01 Necessary Tools [2 min]

In the case that you will be disassembling the Chromebook, you will need a basic screwdriver set. In addition to being held together with screws, most Chromebooks are also held together by plastic clips inside the computer. The best way to reach these clips is with a cheap plastic spudger - this will help you to pry open the case more easily. You will also likely need at least two USB 2.0 pen drives, each at least 8GB in storage capacity.

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Other than these basic tools, replacing Chrome OS does not require any special tools. Please note, however, that some models of Chromebook may require additional tools.

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02 Creating a backup of your data [15-20 min]

A normal Chromebook is very restricted in what it can do. As a normal user, it is nearly impossible for you to make any modifications to the operating system, boot loader, or firmware. Chromebooks are shipped with their own firmware interface which is only capable of booting Chrome OS. It is this firmware which makes it so much more difficult to install a different operating system on a Chromebook. Since the BIOS/EFI firmware is responsible for booting the system, we will not be able to install or boot any operating system other than Chrome OS unless we wither modify or remove this stock firmware.

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In order to make the necessary modifications to the system to allow for another operating system to be installed, developer mode must be enabled. This will allow us to change the stock firmware installed on the device. However, enabling developer mode will erase all personal data on the device. If you have any important files saved on your Chromebook, make sure that they are saved in Google Drive, or even better, on a pen drive. Insert the pen drive into the laptop and copy over any important documents or files onto it. Do not skip this step, as it is very difficult to recover deleted files and no one else can be held responsible for your lost data - except for you!

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03 Developer Mode [10-15 min]

Once you have backed up all of your data, shut off the computer as you usually would. Press and hold the key combination CTRL + ⟳  (⟳ is where the 2nd function key is on normal laptops), and then power on the computer. If done correctly, your computer should reach a white screen and should roughly match the screen displayed on the right.

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This screen allows us to replace or reinstall Chrome OS in the case that the operating system is damaged. However, in order to enable developer mode, all we need to do is press CTRL + D on the keyboard. The device should then give you some prerequisite information on developer mode and ask you to proceed. Follow these instructions and wait for developer mode to be fully enabled. This process may take a few minutes, so be patient.

 

Should you replace the stock firmware?

From here, you will have to make a choice on how to proceed with replacing the stock firmware. You can either (1) Enable and use SeaBIOS, or (2) Completely replace the stock firmware with a UEFI image.

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SeaBIOS is significantly simpler and easier to get up and running, as it is natively supported on many Chromebooks. It also allows users to dual-boot Chrome OS and another operating system. However, this is not recommended as your device likely only has enough storage for one operating system - your Chromebook likely only has 16-32GB of storage. Using SeaBIOS also makes booting take slightly longer.

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Flashing a custom UEFI image is a lot more complex and will likely require you to disable the rewrite protection. This will likely manifest in you having to either remove a screw or internal battery pack to temporarily disable the rewrite protection, and then place these components back in once the image has been written to the device. Furthermore, this setup will be incapable of booting Chrome OS. However, the UEFI image will streamline booting and allow you to boot to your OS faster. More importantly, using a custom UEFI image may be your only option if you are using a more modern Chromebook. Around sometime between 2018 and 2020, SeaBIOS was removed from Chromebooks. If this is the case, you must flash a custom firmware image to your device.

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04 Check if your device supports SeaBIOS

Your Chromebook should automatically reboot after developer mode is enabled. You should see a screen informing you that "OS verification is off", telling you press space to re-enable it. Ignore this warning and do not do anything until a "boop boop" is heard. Upon this happening, the computer will boot into Chrome OS, where the device reaches a generic setup screen.

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With access to Chrome OS in developer mode, we are able to check and modify some components of the system's firmware. While it is possible to set up Chrome OS and do this from crosh, the Chrome OS shell, it is possible to reach a shell even more quickly. In order to save yourself from setting up Chrome OS all over again, press CTRL + ALT + → (where the F2 key is found on traditional keyboards) at the beginning of the setup screen. This will open up a black screen with some instructions and a login prompt asking for a username. Enter the username ‘chronos’, and your device should not ask for a password.

 

Once you are logged into chronos, type the following command:

crossystem dev_boot_legacy=1

This command will grant you access to SeaBIOS (only if your device supports it). Exit the screen by pressing CTRL + ALT + F1 on your keyboard, and then reboot the system. Upon reaching the OS verification screen, press CTRL + L on your keyboard.

 

If you are taken to the SeaBIOS screen, this means that your device supports SeaBIOS. If nothing happens, it means your device does not support SeaBIOS. In this case, you will have to flash a custom firmware. Read the next section for basic instructions on how to flash a custom UEFI image to your system and how to replace the stock firmware.

 

If you intend to use SeaBIOS, skip the next section and go straight to "Creating a Bootable live USB Image".

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05 Flashing a custom firmware image

As mentioned before, your Chromebook may not support SeaBIOS. If you press CTRL + L and you are not taken to the SeaBIOS screen, your Chromebook does not support legacy booting. Therefore, you will need to flash a custom firmware image.

 

For convenience, we will be using firmware images provided freely by mrchromebox.tech. His website contains awesome instructions on how to greatly improve your Chromebook and also contains documentation on support for other operating systems on Chromebooks. However, we will mostly be focusing on his firmware utility script. This script allows us to easily manage, update, and replace the stock firmware with a custom UEFI coreboot image. If you are unfamiliar with coreboot, it is simply a project that aims to act as an easy replacement for your proprietary BIOS or EFI.

