C740 (11") Broken Refresh (F3) Button - Cannot Powerwash

Wiseguyz23

Hello All,

I work in the Tech Department at the school district that I work for and I manage about 5000+ Chromebooks. I've seen a lot of issues and I've fixed a lot of issues. But, I'm stuck on this one. Every once in a while I'll get an Acer C720, C730, or C740 that comes in with keyboard keys that just stop working. Specifically the F3 (Refresh) button.

Here are the known ways that I know how to reimage/power wash, or "reset to factory settings" one of these things:

1. Esc+Refresh+Power button.
2. Chrome settings > Advanced > Powerwash.
3. CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+R.

Here's the issue. All of my Acer Chromebooks cannot use methods 2 or 3. The powerwash settings in advanced isn't there. It only says "reset", which only resets the user's settings. Method three just plain doesn't work, regardless. I've only gotten it to work on my ASUS and Samsungs (unfortunately, I only have a few of these). I even tried an external keyboard. Plus, on top of ALL OF THIS, there's no settings for this in Google Admin for managing this!

How, in the name of all that is good and holy, do I possibly powerwash a Chromebook if the Refresh key doesn't work short of replacing the entire keyboard (budget is EXTREMELY tight)? Are there no alternate methods to powerwashing an Acer Chromebook???

PLEASE, please please please, let me know if anyone has any information on this. Thanks!

Balatekie

Hi @Wiseguyz23,

As F3 (Refresh) button is broken, I recommend you to create recovery drive of Chrome OS using a Windows OS or Apple OS or Linux machines. 

To download a new copy of the Chrome OS

On the working computer (not the Chromebook with the issue):

1. If you're using a Mac or PC:
   1. If you haven't yet, install Chrome.
   2. Open Chrome .
   3. Install the recovery app.
2. Open the recovery app.
3. Click Get started.
4. Click Select a model from a list, or type in the model number of the Chromebook you want to recover. To find this number, look at the bottom of the error message on your Chromebook screen.
5. Click Continue.
6. Insert your USB flash drive or SD card into the computer.
7. In the dropdown menu, choose the USB flash drive or SD card you inserted.
8. Click Continue.
9. Click Create now.
10. When you see a message saying that your recovery media is ready, remove the USB flash drive or SD card from the computer.
11. Then connect it to the Chromebook which has issue and load the fresh image of Chrome OS to it. 

SOURCE: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1080595?hl=en