How to Install Linux on Your Chromebook – Guide
If you want to go beyond the Android extensions and apps that Chrome OS offers, there are a few ways to get Linux up and running to make your Chromebook more versatile. Chromebooks are amazing little machines. Since they run a basic operating system with just a browser on top, they are often inexpensive, low-power, and incredibly useful. However, if you want to go beyond the Android extensions and apps that Chrome OS offers, installing Linux is your best bet. By accessing Linux-based apps, you can make your Chromebook much more versatile than it was before. However, installing Linux is not a simple process and you will need a few things before you start. Here is what you need and how to define everything up.
What do you need
To get Linux running on your Chromebook, in almost all cases, we recommend that you have a few items: An Intel-based Chromebook. Technically, some of these methods might work on ARM-based machines, but you’ll be more limited in the applications you can run. To really unlock your Chromebook’s potential, you’ll want one using an Intel processor. Our favorites include the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, Dell Chromebook 11 (3100) and the HP Chromebook x360 14c. Some Linux chops. We can guide you through the basic steps to get up and running, but to actually use Linux, you’ll need some basic knowledge of how the operating system works, including the command line. If you’re still a beginner, you can get a lot of help from the Ubuntu forums and Linux subreddits. A recovery disc. Before you start tinkering with your Chromebook, I recommend installing the Chromebook Recovery Utility and creating a recovery disc. You will need a flash drive with 4GB of space or more; you will be happy to have it on hand in case something goes wrong and you want to reverse the process. Nerves of steel. Only one of these methods is officially supported by Google. The other two require you to put your Chromebook into developer mode (which creates a slightly less secure environment if you’re careless). No matter what you decide to do: proceed with caution and know that there is always the possibility of something breaking! (Hence the recovery disk recommended above.) Still want to move on? Alright, let’s do this.
Install Linux apps with Crostini
Google’s official method for installing Linux apps is called Crostini – although you might just find it labeled Linux on your device – and it allows you to run individual Linux apps directly on the Chrome OS desktop. Since these apps are inside their own little containers, it’s pretty secure, and if something goes wrong, the Chrome OS desktop shouldn’t be affected. At Google I/O 2021, Google said that Linux is finally coming out of beta after three years, so things should be pretty stable. Linux should work for all devices released since 2019, but if your device is older, there is an official list of compatible Chromebooks. To start Crostini, click on the clock in the lower right corner of the screen and select the Settings icon. Scroll down to the Linux development environment setting – if you don’t see it, your Chromebook isn’t supported and you’ll need to use one of the other two methods below. If you see this option, click the Activate button and click Install in the next window to activate the feature. After allocating the necessary disk space for Linux, you will see a Linux Terminal. From there, type the following two commands, pressing Enter after each one: sudo apt update sudo apt update These commands ensure that all your Linux software is up Until the present date. At the moment this only means software that runs the underlying Linux system, but you can also run these commands in the future to update your Linux applications.
GIMP
Speaking of Linux apps, let’s install one. We’ll use GIMP for this example, as – let’s be honest – that’s probably why half of you are reading this anyway. Run the following command: sudo apt install gimp Of course, you can replace the gimp in this command with the package name of any application you want to install. Once you’ve done that, you should be able to open Chrome’s app launcher, scroll down to the Linux apps folder, and launch GIMP (or any other apps you’ve installed) from there.
linux folder
Note that your Linux apps can’t access your Chromebook’s normal folders, so if you want to open a downloaded file in Chrome, you’ll need to drag it to the new Linux Files folder in your Chrome OS file manager. If you have problems, the /r/crostini subreddit is a good place to call for help. Get a full Linux desktop with Crouton
linux crouton
If your Chromebook doesn’t support Crostini, you can install an Ubuntu desktop alongside Chrome OS with an unofficial chroot environment called Crouton. It’s extremely fast and easy to set up. up, and most users will probably end up up going that way. To install Crouton, you’ll need to put your Chromebook into developer mode. This will erase all your files and settings, so come back up anything that is not yet synced to the cloud. When you’re done, turn off your Chromebook, hold down Esc and Refresh, and press the power button button. In the recovery screen that appears, press Ctrl+D and then press Enter when asked if you want to turn off OS check. From now on, you will need to press Ctrl + D every time you boot your Chromebook and see the OS check screen. Chrome OS terminal Once you’re back in Chrome OS, download Crouton by clicking the link at the top of this page. Then press Ctrl + Alt + T to open the Chrome OS terminal, type shell and press Enter to open a shell. Then run the following command, which copies the Crouton installer to the / usr / local / bin folder, where it can be run: sudo install -Dt / usr / local / bin -m 755 ~ / Downloads / crouton Then run this command to install Crouton with the XFCE desktop environment (if you have another environment of your choice, you can replace it here): sudo crouton -t xfce This process will take a while, so be patient. Finally, when that’s done, you can log into your Linux desktop by running: sudo enter-chroot startxfce4 You can switch between Chrome OS and Linux desktops with Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Back and Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Forward on your keyboard – no reboot required. On the Linux desktop, you can install applications, customize your workspace and basically live your life within that Linux environment. The Crouton GitHub readme contains some information about other things you can do to improve this setting, like sharing your clipboard between environments, updating your Ubuntu version, supporting up your data and enabling encryption for your Linux setup (which is highly recommended as this process is inherently less secure than an uncontaminated Chrome OS). This is where command-line chops come in handy! If you want to go back to a pure Chrome OS setup, shut down your Chromebook and restart it up holding down the Esc key and Refresh while pressing the Power button button. Insert the recovery drive you made (you made one as we recommend, right?) and follow the instructions to start from scratch. Dual Boot Chrome OS with Gallium (For Enthusiasts)
gallium
This is where things get a little more complex. If you want to run Linux independently of Chrome OS – maybe you don’t really want Chrome OS, or maybe you want a separate environment that you can tinker with without jeopardizing your Chrome installation – you can install Linux in a more traditional way by partitioning the drive and booting it twice with Chrome OS. Note that this will require dedicating a little extra space for installing Linux, which may not be easy on Chromebooks with small amounts of storage. This will also wipe your device, so come back up important files now before continuing! For Linux dual booting, I recommend a tool called chrx, which will guide you through the necessary steps. By default, chrx installs GalliumOS, a lightweight Xubuntu-based distribution that is customized for low-power Chromebook hardware. If you want things to be as fast as possible, GalliumOS is a great choice. However, chrx can also install Ubuntu and Fedora (in addition to Ubuntu derivatives like Lubuntu and Kubuntu) if you prefer. Before using chrx, you will need to enable developer mode, as we did when installing Crouton. You may also need to disable write protection and install custom firmware on your laptop, depending on your CPU. Check this page for compatibility information regarding your laptop and what you need to do. (This custom firmware also allows you to completely wipe Chrome OS and install Linux yourself, if you prefer that over dual boot.) chrx Once that’s done, press Ctrl + Alt + T to bring up up a terminal, type shell and press Enter. Run the following command to prepare your Chromebook for installation (using these flags if you want to install a different distribution or adjust other settings): CD ; curl -The https://chrx.org/go && sh go The chrx installer will guide partitioning your drive before rebooting, at which point you can open a terminal and run the command again to install Linux. Once finished, the Chromebook will restart and you can press Ctrl + L at startup to boot to your chosen Linux distribution (or Ctrl + D to boot to Chrome OS). You may need to tinker with software and drivers a little more with this method, but if you’re a Linux veteran, you won’t have too many problems – and you will. up with a clean system that you can customize to your heart’s content.
Final note
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