Who's Running Puppy Or Other Linux On Chromebook?

What works, and doesn't, for you. Be specific, and please include Puppy version.
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Blackfish
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Who's Running Puppy Or Other Linux On Chromebook?

#1 Post by Blackfish »

I have been thinking seriously about getting one of these Chromebooks for doing my work. The reason being is that I am amazed at the battery life the Chromebook claims to have. I could leave the wall outlet far behind and work where I like much, much longer than I can with these old relics I am now running.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience with the Chromebook and Puppy Linux--or any other Linux distro for that matter.

If not, how does a guy improve battery life and enable himself to work longer with these old machines? I am sick and tired of being gaffed to the freakin' wall all the time.

If not, what other machine would one recommend to buy for long, long, long battery life?
Dell Latitude E5500 w/ Intel Centrino processor-- running bionicpup64-8.0

gcmartin

#2 Post by gcmartin »

Good questions!

I believe the forum need a Chromebook (the hardware) Topic area on the forum.

@BarryK has move on to his Android. It may not be too, too long before he moves to embrace another "Touch" hardware; namely ChromeBook/ChromeBox.

And, more and more members will continue to bring more and more "Touch" enabled OR small formfactors for use in Puppyland. These systems are not our future, rather they are our present whether we have one, yet, or not.

Chromebooks/boxes come in various flavors. Some use ARMs, some Intels, some TIs, some nVideas, some ... As such, too, connectivity options are differing where some have cell service hardware ability, some have ... Thus a forum Topic area would be able to contain and focus assistance of these new platforms tailored to these differing systems and how to arrange and direct the proper PUPs with abilities for any given Chromebook, by hardware.

Summary
All Chromebooks are NOT alike. In about a month, we should begin seeing some new interesting Chromebooks/Chromeboxes/StickPCs surface all ranging in price from $199 to $499. Reason: "Back to School" in the Northern Hemisphere.

@Blackfish opens our eyes to this need. And, specific to one of his request, this post is wrestling with a PUP on a Chromebook. There are others scattered across the forum in NO particular order.

tempestuous
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#3 Post by tempestuous »

Any/all versions of Puppy Linux should run on any/all x86-based Chromebooks. I suggest you search the forum using the (logical) search term "Chromebook" ... which should certainly point you to; "Puppy on chromebook" -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=93008
where Puppy has been installed onto an Acer C720.

Be aware that in order to install Linux onto a Chromebook you must enable "Developer mode", then each time you boot the machine you must go into "legacy boot" with Ctrl + L.

Alternatively you could flash a customised BIOS, but this will certainly void your warranty.

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dk60902
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#4 Post by dk60902 »

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=93747

https://www.linux.com/learn/tutorials/7 ... th-crouton

Here is someone who put Fatdog on a C720, and another tutorial to put Ubuntu on a Chromebook.

wboz
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Joined: Wed 20 Nov 2013, 21:07

#5 Post by wboz »

I am not. The Chomebook is an excellent device as is. I have a need for basic, instant-on web access. Running Linux would only "enable" me to run programs that would run poorly on the pokey Chromebook, and that I could run on my desktop.

But! I want to point out that not any and all Intel x86 Chromebooks can run Puppy. That may be true for current Chromebooks, but booting from USB is only possible if the machine can support "legacy boot" more by running (I believe) Seabios. My Acer C710 does not. The C720 is probably the first that does, so that's your cutoff.

tempestuous
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#6 Post by tempestuous »

Any x86-based computer should, in theory, be able to run Linux (including x86 Mac computers). Any impediment will be some form of hardware block. It's just a question of whether the necessary workaround is available.
In the case of the Acer C710:

- run Linux under chroot environment using crouton
https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton/wi ... -models%29

- install Linux on Acer C710, using full bios change (Coreboot)
http://www.linux-netbook.com/video/how- ... -coreboot/

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rcrsn51
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#7 Post by rcrsn51 »

I installed Fatdog on an Acer C720 using kirk's instructions. It's an excellent device, but the install is not for the faint of heart. If you mess up, you'd better know how to reinstall the ChromeOS.

proebler
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#8 Post by proebler »

I have Fatdog installed on an Acer C720.
Both FD64-631 and FD701 work well for me.
I have done away with anything chrome and have flashed the BIOS using johnlewis’ firmware.
It is thus not a true chromebook anymore, simply a fast, lightweight travel laptop with decently good battery life.

There is a forum thread dedicated to Fatdog64-631 for Acer C720 only
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=93747
also look at:
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic. ... &start=615

I have previously successfully used the Bodhi Linux special version for the Acer C720.

Recently I have tried the latest linuxmint-17.2-mate-64bit, running it live from USB.
Sound, touchpad, wifi/wlan, all worked.
However the special (F) keys of the C720 do not work under linuxmint.

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8Geee
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#9 Post by 8Geee »

There are several "Chromebooks" that run on W8/8.1.. These are usually 64-bit 2/4-core Atom CPU's. Puppy has a chance on these, but touchscreen is a different matter. I defer to the greater knowledge.
Linux user #498913 "Some people need to reimagine their thinking."
"Zuckerberg: a large city inhabited by mentally challenged people."

rokytnji
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#10 Post by rokytnji »

I bought a Acer C710 without sweating the small stuff. I made sure it was Intel instead of Arm. Have not regretted the 89 bucks I forked out for it.
I bought mine way back when the sale was on.

They have only gone up in price the longer you wait.

