The first step to install Gallium OS on my Chromebook was to enable Chrome OS developer mode. You do have to get hands dirty (at the command line) to get things configured correctly.Ĭhromebooks ship with custom firmware that doesn’t let you boot from a USBĪlso, the more recent a Chromebook is, the more hassle it is to load an alternative OS (assuming the hardware is supported by the Linux kernel at all which, despite best efforts, is not a given). Thankfully the reality (for me) wasn’t quite that bad.Ĭhromebooks do ship with custom (and in some cases locked down and read-only) firmware. Stories of bricked devices, broken hardware, and needing to dive into the guts of a machine to extract write protection mechanisms from the motherboard! When researching how to install Linux on a Chromebook I have to confess that the process read like a horror show. While it retains an eerie echo of usability, don’t be fooled: it vanishes under scrutiny, giving way to a sense of deep despair…Īll of the above is a long-winded way of me saying this addled Chromebook is ripe for sacrifice. Background extras on The Walking Dead exhibit more energy than this thing. Using Chrome OS on this Chromebook is painful. Thirdly, and most importantly, is the performance aspect. It was supposed to stop getting Chrome OS updates in June (but this was postponed for a year). We’re talking ‘cob-webbed and comatose’ old. Which brings me to my second point: this is an old Chromebook. Side-note: Google has made it possible to run Linux apps on Chromebooks but these use a separate OS container and the feature is not supported on older models. You can’t install alternative desktop environments or other web browsers or any other sort of ‘traditional’ app directly. This zombie-slow Chromebook is ripe for sacrifice – and I’m happy to be the one doing it!įirstly, Chrome OS doesn’t work like a regular Linux distro. I’ll get to what Gallium OS is in a bit, but first I need to answer the question you’re probably thinking in your head: “Chromebooks run Chrome OS. Thankfully I didn’t need any spare body parts or a maniacal god complex for my resurrection, just a few choice terminal commands and an Ubuntu-based Linux distro called Gallium OS. Alright, I’m not exactly Dr Frankenstein, but I did exhume the corpse of a forgotten Chromebook from its eternal resting place (my bookcase) to enact a macabre ritual.
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