Chromebook (How to use and put Puppy on a Chromebook)

[bigpup]

gcmartin,

Thanks for the links.

That information is good if your Chromebook has the options.
Some do, some do not.

My second post "How to setup the Chromebook to boot Puppy" is basically trying to explain how this information applies to booting Puppy.

[peterw]

Hi

I have been using Puppy on an Acer C720 Chromebook for about 2 years now. I find that Puppy works very well on it apart from the touchpad and closing the lid. Fatdog has the touchpad working but it is not as good as when the Chromebook is using the ChromeOS system. My wife uses an HP14 Chromebook which is very good apart from some niggles but it does set a standard since it uses the same processors, etc.

I should also say that I have tried different distros on it and Ubuntu and Mint work well including the touchpad and lid closure. However, the touchpad is still not as good as with the ChromeOS. I have tried other distros as well including PCLinuxOS which has the touchpad working although it is not as good as the Ubuntu type Distros.

I have had the touchpad working in Puppy but to do that I had to to use the Woof-ce process and recompile the kernel to include the drivers for the touchpad, etc. It was still not as smooth as the ChromeOS but it was usable. My OS was at an alpha/beta stage and I did not pursue it further although I keep thinking I should. If any anyones wants it I am sure that I could find my dotconfigs that I used to compile the kernel.

peterw

[bigpup]

peterw,

I have been using Puppy on an Acer C720 Chromebook for about 2 years now.

Please give some details on how Puppy is installed.

Any tips on how you did it and are using Puppy?

HP Chromebook 14 is what I have.
Touch pad and sound is my only problems, using the latest versions of Puppy.
Any tips on correcting these issues?

[peterw]

Hi

Originally I kept the 16GB ssd but managed to set up partitions for Puppy and Hugegreenbugs Ubuntu and Bodhi for the C720. They worked well but with Puppies I had to use an external mouse. Fatdog developed a Puppy that enabled the use of the touchpad. Both Hugegreenbugs Ubuntu and Bodhi worked really well althogh the sensitivity and features of the touch pad were not as good as the original ChromebookOS. I also have a HP14 Chromebook that my wife uses and it uses the same processor and touchpad as the C720 and so it sets a standard.

After the warranty run out and ssd prices dropped enough, I bought a 128GB 42mm ssd for C720 and that is what I run now. At the moment the partitions are: I have 2GB for SWAP, although I don't think I need it, 12 GB for frugally installed Puppies and these do change' and the two equalish partitions for Mint with xfce, 32 bit and PCLinux with the addition of Mythtv which with the use of a usb TV stick works well on the occasions I need it.

Unfortunately, to get the touchpad in Puppy working in the Chromebook you need to go through the Woof-ce process and recompile the kernel and enable the trackpad in the dotconfig file. I have done this and intend to have another go and I got the trackpad working but lost proper icons, etc. I was at a alpha / beta stage and did not have the skill to sort it out. I have the intention to try again but need to find the time.

OK. When I started on this I used the procedure outlined by John Lewis? You need to enable developer mode and modify the boot code. The nearest I can find to it at the moment is the Arch web site instructions.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Chrome_OS_devices
When changing the ssd I disconnected the battery and this meant that I had to reinstall the ChromeOS again to go into developer mode to alter the boot code. This time I took out the screw so that I could make changes to the boot permanent. This has the benefit that I Don't have to do a Cntrl + L every time I boot and if I let the batteries run down, it does not matter. I don't have to reinstall ChromeOS to go into developer mode, etc.

I need to mention that many distros boot OK on the Chromebook although some need mem=1950m added because of a feature of the coreboot/seabios.

Rereading your request. I need to mention sound. The Chromebook has both HDMI sound and its internal one. With Puppy it boots up with the HDMI sound and you need to use the sound setup to switch them.

I hope this is of some use.

[peterw]

Hi
If you are using a HP 14 Chromebook the screw is given by:
http://s290.photobucket.com/user/bond30 ... 3.jpg.html

Also, as an aside, my HP14 was very fan noisy at times and it was annoying. After reading many complaints about swapping fans as a solution and seeing that this was not the cause, I noted that there was a printed ribbon connector going across the top of the fan with a little circuitry the other side. The penny dropped. I unscrewed the little circuitry and added a bit of grease to better the thermal contact and then tightening up the screw so that it pressed against against the metal of the hinge which is the heat sink the HP 14 went quiet. Success. That circuitry monitors the temperature at the far end of the fan and to do this well it needs to be attached to its heat sink - the hinge.

[bigpup]

Still have some unanswered questions.

Any help out there to resolve them?

I was wondering, with the easy ability to change Linux kernels in the newer Puppies.
Could a lot of the stuff that does not work be fixed by a specific special Linux kernel setup and designed for Chromebooks?
Having the common drivers, kernel settings, etc.... that a Chromebook needs

These seem to be the big issues getting to work in Puppy.
Sound.
Touchpad.
Some of the keyboard top row keys.

[peterw]

I have noticed that the John Lewis site used for modification instructions of the Chromebook BIOS is not working any more. There is another MrChromebox.tech site that has replaced it and seems very comprehensive, but I have not needed to try it myself. It is https://mrchromebox.tech/#fwscript

[jd7654]

I've used MrChromebox.tech for many Chromebooks: Acer C720, CB3, and my current Acer C740 and R11 Chromebooks.
Great resource for information, and the ChromeOS Firmware Utility Script works really well in preparing the Chromebook for Linux install.

