I am always looking for different ways that I can extend the capability of my Chromebook. It’s not that I don’t like Chrome OS, but sometimes I need to launch a C compiler or run java apps when I am away from home. I might even get in the mood to play Minecraft during a long car ride. Luckily, there is an easy answer to all of this. Install Linux on your Chromebook. This might sound very hard and technical, but it’s not. All of the hard work has been done by a script that automates the process. All you have to do is download the script and run it with your configurations.
To do this, you will need to make sure that you have developer mode enabled on your Chromebook. Check my tutorial if you have not done this yet. We are going to be using the popular script called crouton to install Ubuntu on your Chromebook. This will not erase any data, and will allow you to switch back and forth between Chrome OS and Ubuntu.
What You Will Need:
- Crouton File
- Chromebook
- Internet Connection
Step 1: Crouton
On your Chromebook, download the crouton file. Then open up terminal by typing in CRTL + ALT + T. Inside of terminal type in the following:
shell
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r trusty -t xfce
Trusty is the version of Ubuntu I am going to download. Of course, you can replace this with any version version of Ubuntu that you desire. Xfce is the desktop environment that I am choosing to use. Again, you are free to choose whatever environment that you desire.
Optional: Crouton Integration
In the Chrome Web store, there’s an extension called crouton integration. Once installed, it will allow you to open up Ubuntu in its own window within Chrome OS. Therefore you could treat it just like any other fullscreen app. The advantage to this is that you can still use all the controls (such as volume and brightness) from Chrome OS inside of Ubuntu. You would also have access to all of your Chrome apps while running Ubuntu. After you download the plugin, install your chroot with the xiwi target:
sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r trusty -t xfce,xiwi
If you already have Crouton installed, you can update it with the integration using the following command:
Step 2: Setting up Ubuntu
After the installation is complete, you can boot into the graphics by typing in:
sudo startxfce4
Replace xfce4 with the desktop environment that you chose. Alternatively, if you just want to enter the chroot without the graphics type in:
sudo enter-chroot -n trusty
Again, replace trusty with the Ubuntu distribution that you choose.
Finally, don’t forget to perform an update on all the packages once your are inside of Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
To install the software center, enter:
sudo apt-get install software-center
And that’s it, how to install Ubuntu 14.04 on Chromebook. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.