If you're about to comment "ChromeOS is Linux", skip it and just watch the video. I go into what I mean pretty early in the video. "ChromeOS is Linux" in the same way "Android is Linux" or "WSL is Linux": an academic way that has little bearing on my day-to-day use for a laptop. Edit: also, yes I know the "Linux Mint Edge" ISO exists. I decided not to recommend that because, according to them: "The Edge ISO image is not as stable as the other ISOs and may not support as many proprietary drivers."
We realy have a serious smart-ass problem in our profession 😂- so no wonder, non tech-people are not interesstet to lern/become more souveren in tech-stuff. If there is always a tech smart-ass with a ego-problem, who needs to profile himself, with "actuaaaaalyyyyyyy" 🙄 That's, why i love your channel, I love ur attitude and as a teacher in softwaredevelopment I follow the same path. It's more importand to understand the concepts, than "use the exact right wording".... these are only importand for the exam/test 😂(which in my opinion only tests, if you can past the test, and not any qulification...). Espacly because in general, every framework needs to invent new terms for pre-existing things, so they are unique and may set the standard (I think, these are ideas from marketing, rather then from tech-people) My fav. example: "Promis"/"Task"/"Future" Which all is the exact same thing in diffrent programing-languages.... So cool! So unique. So diffrent. SO DISRUPTIV! I hate the colleagues in my profession... 😂
@@thebristolbruiserI say "Linux" because it's what the general population says. I don't need to change my wording to be clearly understood. It's not a slam on GNU, I'm just not a pedant.
Such a weird coincidence, my friend was asking me yesterday if I can install linux on her Acer Chromebook, since Google has discontinued support. I said I wasn't sure and I'd check it up. Then BAM you're in my recommendations today :D Thanks for your videos, they're great!
Hahaha, nice timing! Well, you've checked it up now, I guess! :D (Or at least started that process.) I hope you're able to get things done for her smoothly!
I'm glad you found my video! If you want to watch my videos via RSS feed or on Mastodon, I have a PeerTube set up at tinkerbetter.tube. PeerTube, at present, doesn't seem to spy on you to serve you content! :P
I was also pulling apart a donated Acer Chromebook manufactured in 2020 and end of life in 2022. Two years?? Then scrap heap?? Nope. Not if I can save it! Then Blam! Veronica Explains is right in the feed. Awesome timing, Veronica. You have save me from hours of connecting dots. Also, I will have to look at PeerTube as YT is creeping on me a bit much. 😂
Couple years ago, I was given 10 chromebooks to install Linux to from my teacher. I tried contacting the school board to request the enterprise enrolment to be removed from them but then I found the mrchromebox firmware and with a USB eeprom programmer, had them all booting into linux in no time. The chromebooks then went onto serve the class once again!
@@braelinmichelus As someone who used to do Gentoo installs for fun, Arch made the PTSD well up instantly. Thankfully, yes, they've really simplified it as of late.
You rock our world, Veronica. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise... AND for the inspiration and the laughs. Your skills and your irreverent and DFWM attitude is always a delight (see: the "meeting you halfway..." parenthetical comment. Perfect!) Be well! xoxo, Allen & Mike 😍👍
My sister had an old Chromebook she discarded, and I kept. I don't know if these hacks will return this little lost device to some functionality, or when I might attempt it. But I want to thank you, ma'am , for your clear and functional explanation of the process. I especially love that you are straightforward and friendly in your video. I've had it up to my nostrils with the (almost exclusively) male techs forcing their egos and pretensions on their viewers. They are trying to be the Jealous Gods of TH-cam, like they were Gordon Ramsey with a soldering iron. Your approach is a ray of sunshine. Thank you and bless you.
When I read on Patreon that you were playing around with some Chromebooks, I immediately went to my step daughter's room to find her old Chromebook from high school. An ASUS C202S with the big thick blue rubber bezel going around the whole thing. I had a blast getting coreboot working and Mint XFCE. Albeit the device is slow and I had to use a flash drive to store /usr and /home since the eMMC filled up rather quick, this is one of my favorite machines to use now since the keyboard is great. This is a fantastic use of these devices. So glad you back the MrChromebox and Chultrabook community. Good peoples.
Ah yes, brings back memories when I liberated my old(2016ish) 16gb emc 2 gigs ram chromebook and documented the whole process. Interesting to see how the newer generations get unlocked nowadays. We had limited selection of distros back then too but for different reasons (no sound and non functional touchpad and keyboard mismapping) After liberating my chromebook, the battery life actually got better on linux and it ran smoother and I use that old boy till this day and it runs like clockwork. Thanks for the video
I bought an Acer C720p Chromebook back in early 2014, and I later did this, installing Linux with the default firmware, but later I installed Core boot on it by removing the protection screw. I used that Chromebook with Debian Linux up until last month due to it literally falling apart, love that little guy!
Similar timeline for me on an HP 14 Chromebook. Awesome journey running all types linux desktops on chroots that the crouton project allowed. Finally switched to Coreboot that allows for OS's running the latest kernels a few years back - in fact i am typing this on Ubuntu 22.04 on the Chromebook.
I also bought a C720. I installed Gallium on it kind of arbitrarily and it's done everything I've asked of it for almost 10 years, including fitting in the small backpack I use as my everyday bag.
I already know my Chromebook isn't supported, I fully just watched this because I love your videos. Your whole vibe is so simultaneously positive, serious, and silly. I feel like I'm in a class with my favorite teacher.
I'm content with my current laptops (none of them Chromebooks) but I watched this all the way through just for your personality, energy, intelligence, and sense of humor. I always feel better after viewing one of your presentations!
I like that your show explicitly lacks paid product placement. Thanks for keeping it real. Furthermore, thanks for making all of this wonderful content.
