15 ms·

Can one wipe out a Chromebook and install Linux?

pervycreeper 12y ago
Yes, but distro and kernel maintainers don't seem to think that supporting chromebooks is a worth their time, so don't expect it to be a smooth process out of the box.
Zikes 12y ago
Or dual-boot, even. http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-run-both-chrome-os-and-ubuntu-on-a-chromebook/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-run-both-chrome-os-and-ubu...
- discardorama 12y ago
  From that link: "you must download a tool known as Crouton, which will allow Ubuntu to run on top of Chrome OS" No, I don't want to run Ubuntu on top of of Chrome OS; I want to completely wipe out Chrome.
  - mattl 12y ago
    Yeah, you can. Usually you unscrew the laptop, remove a screw on the motherboard and you get SeaBIOS and you can install any distro you want.
  - rogerbinns 12y ago
    Think of it as using the ChromeOS kernel (which suits the hardware configuration perfectly) and then running the Ubuntu userspace (which co-exists with the Chrome OS userspace). Even if you don't use the Chrome OS userspace much, removing it won't save you enough to make it worth it.
  - dsl 12y ago
    Yes, there are plenty of howtos on how to do this. The only downside is you have to enable developer mode, so you lose trusted boot.
  - badsock 12y ago
    It depends a bit on the model, but in general yes you can. I haven't done it on a Chromebook, but I've completely wiped out ChromeOS and ran Arch on an Asus Chromebox (using instructions meant for the very similar C300 Chromebook). Worked perfectly, great little machine. Only hiccup was I had to flash a custom bios.
green7ea 12y ago
Yes you can but it's not a straightforward process. I did it for my chromebox which follows the same procedure as doing it for a chromebook. Basically you have to open the machine and remove a screw to enable write access to the bios. After that you have to replace the coreboot bios that came with the computer with a newer coreboot version and install SeaBios (old bios emulation on top of coreboot) as a payload. You could also have a linux kernel as a payload but this was more complex and I didn't need faster boot times. Once all this is done, the laptop behaves much like any other laptop except you have an open source bios. You can then install linux on it from a USB key like you would on any other device. I imagine the quality of the drivers depends on which chromebook you use. I hear the chromebook pixel has excellent support and that's no surprise as that's what Linus uses (or used to, I'm not sure if he changed).
- S4M 12y ago
  That's great, thanks for the explanation. Does the battery life stays the same with Arch?
- jolan 12y ago
  These are ARM Chromebooks though so there is no conventional bios to flash. They have u-boot with support for booting external media turned off so all you need to do is turn that on and make bootable media. http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/samsung/samsung-chromebook-2 http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/samsung/samsung-chro...
  - pgeorgi 12y ago
    Recent ARM Chromebooks also come with coreboot.
toast0 12y ago
Note that these are arm based; the intel based ones are more amenable to running alternate OS.
yellowapple 12y ago
Yes, if you put the Chromebook into "Developer Mode" first; searching for "chromebook linux" should do the trick (skip the stuff about Crouton). Note that the selection of Linux distros for ARM Chromebooks (like both of the $149 models) will be quite a bit slimmer.

Yes, but distro and kernel maintainers don't seem to think that supporting chromebooks is a worth their time, so don't expect it to be a smooth process out of the box.

Zikes 12y ago

Or dual-boot, even. http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-run-both-chrome-os-and-ubuntu-on-a-chromebook/ http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-run-both-chrome-os-and-ubu...

discardorama 12y ago
From that link: "you must download a tool known as Crouton, which will allow Ubuntu to run on top of Chrome OS" No, I don't want to run Ubuntu on top of of Chrome OS; I want to completely wipe out Chrome.
- mattl 12y ago
  Yeah, you can. Usually you unscrew the laptop, remove a screw on the motherboard and you get SeaBIOS and you can install any distro you want.
- rogerbinns 12y ago
  Think of it as using the ChromeOS kernel (which suits the hardware configuration perfectly) and then running the Ubuntu userspace (which co-exists with the Chrome OS userspace). Even if you don't use the Chrome OS userspace much, removing it won't save you enough to make it worth it.
- dsl 12y ago
  Yes, there are plenty of howtos on how to do this. The only downside is you have to enable developer mode, so you lose trusted boot.
- badsock 12y ago
  It depends a bit on the model, but in general yes you can. I haven't done it on a Chromebook, but I've completely wiped out ChromeOS and ran Arch on an Asus Chromebox (using instructions meant for the very similar C300 Chromebook). Worked perfectly, great little machine. Only hiccup was I had to flash a custom bios.

green7ea 12y ago

Yes you can but it's not a straightforward process. I did it for my chromebox which follows the same procedure as doing it for a chromebook. Basically you have to open the machine and remove a screw to enable write access to the bios. After that you have to replace the coreboot bios that came with the computer with a newer coreboot version and install SeaBios (old bios emulation on top of coreboot) as a payload. You could also have a linux kernel as a payload but this was more complex and I didn't need faster boot times. Once all this is done, the laptop behaves much like any other laptop except you have an open source bios. You can then install linux on it from a USB key like you would on any other device. I imagine the quality of the drivers depends on which chromebook you use. I hear the chromebook pixel has excellent support and that's no surprise as that's what Linus uses (or used to, I'm not sure if he changed).

S4M 12y ago
That's great, thanks for the explanation. Does the battery life stays the same with Arch?
jolan 12y ago
These are ARM Chromebooks though so there is no conventional bios to flash. They have u-boot with support for booting external media turned off so all you need to do is turn that on and make bootable media. http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/samsung/samsung-chromebook-2 http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/samsung/samsung-chro...
- pgeorgi 12y ago
  Recent ARM Chromebooks also come with coreboot.

toast0 12y ago

Note that these are arm based; the intel based ones are more amenable to running alternate OS.

yellowapple 12y ago

Yes, if you put the Chromebook into "Developer Mode" first; searching for "chromebook linux" should do the trick (skip the stuff about Crouton). Note that the selection of Linux distros for ARM Chromebooks (like both of the $149 models) will be quite a bit slimmer.