Not sure about the Chromebook. I bought this to off-load pics and videos when traveling. So far, if you insert an SD card or a microSD card in an adapter, it copies everything on the card so you can reuse the card for more. Also, it does not copy files already on the HD. And you can see the drive from a smart phone or computer, so in that case I guess it would work as an external HD on the chromebook. Hope this helps.