Crouton and Seabios is your friend.

peterw
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Puppy runs OK on Chromebooks with Intel Processors

#11 Post by peterw »

Hi

I use an Acer C720 Chromebook which has the Intel CPU. It runs all Puppy's really well. There are a few hiccups in that with the exception of Fatdog the Track Pad does not work and the suspend when closing a lid is a problem. I have tried many with a frugal install and it is not much different than using other laptops. At the moment I have 3 partitions: A small amount of SWAP, about 3.5GB for Puppies with a frugal install and a version of Ubuntu that is extremely good and boots very fast. It is HugeGreenBugs at:
https://www.distroshare.com/distros/get/12/
This distro is meant for Chromebooks and everything seems to work.

It is worth mentioning that you have to do a crrl+l every time you want to boot and there is not delete key on a Chromebook but these features and not a particular problem. I am watching the price of the M2 NGFF ssd's and these are beginning to fall. I might get one to increase memory capacity which is a bit small at 16GB.

peterw

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bigpup
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#12 Post by bigpup »

there is not delete key on a Chromebook
The backspace key will do basically what delete key does.
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

peterw
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Location: UK

Update on experiences with Chromebook

#13 Post by peterw »

Hi

bigpup's comment about the backspace key bought me back to this topic and I thought that I would share some of my experiences with my Acer C720 Chromebook which is now more than 2 years old having been made in Feb 2014.

I still like it very much. It still has a very good battery life (about 5 hours at a guess) and with its 2GB of RAM and dual core processor can cope with all that I throw at it. I have made changes to it. I bought an M2 128 GB ssd at a reasonable price and when fitting this I made the mistake of disconnecting the battery which meant that it forgot the instructions about developer mode so that I had to reinstall Chrome OS and then carry out the instructions to set up developer mode again, only this time I removed the ROM write protect screw so that I could carry out the instructions to make it permanent. This has the added advantage that should the battery ever go flat then it will still go to coreboot and seabios. And I don't have to do Cntrl l.

Now I have the larger ssd I can try various linux dsitros on it. At the moment I have a partition with various Puppies frugally installed on it and two other partitions; one with Mint 18 xfce (32 bit) and one with PClinuxOS. They all run well on it with the exceptions of the touch pad and suspend which are not as good as it is with the Chromebook OS. The situation is:
Mint suspend works fine and the touch pad is usable.
PCLinuxOS I can't remember whether suspend works but the touch pad is iffy and I use an usb mouse.
Puppies, with the exception of Fatdog the touchpad does not work and suspend also does not work. A while ago, I used woofce system to recompile the kernel and build a version of Puppy for which the touchpad worked. It is a question of getting the dotconfig file with the right features enabled. It is an area that I need to revisit and is on my todo list.

Volhout
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Linux on Chromebook

#14 Post by Volhout »

I have modified the chromebook to boot seabios.

Tried several distributions on it.

Compatibility form Fatdog 631 chromebook version is good.
I tried 701 and a patch provided by kirk 1 years ago, but could not satisfy me.

Most of the distributions by Huge Greenbug worked well. But that "distroshare" website , mentioned above, has vanished. He only supports one version now: Gallium OS. It is a Ubuntu based Xfce release.

https://galliumos.org/

My chromebook (C720) has Huge Greenbugs Elementary OS 2.0 (not the latest 2.1) and is energy efficient (easy 6 hours, depending what you do), all works out of the box. But to be honest, the compatibility of elementary OS with debian packages (Ubuntu) is not great. There is always something to tweak. It is rare to find packages that run instantly.
Updates from Ubuntu work.

I was told that the I2C touchpad driver in the C720 is implemented in modern kernels (4.4 and newer). I may try a more recent puppy one day....
I miss the puppy playground, and am sick and tired of typing "sudo" ....

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bigpup
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#15 Post by bigpup »

I am trying to provide some information here about Puppy on a Chromebook.
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=108246
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

Volhout
Posts: 547
Joined: Sun 28 Dec 2008, 08:41

C720

#16 Post by Volhout »

Hi Bigpup,

Thanks for providing the link to the thread. You ask advice, but I am not a very good source for information.
I purchased the C720 after reading on the internet about low cost and decent performance and inf how to modify it to boot any linux from usb.
I modified it ( open it, unscrew the write protect, modified to boot seabios) so I have no knowledge about crx or dual boot.

I started out with Fatdog 631 chrombook edition. Following fatdog procedure how to create a bootable usb. And then simply installed.

After a while I discovered the, now vanished, hugh greenbug website distroshare. Intried several distro's and ended up keeping Elementary os chromebook version.
For me a main driver was that this distro had the key mapping right. All keys on the C720 do what is printed on them.

When Fatdog started with 700 series, I asked Kirk if he coul provide a patch, and thus he did. But my skills where insufficient to make it a success.

I did replace the old ssd 16gb with a 32gb one. First I tried a Transcend ssd, but that ssd did not work correct. Apparently it does not have a C720 compatible low power mode. Then I ordered one that was compatible. For my use, 32gb was sufficient, 16 just not enough ( ubuntu (elementary os ) with its updates grows over time beyond 10 gb )

I copied the original ssd to a 16gb usb stick using dd while running fatdog631 live mode on the other usb port. The replace the ssd, and copy back same method.
Then gparted to make full sdd usable ( otherwise you only have 16gb on a 32gb ssd)

That all science from my chromebook expedition.

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