudReady as pictured below:

Detailed Installation Instructions

Creating a USB
Installer from Windows
1. Start by downloading your CloudReady
installation file. You should have received a link
for the download when you signed up for a free
trial, or in an email confirmation from Neverware
after purchasing CloudReady. You should not
need to unzip the file, subsequent steps will do it
for you.
2. Open the Chrome web browser and install the
Chromebook Recovery Utility plug-in from the
Google Chrome Web Store. To install it, visit the
link and click Add to Chrome.

Fig. 1 The Chromebook Recovery Utility.

3. After the plug-in has installed, click

Launch from the Web Store page to open the
Chromebook Recovery Utility.
4. In the Recovery Utility, click the gear icon on
the upper right-hand side and select Use Local
Image (Fig. 1).
5. Find and select the CloudReady .zip file that
you located in Step 1.
6. When prompted, insert an 8 or 16 GB USB
device that you want to turn into a CloudReady
installer. Make sure it has no important files on
it, as it will be completely erased. Select your
USB drive from the drop-down menu and click
Continue and then Create Now.

Fig. 2 Creating a CloudReady USB installer.

7. The process of creating your CloudReady

USB installer will take around 20 minutes (Fig
2). Some Windows installations may display a
security prompt, click allow to let the process
proceed. Note: The progress bar in the Chrome
Recovery Utility may go over 100% and show
incorrect time estimates. This is not a problem.
8. When the process has completed you will see
a green check box (Fig. 3) - you can now remove
your CloudReady USB installer and use it! You
can create as many additional USB installers as
you want using the process above.

Fig. 3 You will see this message when the creation of a

CloudReady USB installation stick completes.
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Detailed Installation Instructions

Creating a USB
Installer from Mac OS
1. Make sure your CloudReady installation file
(ending in .bin.zip) is in your Downloads folder or
a similar location on your machines hard drive.
2. Download and install the free
The Unarchiver utility. The Unarchiver has been
verified as safe by Apple and is available through
the App Store.
3. Once The Unarchiver is installed, right click
your cloudready .zip file and select Open
With>The Unarchiver (Fig. 1). The extracted file
will be a single large file with a .bin extension.

Fig. 1 Extracting the CloudReady .zip file in Mac OS X.

4. Proceed with Step 2 onwards in the Windows

install instructions on page 3. In Step 5, select
the .bin file instead of the .zip file (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Selecting the .bin file in the Chromebook Recovery

Utility.

Detailed Installation Instructions

Creating a USB
Installer from a
Chromebook
1. Make sure your CloudReady image file
(ending in .bin.zip) is in your Downloads folder or
a similar location on your Chromebooks internal
storage.
2. Double click the image file so it mounts and
shows as a folder on the right-hand side of your
Files app.
3. Enter the mounted folder to and copy
the .bin file to your Downloads folder. This
may take a few minutes depending on the
performance of your Chromebook.

Fig. 1 The mounted .zip file on a Chromebook, with the .bin

file inside.

4. Proceed with Step 2 onwards in the Windows

install instructions on page 3. In Step 5, select
the .bin file instead of the .zip file (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Selecting the .bin file in the Chromebook Recovery

Utility.

Detailed Installation Instructions

What is USB Booting?
To permanently install CloudReady on the
computers you choose, each computer needs to
start or boot from the USB installer you created,
instead of an internal hard disk. This is called
USB booting, and all computer models certified to
work with CloudReady can do it.
USB booting requires that you:
1. Turn off the computer you want to install on.
2. Insert the USB installer you created.
3. Power on the machine while tapping a special
key. The special key you need to tap/hold during
boot up is different depending on the machine.
See below for tips on the correct key for various
brands. Machines may not, by default, allow
USB Boot. You may need to access the BIOS in
order to enable USB Boot. If you are trying to
install on an unsupported model, USB booting
may not be possible.

Common USB Boot

Keys
Most Dell models: Tap F12 when the Dell logo is
displayed.
Most HP models: Tap F9 when the HP logo is
displayed.

If USB Boot is Not

Available
Ensure you are using a supported computer
model. Depending on your schools security
policies, you may need to contact your technical
admin for a BIOS security password, or to enable
USB booting.

Other Common Issues

Model-specific Quirks: Ensure you have read
all notes for your supported model. Some
computer models have non-standard methods of
booting from USB.
USB device issues: Certain brands of USB stick
occasionally encounter issues when used as a
CloudReady installer. Try making a new installer
with a different USB stick. Make sure you are
using an 8 or 16 GB, USB 2.0 stick.
Blank screen: If booting from USB results in a
blank screen, try toggling UEFI mode to ON in
your computers BIOS. You may need to select
EFI File > boot > efi > bootx64.efi from the boot
menu of your machine.
Errors when booting from USB: Ensure that
secure boot and TPM are set to OFF or
Disabled in your computers BIOS.

