- Can You Install Ubuntu On Chromebook
- Install Ubuntu On Chromebook Pixel
- Install Linux On Chromebook 2017
Chromebooks are amazing little machines. They are a marvel of speed and simplicity. The Acer C720 Chromebook is certainly near the top of the list of Chromebooks to be purchased (next to the Chromebook Pixel, of course). It’s speedy and it’s inexpensive. But for some, the simplistic nature of the devices doesn’t offer enough power or flexibility. For those who need more from this Acer platform, I have the answer – in fact, I have two answers:
Some users may want to install a full linux OS like ubuntu, in this article we’re going to show you how to install ubuntu on your chromebook using the Crouton (Chromium OS Universal Chroot Enviroment), they are an easy to use chroot generator. How to Install ubuntu on Chromebooks. Again, replace trusty with the Ubuntu distribution that you choose. Finally, don’t forget to perform an update on all the packages once your are inside of Ubuntu: sudo apt-get update. Sudo apt-get dist-upgrade. To install the software center, enter: sudo apt-get install software-center. And that’s it, how to install Ubuntu 14.04 on Chromebook.
- Install Ubuntu.
- Install Bodhi Linux.
Both solutions will land you with a full-blown Linux set up, ready to do what you need to do. But the process isn’t exactly as simple as slapping a USB flash drive in, booting, and installing. There are a few tricks to get this working. In the end, you’ll wind up with either a dual booting Chromebook (in the case of ChrUbuntu) or a single boot system (with Bodhi). With the dual boot, you retain the simplicity of ChromeOS, with the addition of the power and flexibility of Ubuntu. The Bodhi installation will give you more space for your Linux needs, at the cost of ChromeOS.
First things first
Before you install Linux, I highly recommend creating a recovery USB flash drive. Chromebook offers a simple solution for this. Just follow these steps:
Can You Install Ubuntu On Chromebook
- Boot up your Chromebook and login
- Plug in a spare ~2GB+ USB flash drive
- Open the Chrome browser
- Go to chrome://imageburner
- Follow the simple instructions.
When all is said and done, you’ll have a recovery drive to use to get your system back where it was (should you not like either Linux install or something goes wrong).
Now, it’s time to start the process.
Boot into Recovery mode
- Make sure Chromebook is turned off
- Hold Escape and Refresh and tap the Power button
- When the device reaches the recover screen, press Ctrl+d and then (after releasing Ctrl+d) press Enter
- The system will reboot (this will take some time)
- When the system finally boots to the set up, select a wireless connection and click continue
- Accept the EULA by clicking Accept and continue
- Once you reach the Google login screen, do NOT log in
- Press Ctrl+alt+ → (not the right cursor key, but the key where the standard F2 key would be)
- At the login, type chronos and hit enter (no password is needed)
You are now ready to begin the installation process.
Install Ubuntu using ChrUbuntu
You should now be at the command prompt on your Chromebook. Here, type:
Make sure you get this command exactly right. Once you’ve done that, you will be asked to configure a size for the Ubuntu installation. This will obviously depend upon the size of SSD on your Chromebook. The recommended is 24. After you type the size and hit enter, the device will reboot a couple of times. This process is setting up the Stateful partition to make room for ChrUbuntu. Eventually it will come back to the Chromebook setup screen. Once again, configure your network and then hit Ctrl+alt+ → at the login screen. Log back in as chronos and then type the original command again:
This time around, the installation process will begin. Hit Enter (when prompted) and watch the fun begin! During the installation process (it will take quite some time), you may be prompted for:
encoding
locale
language
You will also have to decide where to place GRUB. You must check the box next to /dev/sda, or the boot process will not work. NOTE: During my installation process, this step was skipped. I assume the install script has been updated to automatically set the location of GRUB.
After the Ubuntu files have been downloaded and installed, the script will finally prompt you to reboot. When you reach the developers screen, hit Ctrl+L and ChrUbuntu will start up (or Ctrl+d to boot Chrome).
To log into your Ubuntu system, use the credentials:
After the Ubuntu files have been downloaded and installed, the script will finally prompt you to reboot. When you reach the developers screen, hit Ctrl+L and ChrUbuntu will start up (or Ctrl+d to boot Chrome).
To log into your Ubuntu system, use the credentials:
username: user
password: user
Your Ubuntu Chromebook should be ready to go, complete with LibreOffice and a number of other tools (Figure 1).
Bodhi Linux
Now, let’s install Bodhi Linux. This flavor of Linux is a very minimalist take on an already minimalist platform and will give you an incredibly fast and efficient machine.
The first thing you need to do is enable the Legacy Bios Mode – this will allow you to boot from a USB flash drive.
The first thing you need to do is enable the Legacy Bios Mode – this will allow you to boot from a USB flash drive.
- Follow the steps above to boot into recovery mode
- Log into your Chromebook as normal
- Open a crosh window with Ctrl+Alt+t
- At the crosh prompt, type shell and hit Enter
- Become the super user with the command sudo bash
- Enter the command crossystem dev_boot_usb=1 dev_boot_legacy_1
Exit out of bash with the exit command and then close the Chrome browser
Now you can boot your Chromebook from a USB flash drive.
