Unlike modern Chromebooks with verified boot and TPM 2.0, the 1.0.628 beta was crude. It used a standard GRUB bootloader. You would see a flash of scrolling Linux kernel messages—bizarre for a Google product—before a graphical splash screen appeared.
You cannot download 1.0.628 from Google. It has been wiped from official mirrors. However, via the Internet Archive and OldOS.eu, you can find the ISO (chromeos_1.0.628_netbook_oem_i686.iso, size: 478MB). Google Chrome OS Linux i686 1.0.628 OEM Beta x86
By: Retro Computing Archives
In the sprawling digital graveyard of obsolete operating systems, few artifacts command as much reverence from collectors, forensic analysts, and operating system historians as the enigmatic build Google Chrome OS Linux i686 1.0.628 OEM Beta x86. Unlike modern Chromebooks with verified boot and TPM 2
To the average user in 2025, “Chrome OS” means sleek Chromebooks, automatic updates, Android apps, and the modern x86_64 architecture. But beneath that polished veneer lies a raw, unfinished, and utterly fascinating fossil. The 1.0.628 build is the Rosetta Stone of cloud operating systems. It represents the exact moment Google pivoted from an experiment to a product. You cannot download 1
This article deconstructs that specific binary: why the i686 tag matters, what "OEM Beta" meant in 2009, and why you might want to fire up a Pentium III just to watch this living fossil breathe.