This guide shows how to reinstall ChromeOS on your Chromebox 4 or Chromebox 5 with a USB recovery drive. You create the drive on another computer, then use it to reinstall the operating system on the Chromebox.
Important: Only follow this guide if the Wonder support team asked you to. Reinstalling ChromeOS erases everything on the Chromebox, and the device must be enrolled again before the Catalog Kiosk app will run. If you are not sure this is the right fix, call us first at 855-408-9966, option 2.
You may need this guide when the Chromebox screen shows "ChromeOS is missing or damaged", or when our support team has confirmed that a reset did not solve the problem.
What you need
A computer with Google Chrome. A Windows PC, a Mac or another Chromebook all work. If Chrome is not installed, download it from google.com/chrome.
A USB flash drive or SD card, 16 GB or larger. Everything on it will be erased, so save any files you want to keep somewhere else first.
A USB keyboard, to move through the recovery screens on the Chromebox.
A paperclip or pushpin, to press the recovery button on the Chromebox.
An internet connection on the computer, to download ChromeOS.
The Chromebox, plugged into power and connected to its screen.
Install the Device Recovery Utility on your computer
The Device Recovery Utility is Google's free tool for creating a ChromeOS recovery drive. You install it in Chrome on your computer, not on the Chromebox.
On your computer, open Google Chrome.
Go to the Device Recovery Utility page in the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/device-recovery-utility/pocpnlppkickgojjlmhdmidojbmbodfm
Click Add to Chrome.
A box asks Add "Device Recovery Utility"? Click Add extension.
Chrome confirms that Device Recovery Utility has been added to Chrome.
In the top-right corner of Chrome, click the Extensions icon (the puzzle piece), then click Device Recovery Utility.
The Device Recovery Utility opens in its own window, on the page Create a recovery media for your device.
Create the recovery USB drive
The Device Recovery Utility downloads ChromeOS for your Chromebox model and copies it to the USB drive. This erases everything on the drive.
In the Device Recovery Utility window, click Get started.
On the Choose a device type page, click Chromebook. A Chromebox uses the Chromebook option.
The Identify your Chromebook page asks you to type the model number of your device. You do not need to type it. Click Select a model from a list instead and pick your Chromebox from the menus.
In the first menu, select the manufacturer. For a Chromebox purchased from Wonder, this is usually Asus. In the second menu, select your Chromebox model:
Chromebox 4: ASUS Chromebox 4
Chromebox 5: ASUS Chromebox Enterprise 5 (CN67)
If you are not sure which model you have, check the label on the underside of the Chromebox. Then click Continue.
Insert the USB flash drive or SD card into your computer. Until the computer detects it, the page shows No USB drives or SD cards found.
Under Select the media you'd like to use, choose your drive. Check that the name and size match the drive you just inserted, so that you do not erase a different one. Then click Continue.
On the Create a recovery image page, click Create now. If your computer asks for permission to make changes, allow it.
Wait while the utility downloads ChromeOS and copies it to the drive. Keep the drive plugged in and the computer turned on until it finishes.
When a message says that your recovery media is ready, click Done and remove the drive from the computer.
Reinstall ChromeOS on the Chromebox
With the recovery drive ready, start the Chromebox in recovery mode and let it reinstall ChromeOS from the drive.
Turn the Chromebox off. If it is on, press and hold the power button until it shuts down.
Unplug any USB drives or external storage from the Chromebox. Leave the power cable, the screen and a USB keyboard connected. The recovery screens are controlled with the keyboard: the arrow keys move between options and Enter selects one.
Find the recovery button. It sits inside a small pinhole on the side or back of the Chromebox.
Push the paperclip into the pinhole, then press and hold the recovery button.
While you hold the recovery button, press the power button to turn the Chromebox on.
When the screen shows Let's step you through the recovery process, release the recovery button.
Use the arrow keys to highlight Recovery using external storage, then press Enter.
On the Get ready to recover your device page, select Next.
On the Set up your external storage page, select Next. This page explains how to create a recovery drive, which you have already done.
When the screen shows Connect your external storage device, insert the recovery drive into a USB port on the Chromebox. The reinstall starts on its own.
Wait for the reinstall to finish. Do not unplug the drive or turn off the Chromebox while it runs.
When the screen shows Recovery is now complete, unplug the recovery drive. The Chromebox restarts by itself.
After the reinstall: enroll the Chromebox again
After ChromeOS is reinstalled, the Chromebox starts up like a new device. It must be enrolled with Wonder again before the Catalog Kiosk app will open.
To enroll it, follow the article How to Enroll Your Chromebox (Enterprise Enrollment).
If you get stuck during enrollment, call the Wonder support team at 855-408-9966, option 2.