Your Chrultrabook tutorial was both informative and fun! Your clear instructions and eco-friendly approach to repurposing Chromebooks for Linux made the process a joy. Thanks for turning tech into an adventure while helping us save the planet, one Chromebook at a time! 🌎
So I managed to beat all odds when I used this guide. Not only did I manage to install Linux mint, but I managed to get it running with working sound right from the START. It seems that the latest version of mint, which is version 22, has upgraded its kernel to 6.8, so she can install! I did take some effort to get her to work, but oh man I’m so glad it did. My little Samsung ChromeBook 2, also known as the “XE500C12”. I got that old girl for Christmas all the way back in 2014, and 10 years later I decided it’s time she got a new lease on life! Thank you so much for this great guide!
I legit just got done installing Linux completely on my old chromebook a week ago. Google stopped supporting it so I wanted to save it from the landfill. Very glad to see you make a video about this subject, a lot of devices can be saved from turning into e-waste!
Congrats for that amazing chrultrabook experience.. I happen to be given a lenovo Chromebook 2 years ago and keep it safe inside a cabinet.. so it's time to give it a try and see if it can be reused and given to someone who might need an operative machine in 2024.. Best wishes and hugs from Chile.
"Dont rush out and buy a brand new Chromebook for this kind of project", that is exactly what I did, found a brand new open box on ebay for $200, installed Fedora but it didn't work really well for my use case as I only needed it to do some streaming, so I reverted it to the original firmware with no issues, anyhow, you gave me a good project for the weekend, thanks
As someone who was using those very articles almost a decade ago, and getting frustrated in the process, it warms my heart to see it's actually possible for old Chromebooks to get some new life.
@@famousmwofficial8046 other than running Debian in a VM, I don't think GNU is used at all, lol. Edit: ChromeOS does use GNU Bash but not really much more than that.
Jeez when I bought this chromebook I didn't realize it would be this involved to get arch on it, but thank you and thank the chrultrabook community, wish me luck
super super cool. I've been vaguely pondering this for a while. Not sure I'll actually ever do it, but I'm glad you've had success doing so, and that there's a community of folks doing it. Certainly if some old chromebooks fall into my lap somehow, I'll very much consider it.
I've had good luck getting Peppermint Linux running 95% properly out of the box on old Chromebooks. Mostly just had to remap some of the keys (volume, brightness) and nearly everything worked after a clean install.
The only reason I would dual boot would be so you can still watch Amazon Prime in a way that is enjoyable. Linux is forbid anything but a 480p stream that still has compression issues. It, of course, won't matter to everyone. It is, however, why I haven't done this process on mine.
I've converted a few Chromebooks to Linux, but needed a refresher. Thank you. I have a couple more that are giving me anxiety attacks, but I will get to them.
Who would have thought projects about freeing a device from Google would have hard time being found with Google search result, lol. But I am glad you got to highlight them.
The mrchromebox script is also useful for installing ChromeOS Flex on devices that have reached EOL. I did this to an Asus Chromebook and it worked well, though I had to use a USB device for audio output. I also find it really annoying you have to take most of these machines apart to remove the write protection. I'm totally blind and not really into tinkering with the hardware directly, but I had help for this part of the process.
@@draoi99 Yes .I got a good deal on a HP C640 Chromebook , but I'm checking if audio would work before a get it..I hope the project goes on , it's a real cool project , and that it gets Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distros support.
Great video. I hope you will make a GRUB video. I find the GNU GRUB docs impenetrable. Those wizards who built and troubleshoot GRUB seem to be unable to explain it to the rest of us.
Veronica you are awesome! Thank you for this video! - For fans of linux mint you can get the "Edge" version of Mint. It uses Kernel version 6.5 as opposed to 5.15. I had to wait a day to comment this so I could test it out on my own Lenovo Ideapad 3 (Lick model). I followed along Veronica's video with the UEFI firmware replacement, and I worked quite well. I am enjoying my Linux mint on my Ideapad that was otherwise destined for the trash bin.
I love it when people use proprietary stuff like Chromebooks in a way contrary to what was intended. You're exercising your freedom to bust outside of the Microsoft/Apple/ChromeOS tri-opoly, and I appreciate that very much.
I've had a hell of a time putting Linux on a Lenovo ThinkPad x131e. Love the form-factor, but the hardware lock has proven hard to actually disable for older methods of Linuxing a Chromebook. This may actually work for my use case! You've done it again, Veronica! You're always teaching me new things!
I believe the x131e is the exact model I used the MrChromebox tools on last year. I don't recall any problems and now it runs Linux Mint just fine. I did swap the 16GB mSATA for a 64 GB one to gain some extra space but this isn't strictly necessary.
I had a similar issue with Audio after installing Gallium on my old Chromebook, I found that installing the OS without selecting to download updates cleared the issue and it works and sounds great
I'm so glad this video came up. I've always been extremely disappointed with the idea of throwaway landfill laptops. This is exactly the kind of work I approve of. Excellent video!
I’ve been seriously considering getting a compatible ARM Chromebook and flashing it with Libreboot and a compatible distro. Making stuff do things that they weren’t originally designed to do is fun!
@@adamdrake3290 MediaTek ones will give you best experience, though keep in mind it's still early days so support is nowhere near x86 level :) MT8183 works pretty well, this weekend I'll be working on MT8186 bring-up.
Veronica, I had Linux running on my Acer C710 chrome book for 10 years until it died November 10th 2023. I had even replaced the 320gb hard drive with a 500GB Samsung EVO860 SSD. It served me well.
I just did this yesterday to four chromebooks donated to a shelter my wife and I volunteer at. They (except one) only have 16g drives in them. There are 20 more for me to work with. But I need a linux so small I could put the shelter's required Chrome browser on it and still have room for things to work well. At this moment I'm typing on a Chromebook I bought for $5 at a yard sale and also turned into a Linux laptop. It has 16g ssd and about 80% of it is full running Mint Cinnamon's latest version.
Also for an easier route. You can get near new Lenovo 300w devices for less than €200. The 'w' stands for Windows to differentiate from almost the same device as Chromebook. They're MilSpec made-for-school laptops. Students hate them since Windows stutters on these like mad. Takes forever to boot as well. I run Fedora on mine.
