Installing Manjaro Linux on Chromebook

created_at: 2021-12-06

1. Enable Developer Mode

You'll need to hold the escape (esc) and refresh (⟳) keys together. While holding them, press the power button to turn on the Chromebook.

Chrome will get nervous and show this screen.

When you boot, you'll need to access the disabled verified boot with control and D (ctrl+d).

Now, press enter to turn OS verification off.

Once the Chromebook boots, shut it down.

2. Enable Debug Mode

You can do this by removing the battery. Modern chromebooks make this a little difficult, so here are the steps I took, if you need.

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.

3. Disable Write Protection

You'll need to plug your Chromebook into its charger to power on.

If you don't already have a Manjaro image flashed to a drive, do that now. You can use chrome's extension for creating recovery media.

Boot into ChromeOS and load crosh and type the following commands:

a. shell
b. sudo sh
c. flashrom --wp-disable
and confirm that it succeeded

If it succeeded, you can now reattach your battery and screw the plate back in place. If not… I'm sorry.

4. Use mrchromebox's script

Now that WP is off, you can install a custom bootloader. Use mrchromebox's bootloader by following the instructions.

a. cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh
b. sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 firmware-util.sh
c. sudo firmware-util.sh

You'll need to install the UEFI firmware. After that's done, make sure your computer is powered off.

5. Boot from Manjaro image

Plug the bootable media you flashed earlier into your chromebook and instruct the BIOS to boot from it.

6. Install Manjaro

Hopefully, you're all set up with a custom OS! The newer models of Chromebooks make it more tedious to mod, but it can still be done without buying any additional hardware. I created this tutorial because I wasn't able to purchase a SuzyQable and still wanted to disable WP. Enjoy your "almost-arch" distribution!