Also use in conjunction with the firmware update, the chrx.org script to repartition the internal SSD and install a full Linux distro as a dual boot.
This is usually GalliumOS which is the most compatible and best performing, which includes chrx install instructions, and all from within Chrome OS over the network, no USB required.

Once I have the Linux distro working as a dual boot, then I do a manual frugal install of Puppy or Fatdog in a folder on the new partition, and adding it to the distro's Grub2 config in the 40_custom file and then update-grub.

[jd7654]

Thought I might re-post this warning in this Chromebook How-To thread:

How to fry speakers in your Chromebook

This is part of the discussion of this issue I experienced and detailed (cluttering up, buried) in the Fatdog thread:
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... 08#1024008

Be very careful in your quest to try and get the sound working on a Chromebook. It is very easily fry your speakers and melt parts of your laptop (or worse) if you do the wrong thing.
(I have since repaired/replaced the speakers in my R11, which were indeed melted)

[peterw]

Thanks for warning. Never had a speaker overheat on my Acer C720 Chromebook with Linux.

I replaced the SSD with a 128 GB one and use that. At the moment, I have installed aboard it:
LXLE
Sparky
Then I have frugal entries for the following that I have tried or actively use:
Puppy slacko64 6.9.9.9
Fatdog64 (sda1/fatdog-720)
Fatdog-800(sda1/fatdog-800)
Puppy LxPupSc 17.09.1
Puppy slacko 6.3.2
Puppy tahr64
bionic
I use GRUB to boot them with appropriate entries

Touchpad works in LXLE, Sparky and Fatdogs, but not quite as good as in Chrome. Tried the scripts to get the touchpad working but no success. Probably needs a recompile of kernel

[peterw]

On my Acer C720, the touchpad originally did not work but it can be made to work. I think that this should work in most Puppies.

First of all try these commands
modprobe cyapatp
and
modprobe chromeos_laptop
And you are away.
To make it permanent go to: Boot Manager > Modules > Add new module and select those modules from the list.

I guess that the procedure should work for other non working touchpads on Chromebooks if you can identify which modules you need.

[kuman11]

bigpup,

is this guide for 32 or 64 bit Chromebook?

[bigpup]

I do not think there is a 32bit only ChromeBook.

32bit or 64bit is the operating system(OS) you are using on it.
There is or was a 32bit Chrome OS and now a 64bit Chrome OS.

I think all ChromeBooks have ability to use a 64bit or 32bit OS.
All should have processors that are 32bit and 64bit capable.

This topic is about using Puppy Linux as the OS on a ChromeBook.
Should be able to use a 32bit or 64bit version of Puppy.

[vtpup]

Hello Bigpup,

re. the 32 bit OS question, per Mr. Chromebox FAQ :

Be sure to use a 64-bit OS; on the Windows side, use only Windows 10 -- Windows 7 will not work, Win 8/8,1 doesn't support all the required drivers;

32-bit anything (Windows or Linux) will not work (the UEFI firmware is 64-bit only)

[bigpup]

That is a good point to make.
But it is talking about the MrChromebox (UEFI) Full ROM replacement firmware, that can be used to replace the original firmware, that is on the Chromebook.
(firmware is the BIOS)

MrChromebox (UEFI) Full ROM replacement firmware is only 64bit support.
It totally replaces the cChromebooks firmware.
I guess they only coded it for 64bit support.

I only used MrChromebox RW_LEGACY firmware.
It basically added the ability to boot from USB or SD cards other OS's, than Chrome OS.
Some Chromebooks have firmware that already has this option. Mine did not, thus I had to add it.

I boot 32bit or 64bit Puppy versions with no problem.
My Chromebook, with original firmware and added RW_LEGACY firmware, supports 32bit or 64bit OS's.

[vtpup]

Good to know. I do have the full ROM firmware.

As a point of interest I'm about to upgrade that firmware to test whether recent changes (in the last two years have improved the utility of the Acer R11 Chromebook.

[bigpup]

I am finding the Linux kernel and how it was configured, when compiled, has a big affect on hardware support.
There are all kinds of settings and configuring that is possible.
I think Puppy could use a special kernel compiled specifically for Chromebooks.
However, who in Puppy Land really understand what that kernel would need configured.

[vtpup]

Maybe we could try as a group project (those owning Chromebooks -- or anyone else who wants to join in).

I mean it might start out as the blind leading the blind (at least in my case), but if we ask others here who do know about kernel compiling, we could get answer that help us to move ourselves along.

BTW I just ordered a used Acer 720-2844 Chromebook on Ebay for $65. I hope it's one of the more compatible ones. Once I get that and if it works, I'll swap my daughter for her Acer R11, which can then be a test machine. Presently she does schoolwork on it, and I don't want to mess that up.

[rockedge]

hello vtpup,

I might be able to help compile kernels for this project if needed

[vtpup]

Wow, thank you Rockedge!

Would it matter whether we pick a specific Puppy to use that kernel with to test?

If so, would Bionic64 be OK?