I recently bought a Lenovo ThinkPad A285 (Ryzen 5 PRO 2500U model) for really cheap. I installed Linux Mint to it and it works so well, it feels like it was meant for the device. Even got the fingerprint sensor working!
I shoved BodhiLinux, using SeaBIOS, on to a second-hand Chromebook in about 2013. They might let me out of the facility next year. This will be of value to people following that path, and I love your delivery.
I love that this project is being showcased more and more nowadays, Chrultrabook revived my HP Chromebook 11 G5 ee, a slow, low end Chromebook from 2016. Even with its low end specs, it has become my daily driver on the go as I dont need much more than a netbook OTG.
This is exactly what I've been wanting to do with a couple of my old Chromebooks. I like Chromebooks for what they are. However, once they're out of support... You get the idea. Anyway, thanks for this. It's really great to hear your positive and enthusiastic take on Linux technology.
Thank you so much for this Video! I have now turned my old Chromebook into a Linux machine. Which has now boosted it usability. Wouldn't have done it (successfully) without finding this Video.
I have seen situations where schools have made students buy chromebooks themselves and refused to let them have other laptops because of chrome os lockdown. I could see the dual boot option being what those students would want to retain control of their device while not on school hours. I do not condone modifying hardware you do not own such as chrombooks provided by the school without express written permission.
Although I've no interest in actually doing this, it was an interesting watch. Thank you, Veronica. I keep coming back to debian 12 KDE desktop after forays into fedora, kubuntu, arch, neon etc... My favourite organisation is booting from zfs using zfsboot, which makes keeping multiple bootable OSs on the same pool trivial. Part of the reason I thought to mention this is that zfsboot is (or can be) an EFI program, which means there's no other bootloader (i.e. grub) involved. And now definitely TLDR - getting to that point takes some prep. Generally I install the OS on a scratch disk, then manually create the zfs pool, copy the OS to a dataset in the zfs pool, mount and chroot, adjust fstab (no / to mount), download zfs boot manager, run some efibootmgr command to install it as the default startup and reboot. This whole process has created much harmless amusement for me.
I use an old chromebook as a headless debian server running my open vpn server. works great. I have done this twice myself. In both cases I needed to remove a "write screw" from the motherboard before being able to install a new bios.
I understood you installed debian on a chromebook, i started debian 12.5 bookworm stable installer but when i click install it boot loops like it reboots, i can access grub terminal please give me the commands to fix this. :)
I understood you installed debian on a chromebook, i started debian 12.5 bookworm stable installer but when i click install it boot loops like it reboots, i can access grub terminal please give me the commands to fix this. :)
I've never had a Chromebook, but I can imagine a couple of reasons for dual booting: - I wanted a full linux system available but had not finished learning everything I wanted to about the features and limitations of ChromeOS. - I wanted to do some A/B comparison testing, like for performance or something? - I wanted to gather ChromeOS screenshots for documenting processes on true ChromeOS? - Sharing the machine with someone familiar with ChromeOS who was not interested in their experience changing? The firat reason would be the most likely for me, although I might also make the choice you did. Cheers.
I literally have a shelf full of old chromebooks from a company my company acquired. we will NEVER use them and I could do this to the one I carry around for VM use. Thank you for this video!
I have an 11" Asus C202sa that I really liked using (loved the size and battery life). I should take it out of storage now that I've learned it's a supported device - might try Fedora on it. Related: last year I bought a thin client running ChromeOS and replaced it with another OS - FreeDOS, as I wanted to see if it would natively support some of my old DOS game favorites (it does). Anyway, thank you for letting us know about Chrultrabook, I will be putting that knowledge to good use soon!
Never seen this channel before, but what a lovely host! Knows what she's talking about, clearly a nerd, and a very charming speaker! Very cool channel! :D
I found one of the rare i3 chromebooks with removable/upgradeable storage with a 1080p 100% sRGB display and put mx linux (debian 12 bookworm) on it. What a find lol, it's basically a decent little laptop now and under 30 dollars in a lot. Repasted it too. Honestly I feel super lucky to have found a model like that, it even has the SD card slot.
Thanks to this video, I have liberated an old Dell Chromebook and I'm putting SuSE on it as I speak. Thanks for inspiring me to do something that reminds me of the old days of IT. You're also starting to inspire me to quit my also totally unsatisfying day job. :)
Guess I got lucky with this HP Chromebook I did this to and put LMDE on. It has Linux 6.1.0 on it. I guess I should upgrade the kernel to one that's supposed to be supported! My other Chromebook is an outmoded ARM model. I picked the HP up open-box just to experiment. Good result so far!
Just bought a couple lots of old chromebooks off ebay about a month ago to tinker with this. Worked out to only $15 per machine, so pretty good price for a basic little system. Even set one up in the shop where I work since we needed a machine for simple tasks and the environment is kind of rough to waste money on a standard system.
I tried exactly that about 2 months ago with my Chromebook and since then Antix Linux (which is based on Debian) runs without any problems - even the sound works perfectly even if it was mentioned differently in the description. :)
Very cool info! I didn't realise that chrultrabook was a thing but having recently had a fight to make my old HP Stream 7 tablet more useful by installing Linux this seems quite easy.
I just got the hp Dragonfly Pro chromebook yesterday, and it's my first chromebook ever. I've always used Windows. I don't regret it at all. Thanks for the video.
Haiku works on my Dell Chromebook 13 (model 7310) I made into a TRUE Linux machine back in 2020 using MrChromebox-4.11.2 BIOS. Currently it's running Kubuntu 23.10. On a whim I installed Haiku onto the Dell on a 128 GB micro-SD card in the micro-SD slot. Now I dual boot Linux or Haiku via BIOS selection. Haiku's only issue is no touchpad support so I use a USB mouse. -- But all basic computer needs are there and work (keyboard, video, audio, USB, headphone port, & wifi.)