Most Lenovo models: Tap F12 when the

Lenovo logo is displayed.
Most Apple Mac models: Hold the Option key
when the computer first turns on.
Other Common Models: Try tapping Esc, F1-12,
or Enter when the machine first starts
Set Boot Order: On some machines it may be
easier to set boot order in the BIOS to prioritize
USB devices first.
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Detailed Installation Instructions

Dual-boot Installation
Considerations
Only models listed on our certification list under
Dual-boot Certified are officially supported
by Neverware to dual-boot with CloudReady.
Computers must have all of the following for
successful dual-boot installation of CloudReady:
1. The ability to use UEFI boot mode. It may
require some exploration of your BIOS to confirm
this. Many computer models will default to UEFI
boot mode when Legacy boot or CSM is
disabled. Some models refer to UEFI boot mode
as EFI boot mode.
2. A preexisting UEFI-mode installation
of Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10. Click here for
instructions on verifying whether Windows is
installed in UEFI mode. CloudReadys dual-boot
feature is not compatible with Legacy or BIOSmode installations of Windows at this time.
3. At least 32 GB of available free space in the
main Windows partition you want to dual-boot
with.
4. On the Windows installation you want to dualboot with, you must make the following changes
before performing a dual-boot installation of
CloudReady:

a. Turn OFF Fast Startup (in Windows

8 or later) by visiting Control Panel >
Power Options > Choose what the power
button does > Fast Startup

b. Turn OFF any encryption

At this time, Neverware only supports dualbooting CloudReady alongside Windows 7, 8,

8.1 and 10. We encourage users of sufficient
technical ability to experiment with unsupported
configurations of CloudReady, but note that
your data may be at risk of accidental erasure
and Neverware will be unable to assist with any
issues faced in the process.

Standalone Installation
Considerations
Any computer models listed on our certification
list are supported by Neverware to for standalone
CloudReady use.
Performing a standalone installation of
CloudReady will completely erase a computers
internal storage, including all other operating
systems, user files and software. You should
back up any important information prior to
installation.
Neverware is unable to provide assistance
with re-imaging installed computers, should you
decide not to continue using CloudReady.

c. Disable hibernation

If your Windows installation is in legacy mode,

but your machine supports UEFI, it will be
necessary to reinstall Windows in UEFI mode in
order to dual-boot with CloudReady.

Detailed Installation Instructions

The CloudReady
Installation Process
Once you successfully USB boot, youre ready to
install. Follow the instructions below, and make
sure to read the specific notes on page 8 of this
document regarding dual-boot or standalone
installations.
Installation Steps:
1. Boot your computer from USB. When your
CloudReady USB installer has finished starting,
you will see a network configuration page. Ignore
the network configuration box at the center of the
screen - you do not need to configure networking
before installing CloudReady.

Fig. 1 The system tray with Install CloudReady

button.

2. Open the system tray by clicking on the

bottom right corner of the screen, where the clock
is. On the menu that appears, click the option
labeled Install CloudReady (Fig. 1).
3. An installation wizard will pop up to walk
you through the steps for installation (Fig. 2).
Please read everything carefully - a standalone
installation of CloudReady will erase everything
on a computer. On the second page you can
choose a Standalone or a Dual-boot install
(Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 The first page of the CloudReady installation

wizard.

4. Once you read and agree to all warnings,

install will take 15-30 minutes. When installation
is finished, your machine will shut itself down.
You can then unplug your USB installer, turn the
computer back on, and use it!

Fig. 3 The second page of the CloudReady installation

wizard, with options for standalone or dual-boot installation.
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Configuring CloudReady
General Setup
When you boot CloudReady for the first time after
installation, you will be presented with at a setup
menu where you can set language and network
preferences (Fig. 1).
1. At this point, Google recommends you attach
to an open or unrestricted network in order to
smoothly proceed through configuration.
2. Once connected to unrestricted ethernet
or WiFi network, click Continue. You will be
presented with the option to install Adobe Flash
(Fig.2 ), which you can perform immediately or at
any time in the future. Your machine will check
for updates and present you with the Google
login screen.

Fig. 1 The initial network configuration menu.

3. STOP HERE - Do not log in if you wish to

enroll the computer in the Google Management
Console. If you wish to enroll the computer,
press Ctrl+Alt+E. You will be prompted for
credentials for enrollment (Fig. 3). You can
read important notes about enrollment and
management here.
5. Users can now log in. Your username must be
a gmail.com email address or a Google domain
registered through the Google Admin Console.

