Removing Chrome OS

Introduction

What do I do with devices that have reached their, supposed, end of life?  I try different Linux distros!  It usually breathes new life for a few more years.  So can you do that with Chromebooks or Chromeboxes?  Sorta.  😬   The tl;dr is you change the "BIOS", then load your OS, and often get frustrated with the lack of audio driver support.  

The main part of doing this is the "BIOS", or firmware that starts up the computer.  Most devices that run Chrome OS use Google's special firmware. Please, PLEASE, learn more about firmware and booting on MrChromebox.tech.  

This isn't always straightforward and often requires some technical tasks and knowledge with what is being done.  Especially with the write-protect part that protects Chrome OS.

I've done this on a few devices.  The two that I actually kept track of steps are an Acer Chromebook 11 N7 and an Acer Chromebook Spin 11.  Read more below.

Oh!  BTW, Chrome OS Flex "oddly" doesn't support audio (on purpose, Google?).  Why odd?  Well, it means the vendor's have drivers for Chrome OS, but Google can't distribute them in Chrome OS Flex.  Seems silly, so safe to assume on purpose?  You can decide.

For R751T

The device specifically is the Acer Spin 11, model R751TN-C5P3.  It has an Auto Update Policy end date of 06/2027, with extended support.  What that doesn't say is that support has already expired, and to get to 06/2027 I need to go to LTS channel and give up Android.  I'd leave it if I didn't have enough other Chrome OS devices.  And since I do, time for full-fledged Linux!  

I didn't bother to try Chrome OS Flex; though I'm thinking I should.  The reason is that the Linux distros I tried do not recognize the combo audio card on the Atom chip.  To get it to work in Debian or Ubuntu derivatives requires custom kernels; which I don't want to do.  Thus the thought to maybe try Chrome OS Flex in the future, or maybe Arch or FreeBSD.

I do have the Acer Spin 11 working though.  Everything works aside from the audio card; including touch.  Even better, so does Bluetooth!  Which I use to connect to Bluetooth speakers to play audio.  😁

Bunsen Labs was quite snappy, but dual displays were not automatic, and Bluetooth is a bit of a pain to use.  elementary OS was great overall, I'm tempted to go back to it.  The last distro I tested was Kubuntu; my goto distro.  I left it and now use it as a secondary communication/media-playing device in my home office setup.  Hooked up to a spare monitor through the USB-C port.  Despite only 4GB of RAM, Google Chrome is great and email/streaming/etc is fine.  As long as I don't have too many tabs open.  

I'm comfortable sacrificing Android support since a real Linux distro just "feels" better.  And it'll be a bonus if/when this device lasts past 2027.

For C731

A long time ago, the school were I work got rid of lots of Acer Chromebook 11 N7 (C731) Chromebooks.  At the time, it no longer received updates to Chrome OS.  Lots of vendors stopped supporting it.  I didn't like the e-waste, and it was a fun little project.  Here are the resulting steps to use something other than Chrome OS.  Impressions of OSes are at the bottom.

So what happened after all that?  I first installed Lubuntu 22.04; the "30 second review" is that it was a mixed bag.  The positive side of the spectrum is that local apps run quite well.  Even heavy ones like Libre Office and Clementine, at the same time.  The other end is that web browsers are known RAM hogs.  Even after some optimization (swappiness, noatime), Chrome brought the C731 to its knees.  Firefox faired better, though leaving YouTube Music running and checking email, the machine locked up in 10 minutes or so.

I already mentioned Chrome OS Flex in the intro.  It performed well, but the sound doesn't work.  Greedy, er, silly Google!

The only Linux distro that I liked the performance was Bunsen Labs.  Don't expect much.  But I could have YouTube Music playing, check Gmail, and then start browsing.