 

In order to flash the firmware, you will need to disable the firmware rewrite protection. Open this page in a new tab and find your device's name on the list of Chromebooks. From there, check the "WP method" column on the far right to check the means through which to disable the firmware rewrite protection. You will need to open the back cover of your device, removing all screws and all plastic clips, in order to gain access to the internal hardware. Turn off your device and disable the firmware protection through one of these three methods, depending on the device you are working with:

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• Screw means that a screw must be removed from the board to disable the WP. Locate this screw and unscrew it, ensuring to store it in a safe place until you place it back on later.

• Battery means that your Chromebook's battery must be completely disconnected to disable write protection. Disconnect the internal battery from your device.

• Jumper means that two points on the board of the Chromebook must be temporarily connected with a wire.

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Once you have disabled the firmware rewrite protection, reboot the device, and again, wait for the device to reach the Chrome OS setup page. Make sure to connect to the internet at the bottom right of the screen and selecting and connecting to a WiFi connection. Afterwards, press CTRL+ALT+F2 to reach the same shell. Enter ‘chronos’ as the username and then run this following command:

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cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh && sudo bash firmware-util.sh

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This command will install (via curl) and then immediately run the firmware utility script. This script makes it easy for us to install our own custom UEFI firmware image provided by mrchromebox.tech. After installation of the script, you should automatically be taken to a text-user interface, where you are allowed to install and update the UEFI firmware and follow the instructions to flash the coreboot payload to your device. Type the number that is next to the option "Install/Update UEFI (Full ROM) firmware", and hit enter. Upon doing so, you will be prompted to create a backup of the stock firmware in case the installation of the UEFI firmware fails. This way, you will still be able to recover your system in the event that flashing the firmware fails. This rarely occurs, but still ensure to backup the firmware to one of your prepared external USB drives. Once this is done, simply wait for the computer to complete the installation of the custom firmware image. Keep the device plugged in at all times throughout this process.

 

Once this has been completed, you may return to the Chrome OS setup screen with CTRL + ALT + F1, and then reboot the device. Once the device reboots, you should see a screen with the coreboot logo (a silhouette of a bunny or rabbit) before reaching a terminal shell. If this happens, congratulations! You have successfully replaced your stock firmware with a custom image, and you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

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06 Creating a Bootable Live USB Image

With either SeaBIOS enabled or a custom firmware image installed, you have "liberated" your Chromebook and it is now capable of running almost any operating system that will fit on it. Here are some options that we are providing below. However, you should really do your own research on this, as with the freedom to choose your operating system, you should choose one that you think you will like the most!

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a. Chrome OS Flex

If you like the aesthetic and layout of Chrome OS, Chrome OS Flex is practically identical to Chrome OS in appearance and functionality. However, it will receive security updates and support from Google, whereas Chrome OS will not.

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You can find out more about Chrome OS Flex and how to install it at Google's official website.

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b. Windows Flavor/MacOS

It is also possible to install Windows 10 or Windows 11 on your Chromebook. We do not recommend this; Windows is a large operating system (typically 20-30GB in size), and Windows on a Chromebook comes with other issues as well. Since Windows is a proprietary operating system, driver support is more difficult and some features, such as working audio, may require you to pay for proprietary drivers or software.

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However, some users may need Windows to run Windows-only software like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, or some video games. If you intend to use your Chromebook to run Windows programs, installing Windows may be the most viable operating system to install. Not much support will be provided for your Windows Chromebook, but more information on support for Windows may be found at coolstar's website.

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Some users have also had some success with installing MacOS. This process will not be covered here as it is said to be more complicated than the other options listed here. However, if you would like to try installing MacOS, the r/chultrabook community may be a good place to start.

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c. Linux Distribution

The most well documented operating systems on Chromebook are GNU/Linux-based operating systems. Like with Windows, not all features, such as audio, may work out of the box on a Linux distribution. However, free software projects such as the sof-firmware project for audio, will help you to get all features on your Chromebook up and running. A Linux distribution will also boast a fast boot time, smaller installation, and is overall more secure than a Windows installation. It is also possible to run Windows software on Linux through the Wine compatibility layer, but that is beyond the scope of this project. For starters, we recommend either Ubuntu Linux or Linux Mint. Both of these operating systems provide easy-to-follow, simple documentation on how to install Linux to your device.

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What now??

You have reached the end of the guide. However, this is likely not the end of your journey. Being familiarized with the inner workings of your Chromebook, you may find yourself having to maintain your device more than before. Audio output and power/wake/sleep events might not work out of the box. Function keys might not be mapped to the right functions. You might encounter issues with getting Windows applications to run on Wine if you're using Linux. While all of these new issues and challenges might initially seem daunting, the fact that you've managed to reach the end of this guide proves that if you're willing to step outside your comfort zone, you'll be able to conquer anything. All users start out not knowing much about computers or technology, but as they build confidence and skills, they become more and more comfortable with their machine. With that, you will be able to address and conquer many of the challenges on your own! Remember that the internet and Google are your friend in this - much documentation already exists online. With this, however, you have managed to successfully replace Chrome OS with your own operating system that you chose.

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