Thanks for sidestepping my expectations from the thumbnail before watching, I never even considered this possible future for my old unsupported Gnawty devices.
As a fan of ThinkPads, this made me drool to give it a try. Then again, I'm perfectly fine with my X240 and X250 for what I do with these. Wish more people would and could make use of these projects, it's crazy that Google stops supporting hardware which basically does nothing but to display a webpage.
Great, Thank You! I'm running a dell 3100 (GRABBITER) I had already set up a mint 22 flash drive with etcher before you got me past the WP so I tried it anyway. everything seems to be good. Thanks again!
that was some legit troubleshooting like I would do in that situation! I feel like most youtubers would just say they couldn't get it to work. It's good to show people who are learning how to solve a problem when the first internet search result isn't a step by step guide. Also, a nice organized breakdown on grub would be nice! If it breaks I generally just mess with it until it works for some reason and then try not to look at it too hard.
7:55 to be able to use an od that does not take up much battery for when you’re away from power, and a full Linux experience for when you have extra juice
Also as a browser device, they pair with android really well being able to seamlessly connect text messages and hotspot tethering very easily. Like a Mac for android.
Really nice. Keep up your work on promoting hardware for linux and linux in general. I recently also installed Linux on a device not meant for it, but it wasn't a chrome book. I specifically wanted a 2in1 device and MS Surface Pro was my way to go for the great build of the hardware. Luckily, dedicated people, like you, were so dedicated to build support and documentation on how to do it.
I would love to see a Windows SSH version to show the nuances involved. Copy-id is not supported in windows but there are workarounds. Your videos are very informative and a nice sense of humor to keep it interesting.
Your video was very helpful. Trying to read the MrChromebox documentation to learn how to do this was painful. After watching your video, I can actually understand the documentation. You picked a perfect subject to cover. Now I'm running Pop! OS on my Acer Chromebook 315 from 2020. Thanks.
im so glad theres been more progress accross the years, i put arch linux on my chromebook and its just been hell as someone who just hates updating so much(so much time and tedious actions)
I wouldn't go near a Chromebook under threat of capital punishment. But I must say, it was fascinating. Sharing your knowledge and experience is notable in these days of proprietism. And saving the planet at the same time. You are a gem Veronica. I would suggest the Title: Linux Chromebook, It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.
Great video! A few years ago I bought a HP chromebook with the idea of trying out chrome os & maybe installing linux. I knew about mrchromebox but it took a couple of years before firmware was released for my chromebook model. I had to use the battery disconnect method but it all went extremely smoothly. It now runs Linux Mint xfce like a charm!😀
when dabbling with old underpowered EOL'd chromebooks I found that (ironically enough) a lightweight desktop linux install (xfce or the like) with an installed copy of the latest mainline firefox significantly improved overall performance and stability for heavy-ish web multitasking. I'd be a whole lot the same could probably be said about more mainstream premium notebooks as well.
This was interesting information, I didn't know priorly that it's possible to install an open Linux distro into a Chromebook, and also good to know what to look for in the device specifications if pursuing such path. Those few years old x86 laptops provide excellent value for money, perfectly capable for web browsing and office work kind of workloads.
Thank you for this video. I've had a Samsung Chromebook Pro that went out of OS support last year but is still a fantastic machine that didn't need to get thrown out. I've been sitting on it for awhile to determine if I wanted to bother going down this road. Turns out that removing the Write Protect screw is a major hassle on this device, requiring me to remove the entire motherboard to remove the heatsink from the reverse side so I could insulate one of the mounting posts and not reinstall that screw for the heatsink, but was able to successfully do it. Now I'm back running a patched version of ChromeOS Flex, just like I wanted!
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If you're about to comment "ChromeOS is Linux", skip it and just watch the video. I go into what I mean pretty early in the video.
"ChromeOS is Linux" in the same way "Android is Linux" or "WSL is Linux": an academic way that has little bearing on my day-to-day use for a laptop.
Edit: also, yes I know the "Linux Mint Edge" ISO exists. I decided not to recommend that because, according to them: "The Edge ISO image is not as stable as the other ISOs and may not support as many proprietary drivers."
Why don’t you just say GNU/Linux if that is what you mean?
We realy have a serious smart-ass problem in our profession 😂- so no wonder, non tech-people are not interesstet to lern/become more souveren in tech-stuff. If there is always a tech smart-ass with a ego-problem, who needs to profile himself, with "actuaaaaalyyyyyyy" 🙄
That's, why i love your channel, I love ur attitude and as a teacher in softwaredevelopment I follow the same path. It's more importand to understand the concepts, than "use the exact right wording".... these are only importand for the exam/test 😂(which in my opinion only tests, if you can past the test, and not any qulification...).
Espacly because in general, every framework needs to invent new terms for pre-existing things, so they are unique and may set the standard (I think, these are ideas from marketing, rather then from tech-people)
My fav. example:
"Promis"/"Task"/"Future"
Which all is the exact same thing in diffrent programing-languages....
So cool! So unique. So diffrent. SO DISRUPTIV!
I hate the colleagues in my profession... 😂
"Come on! Who threw that? Who threw that stone? Come on. -- Go to the back. -- Always one, isn't there? Now, where were we?" 😜🤣😂
@@motoryzen It’s four extra characters, it isn’t that inconvenient to acknowledge the work of the GNU project in creating a free operating systems.
@@thebristolbruiserI say "Linux" because it's what the general population says. I don't need to change my wording to be clearly understood.
It's not a slam on GNU, I'm just not a pedant.
"It's my choice, and I made it" = good. The facial expression sending that point home = priceless
Came here to say this knowing it had already been said!
Don't have a chrome book, don't plan on getting one, but watched this all the same because I enjoy your videos :)
same
lol. true. but also I always get to learn something new.
Exactly the same for me as well lol 👍
You never know when one will fall into your lap, so file this away.
