Getting Started

Caution

You are about to make unsupported changes to your device that will in many cases void your warranty. MrChromebox firmware and utilities are provided as-is, without any guarantee. Any and all changes are made at your own risk!

IMPORTANT

If your device is currently managed/enrolled by an organization (such as a school or employer), then you do not own the device, and you should not be modifying it in any way without direct, express, written permission.

Prerequisites

  • An x86_64 (Intel/AMD) architecture device -- ARM-based devices are not supported
  • The device's Hardware ID (HWID) / ChromeOS board name
    • The device's HWID can be found at the bottom of the Recovery Mode and Developer Mode screens, as well as by going to chrome://system in the browser and searching for HWID
  • To actually own the Chromebook -- devices managed by a school or company generally are locked down and cannot be switched to Developer Mode
  • A basic understanding of how the firmware and boot process on ChromeOS devices differs from Windows PC's, so that you understand the changes being made
  • Familiarity with command line input / how to use a terminal/command prompt
  • A few USB flash drives which you can format/overwrite as needed
  • Another (non-mobile) device in case things go sideways and you need to recover

Warning

It cannot be stressed enough: This is NOT a one click procedure. Modifying your device's firmware is serious business. Following a Youtube video or blog post with "simplified" instructions will only end in tears.

What's the TL;DR?

Dual Booting via RW_LEGACY firmware

If you want to dual boot ChromeOS and Linux on your device:

NOTE

Installing Linux on the internal storage along with ChromeOS requires repartitioning the device using tools which can handle ChromeOS partition types; see the Chrultrabook docs for more info.

Replacing ChromeOS via Full ROM firmware

If you want to wipe ChromeOS from your device and replace it with Linux or Windows:

Warning

Again, I cannot stress it enough: flashing your device's firmware and changing the OS is not a simple or minor procedure. If you don't fully read and understand the process and what the tools you're using are doing, it's going to be very hard to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. The documentation here is dense for a reason.

Asking for help properly

If you are facing an issue, please read the FAQ first.

Do not use manufacturer's model name or serial number when asking for help (i.e: HP Chromebook 14a), it doesn't help with identifying the machine. Provide the HWID/boardname, otherwise your support request will be ignored.

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