Reinstall (Powerwash) the Chrome OS

How do I perform a Powerwash to restore my Chromebook to factory defaults?

Use the following steps to restore the Chrome OS:

1. Turn off your Chromebook.
2. Press and hold the Esc key and refresh (F3) key and then press the power button to turn on the Chromebook.
3. The Chromebook will boot to Developer Mode. Press Ctrl + D to turn off OS verification.
4. When prompted to turn OS verification off, press Enter and the Chromebook will restart.
5. At the OS verification is OFF screen, do not press the spacebar. The recovery process will start automatically after approximately 15 seconds.
6. The restore process takes about 5 minutes. A progress bar appears at the top of the screen.
7. The Chromebook restarts and prompts to re-enable verification. Press the spacebar.
8. Press Enter to confirm that you wish to turn OS verification on.
9. OS verification is back on and Chromebook reboots automatically.
10. The "Welcome!" screen will be displayed and you can complete the on screen instructions.

Your Chromebook is now set to factory default settings.

DID THIS FIX THE PROBLEM?

If the above steps do not resolve the problem, you can create a recovery drive from a Windows, Mac, or Linux computer, and use it to restore your chromebook. If you have a recovery drive, visit our article Reinstall Chromebook with a USB Flash Drive.