Likewise. Not on my short list, but if a Chromebook magically appears in my house, it’s a good candidate for making it really useful 👨🏼🏫
Such a weird coincidence, my friend was asking me yesterday if I can install linux on her Acer Chromebook, since Google has discontinued support. I said I wasn't sure and I'd check it up. Then BAM you're in my recommendations today :D Thanks for your videos, they're great!
Hahaha, nice timing! Well, you've checked it up now, I guess! :D (Or at least started that process.) I hope you're able to get things done for her smoothly!
There are no coincidences. The devices are listening to you!
I'm glad you found my video! If you want to watch my videos via RSS feed or on Mastodon, I have a PeerTube set up at tinkerbetter.tube. PeerTube, at present, doesn't seem to spy on you to serve you content! :P
I was also pulling apart a donated Acer Chromebook manufactured in 2020 and end of life in 2022. Two years?? Then scrap heap?? Nope. Not if I can save it! Then Blam! Veronica Explains is right in the feed. Awesome timing, Veronica. You have save me from hours of connecting dots. Also, I will have to look at PeerTube as YT is creeping on me a bit much. 😂
There are no coincidences. The devices are spying on you.
Using that Fender pick to remove the NVMe cover is peak awesomeness.
Couple years ago, I was given 10 chromebooks to install Linux to from my teacher. I tried contacting the school board to request the enterprise enrolment to be removed from them but then I found the mrchromebox firmware and with a USB eeprom programmer, had them all booting into linux in no time. The chromebooks then went onto serve the class once again!
thats based
i like how veronica casually flexes about being able to install arch
They actually fixed the automated installer so it actually works now.
So actually, installing Arch is dead simple now!
@@braelinmichelus As someone who used to do Gentoo installs for fun, Arch made the PTSD well up instantly. Thankfully, yes, they've really simplified it as of late.
You rock our world, Veronica. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise... AND for the inspiration and the laughs. Your skills and your irreverent and DFWM attitude is always a delight (see: the "meeting you halfway..." parenthetical comment. Perfect!) Be well! xoxo, Allen & Mike 😍👍
Thanks for the positivity in the comments! Always a breath of fresh air, and I'm glad you two are enjoying the videos! :)
I like the choice of books holding the laptops up!
My sister had an old Chromebook she discarded, and I kept. I don't know if these hacks will return this little lost device to some functionality, or when I might attempt it. But I want to thank you, ma'am , for your clear and functional explanation of the process. I especially love that you are straightforward and friendly in your video. I've had it up to my nostrils with the (almost exclusively) male techs forcing their egos and pretensions on their viewers. They are trying to be the Jealous Gods of TH-cam, like they were Gordon Ramsey with a soldering iron. Your approach is a ray of sunshine. Thank you and bless you.
When I read on Patreon that you were playing around with some Chromebooks, I immediately went to my step daughter's room to find her old Chromebook from high school. An ASUS C202S with the big thick blue rubber bezel going around the whole thing. I had a blast getting coreboot working and Mint XFCE. Albeit the device is slow and I had to use a flash drive to store /usr and /home since the eMMC filled up rather quick, this is one of my favorite machines to use now since the keyboard is great. This is a fantastic use of these devices. So glad you back the MrChromebox and Chultrabook community. Good peoples.
Looking Forward to the Haiku Video 😃
Ah yes, brings back memories when I liberated my old(2016ish) 16gb emc 2 gigs ram chromebook and documented the whole process.
Interesting to see how the newer generations get unlocked nowadays. We had limited selection of distros back then too but for different reasons (no sound and non functional touchpad and keyboard mismapping)
After liberating my chromebook, the battery life actually got better on linux and it ran smoother and I use that old boy till this day and it runs like clockwork.
Thanks for the video
I bought an Acer C720p Chromebook back in early 2014, and I later did this, installing Linux with the default firmware, but later I installed Core boot on it by removing the protection screw. I used that Chromebook with Debian Linux up until last month due to it literally falling apart, love that little guy!
Similar timeline for me on an HP 14 Chromebook. Awesome journey running all types linux desktops on chroots that the crouton project allowed. Finally switched to Coreboot that allows for OS's running the latest kernels a few years back - in fact i am typing this on Ubuntu 22.04 on the Chromebook.
I also bought a C720. I installed Gallium on it kind of arbitrarily and it's done everything I've asked of it for almost 10 years, including fitting in the small backpack I use as my everyday bag.
I already know my Chromebook isn't supported, I fully just watched this because I love your videos. Your whole vibe is so simultaneously positive, serious, and silly. I feel like I'm in a class with my favorite teacher.
I'm content with my current laptops (none of them Chromebooks) but I watched this all the way through just for your personality, energy, intelligence, and sense of humor. I always feel better after viewing one of your presentations!
I like that your show explicitly lacks paid product placement. Thanks for keeping it real. Furthermore, thanks for making all of this wonderful content.
14:38 the dance on the screen reflection shows you like Fedora 😁
I thought about putting Linux on my old Chromebook, I had no idea that there would be so many quirks. Anyhow, thanks for going down the rabbit hole!
Your Chrultrabook tutorial was both informative and fun! Your clear instructions and eco-friendly approach to repurposing Chromebooks for Linux made the process a joy. Thanks for turning tech into an adventure while helping us save the planet, one Chromebook at a time! 🌎
So I managed to beat all odds when I used this guide. Not only did I manage to install Linux mint, but I managed to get it running with working sound right from the START. It seems that the latest version of mint, which is version 22, has upgraded its kernel to 6.8, so she can install! I did take some effort to get her to work, but oh man I’m so glad it did. My little Samsung ChromeBook 2, also known as the “XE500C12”. I got that old girl for Christmas all the way back in 2014, and 10 years later I decided it’s time she got a new lease on life! Thank you so much for this great guide!
I legit just got done installing Linux completely on my old chromebook a week ago. Google stopped supporting it so I wanted to save it from the landfill. Very glad to see you make a video about this subject, a lot of devices can be saved from turning into e-waste!
