Introduction: ChromeBook, as a machine positioned for business and student entry, seems outdated in the current year of 2023; it is even close to extinction after its exit from the Chinese market. However, some models for special needs still offer great value for money.
As a dumpster diver, the author often explores many "foreign garbage" on second-hand platforms. And one day, a machine called ASUS ChromeBook C302 caught my attention. Let's take a look at its configuration:
Previously, the author always thought that ChromeBook only existed on Google's Pixelbook models, just like Microsoft's Surface Pro; in fact, mainstream OEM manufacturers—such as American conscience, socialist Dai, HP, Acer, Asus, Samsung, and so on—have all released Chromebooks.
But this ASUS machine truly impressed me: a silver-white all-metal shell with excellent texture, a 360-degree flip touchscreen, up to 10 hours of battery life, and a weight of only 1.15 kilograms. It's the perfect combination of a lightweight laptop and a tablet! The only downside is that it has few interfaces, with only two type-C ports, one 3.5mm headphone jack, and an SD card slot, which seems a bit lacking. In terms of performance, the combination of Intel m3-6y30 and 8+32G can only be considered passable.
However, as a combination of touchscreen and flipbook, this price is extremely practical as a reader, internet device, and video player. After Kindle exited the Chinese market, the e-reader market became chaotic, with high prices and low-end models flooding the market. The general tablet ecosystem and smartphones are repetitive and expensive. If there is no need for gaming, ChromeBook is a good choice.
So, let's see how it performs in reality. The first thing that catches the eye is the classic Chrome OS interface. Here, please note that login requires a Google account (Gmail email). If you don't have one temporarily, you can log in using guest mode, where all operations will not be saved on the hard drive (seemingly protecting privacy). After logging in to Google, you can see its complete ecosystem, including native Play Store, Chrome browser, Gmail, and more. So, what can you do with ChromeBook?
1. Enter developer mode to install ARM software:
Assuming you already have a Google account and have deployed OpenWrt in previous blog posts, you can now connect your Chromebook to the internet through global science. Then, log in to your account, and you have completed the first step. Next, remove the back cover and unscrew the BIOS write protection screw on the motherboard. Note that when removing the back cover, there are two screws hidden under the upper foot pad, which need to be removed with a tool before removing these two screws. There are no screws under the two lower foot pads. As shown in the figure:
Then, open the back cover and remove the large screw in the indicated position (under the skin):
After that, put the back cover back on, hold down the Esc key and the "Refresh" key on the keyboard, and then press the power button. This way, the Chromebook will enter "recovery" mode:
Then, simultaneously press the Ctrl key and the D key on the keyboard:
Press Enter, and the system will restart. At this time, there will be a "beep!" BIOS prompt sound.
Then, wait for Chrome OS to reset.
After the reset is complete, you will see the following interface. From now on, press Ctrl+D every time you start up to enter the system:
Then, in the Settings-Advanced section, you can see that the developer mode is enabled. At this time, you can install other apps transferred to ChromeOS.
Attached are the reader and video effects:
2. Install other systems
If you don't like ChromeOS or need a Linux environment, you can try installing other systems, such as FydeOS or Manjaro. Let's take the crouton script as an example (requires global science):
Here is the GitHub address of the crouton project: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton
Since we have entered developer mode, open the ChromeOS browser and simultaneously press Ctrl, Alt, and T to open a command line window. Enter the command "shell" and press Enter. Then, the real command line of Linux will appear. After that, install crouton. If you downloaded crouton using ChromeOS, the file should be in the ~/Downloads directory. Execute the command:
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r list
This will list all available distribution versions. Like Ubuntu, Debian, Kali, and so on. Then, use the command to list all available components for installation:
sudo sh crouton -t list
This includes various desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE, XFCE, LXDE, and so on. We choose the lightweight LXDE:
sh crouton -r stretch -t lxde
Then, set the username, password, and so on. After the installation is complete, enter the command in the Linux shell of ChromeOS:
sudo startlxde
to start Linux.
In fact, the principle of crouton is based on a technology in Linux called chroot. In a Linux system, it can switch the root directory (i.e., /) of the Linux system to an isolated and independent environment, which is a virtual root file system separate from the main system. Crouton utilizes this point to switch the root directory of ChromeOS to the specified file that has another system installed. Moreover, two features are present: Linux can enjoy the driver support of ChromeOS without worrying about driver issues, and it uses the system kernel of ChromeOS.
Due to the overly streamlined kernel, some services may not run. In this case, we can use the second method: flashing the BIOS to install the system.
We enter the Linux shell, insert an empty USB flash drive, and enter the following command:
cd
curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh
sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 firmware-util.sh
sudo firmware-util.sh
After the script starts successfully, you will see the following interface:
Choose the option marked "Full ROM" and follow the prompts to back up and flash the BIOS. Then, reboot, and you can follow the normal installation process (use Rufus to write the ISO for booting).
Note: You need to delete the hard disk partition of the ChromeBook first; only UEFI boot is supported, and the Windows driver is not complete.
Afterword: The suitability of a device is always relative. As long as it meets the requirements, there is no need to pursue the perfection of the tool too much.