Arch Linux

remn

Member

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 37

[Solved] Arch USB not booting on chromebook

I'm trying to install Arch on a HP Chromebook 14, using the instructions from the wiki:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Chrome_OS_devices

I was able to enter dev mode and get root access. I think I was also able to enable SeaBIOS because I didn't get an error message when I ran the command from the wiki:

# crossystem dev_boot_usb=1 dev_boot_legacy=1

However, when I try the next step of rebooting and typing

Ctrl + L

at the white splash screen, it just beeps without rebooting, then loads Chrome OS. I've tried the same thing with a couple other linux distros on USB drives, and none of them will boot. I tried my Arch usb on another computer and it booted fine. Any way to get my chromebook to boot into Arch, so I can install arch on the Chromebook? I don't want to use Crouton becaue I want to entirely remove Chrome OS.

Last edited by remn (2016-02-29 05:30:13)

remn

Member

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 37

Re: [Solved] Arch USB not booting on chromebook

Do I need to disable hardware write protection to get it to work this way? I thought that was only to get it to boot by default into SeaBios, but now I'm wondering if that's required for the "Ctrl + L" option to work. Right now when I hit those keys it just beeps twice without rebooting.

remn

Member

Registered: 2015-10-01

Posts: 37

Re: [Solved] Arch USB not booting on chromebook

I found the write-protect screw, here's a link to a pic of where it is:

http://i.stack.imgur.com/Ymx2R.jpg

Here are some useful instructions that should work for most chromebooks:

https://johnlewis.ie/custom-chromebo.../rom-download/

The arch wiki is over a year out of date on chromebooks, I'll see if I can update it, that might be useful for people. Chromebooks are a great option for cheap linux rigs.