Congrats for that amazing chrultrabook experience.. I happen to be given a lenovo Chromebook 2 years ago and keep it safe inside a cabinet.. so it's time to give it a try and see if it can be reused and given to someone who might need an operative machine in 2024.. Best wishes and hugs from Chile.
"Dont rush out and buy a brand new Chromebook for this kind of project", that is exactly what I did, found a brand new open box on ebay for $200, installed Fedora but it didn't work really well for my use case as I only needed it to do some streaming, so I reverted it to the original firmware with no issues, anyhow, you gave me a good project for the weekend, thanks
As someone who was using those very articles almost a decade ago, and getting frustrated in the process, it warms my heart to see it's actually possible for old Chromebooks to get some new life.
I've got a Chromebook and I really like the mix of Chrome OS, Android and GNU/Linux all on one device. 😊
@@famousmwofficial8046 other than running Debian in a VM, I don't think GNU is used at all, lol.
Edit: ChromeOS does use GNU Bash but not really much more than that.
Jeez when I bought this chromebook I didn't realize it would be this involved to get arch on it, but thank you and thank the chrultrabook community, wish me luck
super super cool. I've been vaguely pondering this for a while. Not sure I'll actually ever do it, but I'm glad you've had success doing so, and that there's a community of folks doing it. Certainly if some old chromebooks fall into my lap somehow, I'll very much consider it.
I've had good luck getting Peppermint Linux running 95% properly out of the box on old Chromebooks. Mostly just had to remap some of the keys (volume, brightness) and nearly everything worked after a clean install.
This is awesome! I have a few old Chromebooks and will look into this. Today is my birthday and this video seems like a really cool present! Thanks!
The only reason I would dual boot would be so you can still watch Amazon Prime in a way that is enjoyable. Linux is forbid anything but a 480p stream that still has compression issues. It, of course, won't matter to everyone. It is, however, why I haven't done this process on mine.
I'm a huge System76 fan. I love what they are doing with COSMIC. Also, I'm keeping an eager eye on Redux OS
I’m looking forward to their next version. Hope it’s Debian based and not Ubuntu.
My new favorite channel, binging your videos one after another!
I've converted a few Chromebooks to Linux, but needed a refresher. Thank you. I have a couple more that are giving me anxiety attacks, but I will get to them.
Who would have thought projects about freeing a device from Google would have hard time being found with Google search result, lol.
But I am glad you got to highlight them.
The mrchromebox script is also useful for installing ChromeOS Flex on devices that have reached EOL. I did this to an Asus Chromebook and it worked well, though I had to use a USB device for audio output. I also find it really annoying you have to take most of these machines apart to remove the write protection. I'm totally blind and not really into tinkering with the hardware directly, but I had help for this part of the process.
I love it! I just did this on an old Acer Chromebook, now running LMDE perfectly. WAY more portable than my 17" Ubuntu daily driver.
This is gold! I've been searching about how to run Linux on a Chromebook for sooo long! Great info as always thnx Veronica!
Take note that not all hardware is supported. I could put Linux on my Asus C434 but I would have no audio and there is no fix for that.
@@draoi99 Yes .I got a good deal on a HP C640 Chromebook , but I'm checking if audio would work before a get it..I hope the project goes on , it's a real cool project , and that it gets Ubuntu and Ubuntu based distros support.
Great video. I hope you will make a GRUB video. I find the GNU GRUB docs impenetrable.
Those wizards who built and troubleshoot GRUB seem to be unable to explain it to the rest of us.
Thrilling indeed. I think chromebooks are a key factor to make linux desktop a mainstream thing.
And the ugly google is taking advance on that and modifies gentoo to make their chromeOs sht
Certainly getting (nerdy) kids used to the terminal and some bash-like shell is a good gateway to greater things.
Disagree. I think its web-focused nature makes it inherently more locked down and there won't be the windows/macos power user to linux pipeline
Desktop GNU/Linux adoption is now 4%, ChromeOS 6%.
Veronica you are awesome! Thank you for this video! - For fans of linux mint you can get the "Edge" version of Mint. It uses Kernel version 6.5 as opposed to 5.15. I had to wait a day to comment this so I could test it out on my own Lenovo Ideapad 3 (Lick model). I followed along Veronica's video with the UEFI firmware replacement, and I worked quite well. I am enjoying my Linux mint on my Ideapad that was otherwise destined for the trash bin.
Practical Vim being the most prominent book propping up a Chromebook is the content I'm here for. ❤ vim.
I love it when people use proprietary stuff like Chromebooks in a way contrary to what was intended. You're exercising your freedom to bust outside of the Microsoft/Apple/ChromeOS tri-opoly, and I appreciate that very much.
I've had a hell of a time putting Linux on a Lenovo ThinkPad x131e. Love the form-factor, but the hardware lock has proven hard to actually disable for older methods of Linuxing a Chromebook. This may actually work for my use case! You've done it again, Veronica! You're always teaching me new things!
I believe the x131e is the exact model I used the MrChromebox tools on last year. I don't recall any problems and now it runs Linux Mint just fine. I did swap the 16GB mSATA for a 64 GB one to gain some extra space but this isn't strictly necessary.
I had a similar issue with Audio after installing Gallium on my old Chromebook, I found that installing the OS without selecting to download updates cleared the issue and it works and sounds great
I love watching your videos. they're comforting to watch.
I cast hugs and good vibes in your direction
I'm so glad this video came up. I've always been extremely disappointed with the idea of throwaway landfill laptops. This is exactly the kind of work I approve of. Excellent video!
I’ve been seriously considering getting a compatible ARM Chromebook and flashing it with Libreboot and a compatible distro. Making stuff do things that they weren’t originally designed to do is fun!
I’ve got a refurbished asus arm chromebook coming from Amazon tomorrow. Can’t wait to see if i can get Debian testing arm64 on it!