The next step is to create a USB flashdrive with the proper Bodhi image. The developers (specifically Jeff Hoogland) have created an Acer 720-specific image that you can download here. Once you’ve downloaded that file, insert a USB flash drive, open up a terminal window, change to the directory where the Bodhi iso is located, and issue the command:
(where X is the drive letter of your USB flash drive).
Unmount and remove that flash drive and insert it into one of your Chromebooks USB ports. Boot the device and then, at the startup screen, press Ctrl+l to boot from the legacy BIOS. When prompted, hit Esc to enter the boot menu and select 1 for the USB drive. At this point, boot the Live Bodhi instance and then walk through the standard installation process. You can allow Bodhi to take the entire drive, or set it up to dual boot (Figure 2).
You will need to hit Ctrl+l every time you boot – there is no work around for this at the current time.
Restoring
Should anything go wrong, you have your restore USB drive. To use this, follow these steps:
- Boot the machine
- When you see Chrome OS is missing or damaged, insert the USB flash drive
- Wait for the Chromebook to boot from the flash drive
- Follow the instructions for recovery
If you’re looking for a way to supercharge your Acer C720, you now have the means. Whether you want a stripped-down, lightning-fast Bodhi-based Chromebook, or a full-blown Ubuntu-based Chromebook, you can stretch the limits of that device or even go back to the original set up. If you do opt to stick with either Bodhi or Ubuntu on your Chromebook, you might want to invest in a 64 GB SD card for some extra space.
Now playing:Watch this: Install Ubuntu on a Chromebook
You've probably heard a lot about Chromebooks. These affordable computers are manufactured by companies like HP, Acer, Toshiba, and Samsung, among others, and run Google's cloud-based operating system known as Chrome OS, which relies on an Internet connection to run most apps.
The big appeal for these computers are their price tags, with most models retailing for under $400 and some even dipping as low as $179. Many people aren't aware, however, that Chromebooks are capable of doing more than just running Web apps. In fact, you can run both Chrome OS and Ubuntu, a popular Linux operating system, on a Chromebook. Here's what you need to know.
Choosing the right model
Any Chromebook is capable of installing Ubuntu, however I recommend using a model that is equipped with an Intel processor. Chromebooks that include an ARM processor will not be compatible with a majority of Linux programs. You will have a more enjoyable experience if you use a newer model with better internal hardware.
It will also help to use some sort of external storage such as a flash drive or an SD card for more space to install any additional programs.
The process
Install Ubuntu On Chromebook Pixel
The first thing you must do is enable the Chromebook's Developer Mode, but be aware that this will erase anything you may have saved to the device's internal storage. Press and hold the Esc and Refresh keys, and then press the power button. The Chromebook will reboot into Recovery Mode.
A yellow exclamation point will appear on the screen with a warning message, press the Ctrl and D keys simultaneously to continue to the next screen. Press the keyboard's Enter key to turn OS verification off and confirm the decision to turn on the Chromebook's Developer Mode. A red exclamation point and a warning that OS verification has been turned off will be displayed on the screen, followed by two loud beeps, this is normal.
Sit back and wait as this process could take up to 10 minutes to complete. Don't panic if you see a red exclamation point after Developer Mode has been enabled, the system will reboot back into Chrome OS shortly.
You will be required to input your network credentials and login information after the Chromebooks reboots. After doing so, you must download a tool known as Crouton, which will allow Ubuntu to run on top of Chrome OS. Save the file to your download folder and then open the Chromebook's terminal by pressing the Ctrl, ALT, and T keys together.
Type 'shell' in the command line and hit the Enter key. Next, type 'sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -t unity' and wait for Crouton to install. If your Chromebook has a touch screen use the command 'sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -t touch,unity' instead.
You will be asked to enter a username and password once the installation process is complete. This is separate from your Chrome OS login and will be used inside of the Ubuntu operating system. To enter Ubuntu type the command 'sudo startunity' into the terminal.
Install Linux On Chromebook 2017
Click on the first icon on the left-hand side of the screen and search for the terminal. Once inside of it, type 'sudo apt-get update' in the command line to update the operating system. When that's complete, type 'sudo apt-get install software-center,' this will allow you to easily install a wide variety of Linux programs. You can open the software center and search for the specific program you want, or you can download programs from the Web and install them through the software center.
Tips
To get back to Chrome OS from Ubuntu, press the Ctrl, Alt, and Back keys together. Moving from Chrome OS to Ubuntu can be done by pressing Ctrl, Alt, Forward, followed by Ctrl, Alt, and Refresh. On a model with an ARM processor, use Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Back, and Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Forward to move back and forth between both operating systems.
You can also open the Chrome OS terminal and type 'shell' in the command line, followed by 'sudo startunity,' either method works. One thing you will notice is that it now takes longer for the Chromebook to power on. When you see the yellow exclamation point, simply press the Ctrl and D keys to speed up this process.
Uninstalling Ubuntu
The best part about this how-to is that it's completely worry-free. Whether you are unhappy with Ubuntu, running out of space, or want to return your Chromebook back to its original factory state, it takes only a couple of seconds to undo the entire process.
Restart the computer and press the spacebar when you see the red exclamation point. Press the Enter key to turn OS verification back on; this will once again erase anything stored on the device's internal storage. The system will reboot back into Chrome OS; enter your network credentials and log in to your Google account to begin using your Chromebook again.