When Linux loads make sure you can connect to the internet (I am using my trusty USB to Ethernet hub combo for a wired connection).
Now on startup, if you press Ctrl+L, you will get the BIOS screen instead of Chrome OS.Īt this stage most of the work is done and all that’s left is to install Linux:.Power off the Chromebook by typing in sudo poweroff.Sudo crossystem dev_boot_usb=1 dev_boot_legacy=1 Press Ctrl+Alt+F2 at the Chrome OS login screen.Press Ctrl+D at the initial startup screen to load Chrome OS.Let’s turn on the Ctrl+L functionality next: Pressing Ctrl+D at the screen with the red exclamation mark on startup will take you to your Chrome OS install but pressing Ctrl+L will take you to the BIOS screen to boot from your USB drive.Choose the option to Modify my Chromebook’s RW_LEGACY slot and follow the on-screen instructions.Paste the commands into the terminal and press Enter.Press Ctrl+Alt+T to bring up a terminal window tab.Once complete, open a new Chrome tab and go to John’s website, at the bottom of the post (before the comments section) copy the commands.Your Chromebook is reset to factory settings so you will need to go through the Chrome OS setup again.
Turn the Chromebook on and press Ctrl + D to bypass the screen with the red exclamation mark.Let’s now modify the BIOS to allow us to install Linux. Developer mode is now enabled, power off the Chromebook.īy enabling developer mode, your Chromebook will always display the screen with the red exclamation mark on startup.The Chromebook will reboot and you’ll see the screen with the red exclamation mark. You will see a timer counting down in the top right hand corner of the screen.On the next screen press Ctrl+D to bypass this message.
It’s a good solution because it doesn’t stick out of the side of the Chromebook too much and costs only around $30. USB 3.0 drives provide fast read/write speeds and a compact one like the SanDisk 128GB Ultra Fit is the one I chose. This means I’ll leave the Chrome OS install on the internal drive and install Linux on a always plugged in USB 3.0 thumb drive. Check this post out if you or looking to dual boot on your internal Chromebook drive. With only a 16GB internal drive on the Chromebook, it’s not worth partitioning it for the Linux install and so I’m using a USB 3.0 drive instead.
In short, the process is very similar to John’s script.
You will find it here with ample explanation about how to use it. It is based on John’s work but includes more options and features.
Update: Please use Mr Chromebox’s BIOS mod instead of John’s. You may find my post about the difference between BOOT_STUB and RW_LEGACY useful as well. For dual booting on a Chromebook you should use the RW_LEGACY BIOS mod. John has provided some great resources on his site along with the modified BIOS needed to make installing Linux on a Chromebook possible.