@@adamdrake3290 MediaTek ones will give you best experience, though keep in mind it's still early days so support is nowhere near x86 level :)
MT8183 works pretty well, this weekend I'll be working on MT8186 bring-up.
Veronica, I had Linux running on my Acer C710 chrome book for 10 years until it died November 10th 2023. I had even replaced the 320gb hard drive with a 500GB Samsung EVO860 SSD. It served me well.
I just did this yesterday to four chromebooks donated to a shelter my wife and I volunteer at. They (except one) only have 16g drives in them. There are 20 more for me to work with. But I need a linux so small I could put the shelter's required Chrome browser on it and still have room for things to work well. At this moment I'm typing on a Chromebook I bought for $5 at a yard sale and also turned into a Linux laptop. It has 16g ssd and about 80% of it is full running Mint Cinnamon's latest version.
Also for an easier route. You can get near new Lenovo 300w devices for less than €200. The 'w' stands for Windows to differentiate from almost the same device as Chromebook. They're MilSpec made-for-school laptops. Students hate them since Windows stutters on these like mad. Takes forever to boot as well. I run Fedora on mine.
I recently bought a Lenovo ThinkPad A285 (Ryzen 5 PRO 2500U model) for really cheap. I installed Linux Mint to it and it works so well, it feels like it was meant for the device. Even got the fingerprint sensor working!
I shoved BodhiLinux, using SeaBIOS, on to a second-hand Chromebook in about 2013. They might let me out of the facility next year.
This will be of value to people following that path, and I love your delivery.
I love that this project is being showcased more and more nowadays, Chrultrabook revived my HP Chromebook 11 G5 ee, a slow, low end Chromebook from 2016. Even with its low end specs, it has become my daily driver on the go as I dont need much more than a netbook OTG.
This is exactly what I've been wanting to do with a couple of my old Chromebooks. I like Chromebooks for what they are. However, once they're out of support... You get the idea. Anyway, thanks for this. It's really great to hear your positive and enthusiastic take on Linux technology.
Wow, what a neat project! _he says while being a docs contributor and a person crazy enough to hackintosh these things_
Thank you so much for this Video! I have now turned my old Chromebook into a Linux machine. Which has now boosted it usability. Wouldn't have done it (successfully) without finding this Video.
I have seen situations where schools have made students buy chromebooks themselves and refused to let them have other laptops because of chrome os lockdown. I could see the dual boot option being what those students would want to retain control of their device while not on school hours.
I do not condone modifying hardware you do not own such as chrombooks provided by the school without express written permission.
Although I've no interest in actually doing this, it was an interesting watch. Thank you, Veronica.
I keep coming back to debian 12 KDE desktop after forays into fedora, kubuntu, arch, neon etc...
My favourite organisation is booting from zfs using zfsboot, which makes keeping multiple bootable OSs on the same pool trivial.
Part of the reason I thought to mention this is that zfsboot is (or can be) an EFI program, which means there's no other bootloader (i.e. grub) involved.
And now definitely TLDR - getting to that point takes some prep. Generally I install the OS on a scratch disk, then manually create the zfs pool, copy the OS to a dataset in the zfs pool, mount and chroot, adjust fstab (no / to mount), download zfs boot manager, run some efibootmgr command to install it as the default startup and reboot. This whole process has created much harmless amusement for me.
I use an old chromebook as a headless debian server running my open vpn server. works great. I have done this twice myself. In both cases I needed to remove a "write screw" from the motherboard before being able to install a new bios.
I understood you installed debian on a chromebook, i started debian 12.5 bookworm stable installer but when i click install it boot loops like it reboots, i can access grub terminal please give me the commands to fix this. :)
I've been doing this for a while on my Samsung Chromebook. Been all over Linux with Debian, Fedora and Arch based distros on this Chromebook.
I understood you installed debian on a chromebook, i started debian 12.5 bookworm stable installer but when i click install it boot loops like it reboots, i can access grub terminal please give me the commands to fix this. :)
I've never had a Chromebook, but I can imagine a couple of reasons for dual booting:
- I wanted a full linux system available but had not finished learning everything I wanted to about the features and limitations of ChromeOS.
- I wanted to do some A/B comparison testing, like for performance or something?
- I wanted to gather ChromeOS screenshots for documenting processes on true ChromeOS?
- Sharing the machine with someone familiar with ChromeOS who was not interested in their experience changing?
The firat reason would be the most likely for me, although I might also make the choice you did. Cheers.
I have a Chromebook with Linux on it, its pretty cool
Thanks for making this video, Veronica. The process worked well on my out of support Acer!
Amazing things, as soon as I have a backup pc I'll also try that
I literally have a shelf full of old chromebooks from a company my company acquired. we will NEVER use them and I could do this to the one I carry around for VM use. Thank you for this video!
I have an 11" Asus C202sa that I really liked using (loved the size and battery life). I should take it out of storage now that I've learned it's a supported device - might try Fedora on it. Related: last year I bought a thin client running ChromeOS and replaced it with another OS - FreeDOS, as I wanted to see if it would natively support some of my old DOS game favorites (it does). Anyway, thank you for letting us know about Chrultrabook, I will be putting that knowledge to good use soon!
This video helped a lot. Managed to get Antix + fluxbox running which only takes up 200-250mb of ram. Helps a lot for 2gig models.
Never seen this channel before, but what a lovely host! Knows what she's talking about, clearly a nerd, and a very charming speaker! Very cool channel! :D
I found one of the rare i3 chromebooks with removable/upgradeable storage with a 1080p 100% sRGB display and put mx linux (debian 12 bookworm) on it. What a find lol, it's basically a decent little laptop now and under 30 dollars in a lot. Repasted it too. Honestly I feel super lucky to have found a model like that, it even has the SD card slot.
Thanks to this video, I have liberated an old Dell Chromebook and I'm putting SuSE on it as I speak. Thanks for inspiring me to do something that reminds me of the old days of IT. You're also starting to inspire me to quit my also totally unsatisfying day job. :)
Guess I got lucky with this HP Chromebook I did this to and put LMDE on. It has Linux 6.1.0 on it. I guess I should upgrade the kernel to one that's supposed to be supported!