Fig. 2 The Adobe Flash installation prompt.

Fig. 3 The Google Admin Console enrollment prompt.

Configuring CloudReady
Wifi Configuration
Google recommends you attach to an open or
unrestricted network during setup in order to
allow you to enroll your device in the Google
Management Console. Once enrolled, more
restricted and secure network settings in your
Google Admin Console will automatically
download to the machine if they have been
specified.
If you have trouble connecting to wireless
networks after installing CloudReady:
1. If your organization uses Google management,
ensure you are connecting to an unrestricted
network (like WiFi hotspot, guest network or
ethernet network) and then enroll your device
2. If your organization does not use Google
management, make sure to set up any proxy
or special network settings required within your
organization.

Using CloudReady
With Proxies and Filters
As with wireless network settings, Google
recommends you attach to an open or
unrestricted network during setup in order
to allow smooth enrollment in the Google
Management Console. Once enrolled, your
device should automatically download proxy
settings, network passwords, and other security
settings that will make it easier for your to use
your CloudReady device.
If you do not have an open or unrestricted
network available to you and your organization
requires a proxy for network access:
Consider connecting to a cellphone WiFi
hotspot for enrollment.
Set up a proxy manually by clicking Proxy in
the networking section of the system tray.

3. If your machine shows WiFi disabled, OR

shows Wifi is on but no networks appear,

a. Make sure you are using a certified

computer model, and try restarting your
machine.

b. If the machine is still unable to detect

any wireless networks, try toggling WiFi
off, and then on using the WiFi icon in the
system tray.

c. If there is still no WiFi connectivity,

check for and toggle any physical
WiFi switches on the computer, and verify
that WiFi is enabled in the BIOS.

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Configuring CloudReady
Enrollment Notes

Admin Notes

Google recommends you attach to an open or

unrestricted network during setup in order to
allow you to enroll your device in the Google
Management Console. Please keep the following
factors in mind when enrolling CloudReady
machines:

CloudReady licenses are assigned according

to a Hardware ID comprised of the computers
ethernet MAC address and the word
CloudReady. This Hardware ID appears in the
top-right corner of your CloudReady login screen.
Enrolled devices will show up in your Google
Management Console under this name. For
example: CloudReady-AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF.
You should record the hardware IDs of
CloudReady machines for easy asset
management and transfer of software licenses.

You can only enroll prior to first login. If you

have already logged in, you will need to reinstall
CloudReady to enroll your device.
You can only enroll if your organization already
uses Google Apps or the Google Admin Console.
Google Apps is free to schools and non-Profits,
but carries a subscription cost for businesses and
government.
Chrome Management Licenses are sold
separately from CloudReady. You can purchase
them from Neverware, or from other Google
resellers of your choice. If you do not enroll
your CloudReady devices, you will be unable
to manage updates, restrict user-access to
machines, or set up secure kiosk mode.
Possible enrollment errors:
You do not have sufficient privileges - Verify
that the username you are using to enroll is in a
Google Management Console user OU for which
enrollment is allowed.
You do not have enough licenses - Verify that
you have purchased Google Device Management
licenses for your CloudReady machines.

CloudReady licenses are completely

transferable, so you can move them from device
to device if a piece of hardware breaks. Contact
Support with the Hardware ID of the device you
are no longer using to transfer that license to
another piece of hardware.
CloudReady software updates work similarly to
Chromebooks, but come out 1-3 months later to
ensure stability and security. You can learn more
about why we do this on our website.
CloudReady is most easily installed via USB,
but for larger deployments it may be possible to
use a mass deployment or network deployment
tool. Contact our support for more information.
If you have an issue with a CloudReady
machine and contact support, you should include
the Hardware ID and other info you see in the top
right-hand corner of the machines login screen.
This information will help our support team
quickly diagnose your problem.

For other errors, try reinstalling and enrolling

again. If enrollment still fails, please contact
support.

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Getting Support
User Forums
For users of the free version of CloudReady for
individuals, support for CloudReady is available
through our online support community.

go.neverware.com/forums

Chat Support (paid Education version only)

For paid CloudReady users, online live chat
support is available by clicking the green
Neverware symbol at the bottom right of any
page at neverware.com. The live chat function
is staffed by our New York City based team
between 8AM and 5PM Eastern Standard Time.

www.neverware.com

Phone Support (paid Education version only)

For paid CloudReady users, phone support is
staffed between 8AM and 5PM Eastern Standard
Time.

1-877-934-3439

Email Support (paid education version only)

Paid CloudReady users are entitled to support at
any time via [email protected]. Our
team aims to reply to all email support requests
within 1 hour or less during weekday business
hours.

[email protected]

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