Can You Install SteamOS On An Old Windows Laptop?
If you have an old Windows laptop gathering dust, there are plenty of creative ways to make it useful again. You could turn it into a second monitor, repurpose it as a file server, or even convert it into a Chromebook. But if the hardware is still solid enough to run your favorite games, those options might feel like a missed opportunity. Instead, you can give your laptop a new life by installing SteamOS on it and turning it into a dedicated gaming machine.
SteamOS used to be exclusive to Valve's Steam Deck, but that changed with the launch of Lenovo Legion S. Valve has now opened the door for other handhelds as well. While there's still no official support for PCs, it's technically possible to install SteamOS on a Windows laptop. If you're thinking about giving it a try, there are a couple of things you should know.
SteamOS is built for handheld devices that use AMD graphics and NVMe SSDs, so your laptop will need to meet those same specs. It's easy to check what kind of graphics card your PC has if you're unsure. Even if everything lines up, you should only install SteamOS at your own risk, as it's not officially supported.
Is it worth the effort?
Valve has only released instructions for installing SteamOS on handheld devices, but the process works just as well on a Windows laptop. You'll need a USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space and a tool like Rufus to write the SteamOS recovery image to it. On the laptop where you want to install SteamOS, you need to disable secure boot and change the boot order so it can start from the USB drive. Once that's done, simply run the installer and follow the prompts to set up SteamOS on your laptop.
Although SteamOS features a gaming-focused UI, you can still navigate it using your laptop's keyboard and touchpad. It also works with a PC gaming controller if that's what you prefer. There's a desktop mode too, where you can browse the web, manage your files, and even install third-party game launchers.
SteamOS can be a solid alternative to Windows for an old laptop, especially one stuck on Windows 10 without support for Windows 11. But if you plan to use the laptop for more than just gaming, you can consider other options like Linux and ChromeOS.