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Now more than ever, ChromeOS is Linux with Google’s desktop environment
(www.aboutchromebooks.com)
this post was submitted on 01 Oct 2023
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Does this mean I can reasonably expect to buy a Chromebook and install vanilla Linux without huge headaches?
There’s always been Linux distros that targeted Mac hardware. There’s got to be something like that for chromebooks, right?
The issue is that Google locks down the bootloader. Nothing prevents the compute and display hardware from running a traditional Linux distribution, but that "trusted" bootloader does.
You can install vanilla Linux, but huge headaches are involved.
I did it, and it worked, but I had to open is and remove a foil (equivalent to a jumper), go to developer mode, then flash a new bootloader by running a script from GitHub.
Think flashing a ROM on a pretty locked down Android device.
The upside is that when the process is done, you have a regular PC and no need to do any cumbersome process again.
Chromebooks use some custom tailored coreboot variant, right? Not surprising that they've locked it down while they were at it.
Not even remotely. It requires custom firmware which often requires physical disassembly to install. From there you can install any distro, but you will continue to have many small issues and inconveniences often due to the nonstandard keyboard.
There was a Chromebook targeted Linux distro called eupnea that could be installed without custom firmware via depthboot, but it's dead now and the original repo got deleted after the Dev got hacked, so the build scripts don't work anymore.
No, this isn't something you can expect.
There used to be a distro called Gallium OS, but it's been dead for a couple years now.
Why would you not be able to? Isn’t a chromebook just a laptop with garbage specs?
Not really. A Chromebook to a laptop is basically what a gaming console is to a desktop pc. Yes, it shares a lot of hardware, and the ISA too these days, but even then a lot of it might be trimmed down without any notice, or on the software side, you might be locked into what you get. They did make it easier to install Linux flavors, bit you still get what you get
the true wysiwyg device
There are actually Chromebooks with very solid specs, but no, it isn't that simple. They have custom firmware and components that often don't play well with Linux, or Windows for that matter.
Okay, thanks for clearing this up. Chromebooks have turned me off since their inception, I just assumed since they are made by regular laptop companies that they are plain old low-spec machines running a lightweight OS with minimal functionality.
Not always, I have one with an amd chipset that I can't get Linux on (last time I checked).
You have to open them up and remove a screw then install different firmware.
The dell Chromebook 11 I got from eBay for under £20 was easy to get it working on though.