My other Chromebook is an outmoded ARM model. I picked the HP up open-box just to experiment. Good result so far!
Just bought a couple lots of old chromebooks off ebay about a month ago to tinker with this. Worked out to only $15 per machine, so pretty good price for a basic little system. Even set one up in the shop where I work since we needed a machine for simple tasks and the environment is kind of rough to waste money on a standard system.
I tried exactly that about 2 months ago with my Chromebook and since then Antix Linux (which is based on Debian) runs without any problems - even the sound works perfectly even if it was mentioned differently in the description. :)
Awesome video, and it's super cool to know that there is an emerging community dedicated to making these things actually useful.
Very cool info! I didn't realise that chrultrabook was a thing but having recently had a fight to make my old HP Stream 7 tablet more useful by installing Linux this seems quite easy.
I just got the hp Dragonfly Pro chromebook yesterday, and it's my first chromebook ever. I've always used Windows. I don't regret it at all. Thanks for the video.
Did you convert it into Linux?
Haiku works on my Dell Chromebook 13 (model 7310) I made into a TRUE Linux machine back in 2020 using MrChromebox-4.11.2 BIOS. Currently it's running Kubuntu 23.10. On a whim I installed Haiku onto the Dell on a 128 GB micro-SD card in the micro-SD slot. Now I dual boot Linux or Haiku via BIOS selection. Haiku's only issue is no touchpad support so I use a USB mouse. -- But all basic computer needs are there and work (keyboard, video, audio, USB, headphone port, & wifi.)
All in on the GRUB video please Veronica. Top notch video as always!
Thanks for sidestepping my expectations from the thumbnail before watching, I never even considered this possible future for my old unsupported Gnawty devices.
As a fan of ThinkPads, this made me drool to give it a try.
Then again, I'm perfectly fine with my X240 and X250 for what I do with these.
Wish more people would and could make use of these projects, it's crazy that Google stops supporting hardware which basically does nothing but to display a webpage.
Great, Thank You! I'm running a dell 3100 (GRABBITER) I had already set up a mint 22 flash drive with etcher before you got me past the WP so I tried it anyway. everything seems to be good. Thanks again!
that was some legit troubleshooting like I would do in that situation! I feel like most youtubers would just say they couldn't get it to work. It's good to show people who are learning how to solve a problem when the first internet search result isn't a step by step guide.
Also, a nice organized breakdown on grub would be nice! If it breaks I generally just mess with it until it works for some reason and then try not to look at it too hard.
7:55 to be able to use an od that does not take up much battery for when you’re away from power, and a full Linux experience for when you have extra juice
Also as a browser device, they pair with android really well being able to seamlessly connect text messages and hotspot tethering very easily. Like a Mac for android.
Really nice. Keep up your work on promoting hardware for linux and linux in general. I recently also installed Linux on a device not meant for it, but it wasn't a chrome book. I specifically wanted a 2in1 device and MS Surface Pro was my way to go for the great build of the hardware. Luckily, dedicated people, like you, were so dedicated to build support and documentation on how to do it.
I would love to see a Windows SSH version to show the nuances involved. Copy-id is not supported in windows but there are workarounds. Your videos are very informative and a nice sense of humor to keep it interesting.
Found this channel today and found up in a rabbithole of information I never knew before.
A grub video would be amazing! Very interesting video, thanks for covering this.
Your video was very helpful. Trying to read the MrChromebox documentation to learn how to do this was painful. After watching your video, I can actually understand the documentation. You picked a perfect subject to cover. Now I'm running Pop! OS on my Acer Chromebook 315 from 2020.
Thanks.
im so glad theres been more progress accross the years, i put arch linux on my chromebook and its just been hell as someone who just hates updating so much(so much time and tedious actions)
Your a riot, keep it up. I wish I had found a write up this good when I did it a while back. Thank god tenacity pays off.
I wouldn't go near a Chromebook under threat of capital punishment. But I must say, it was fascinating. Sharing your knowledge and experience is notable in these days of proprietism. And saving the planet at the same time. You are a gem Veronica.
I would suggest the Title: Linux Chromebook, It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.
Great video! A few years ago I bought a HP chromebook with the idea of trying out chrome os & maybe installing linux. I knew about mrchromebox but it took a couple of years before firmware was released for my chromebook model. I had to use the battery disconnect method but it all went extremely smoothly. It now runs Linux Mint xfce like a charm!😀
Now I have another reason to buy another Thinkpad lol. Great video as always!
when dabbling with old underpowered EOL'd chromebooks I found that (ironically enough) a lightweight desktop linux install (xfce or the like) with an installed copy of the latest mainline firefox significantly improved overall performance and stability for heavy-ish web multitasking. I'd be a whole lot the same could probably be said about more mainstream premium notebooks as well.
Addicted to arch on an Acer C720. I learned nothing but still enjoyed the video lots!
Long time I did not use Linux, but watching Veronica is making me rethink my decisions 😏
This was interesting information, I didn't know priorly that it's possible to install an open Linux distro into a Chromebook, and also good to know what to look for in the device specifications if pursuing such path. Those few years old x86 laptops provide excellent value for money, perfectly capable for web browsing and office work kind of workloads.
Thank you for this video. I've had a Samsung Chromebook Pro that went out of OS support last year but is still a fantastic machine that didn't need to get thrown out. I've been sitting on it for awhile to determine if I wanted to bother going down this road. Turns out that removing the Write Protect screw is a major hassle on this device, requiring me to remove the entire motherboard to remove the heatsink from the reverse side so I could insulate one of the mounting posts and not reinstall that screw for the heatsink, but was able to successfully do it. Now I'm back running a patched version of ChromeOS Flex, just like I wanted!
I am here for the "Veronica tries out Haiku" video!