Trying to boot from USB on Acer chromebook

[Kristov]

I'm trying to boot into Linux off a USB drive, but having no luck. I just purchased the computer today.

I followed this tutorial: http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/acer-c7-chromebook

Here's some of the output from crossystem:

arch = x86

clear_tpm_owner_request = (error)

clear_tpm_owner_done = (error)

cros_debug = 1

dbg_rest = (error)

disable_dev_request = (error)

dev_boot_usb = (error)

dev_boot_legacy = (error)

dev_boot_signed)only = (error)

devsw_boot = 1

devsw_cur =1

fwid = Google_Parrot.2685.54.0

wpsw_boot = 1

wpsw_cur = 1

I tried setting dev_boot_usb to 1, but for whatever reason it seems to be set to (error). When I'm in recovery mode and press Tab, it prints:

HWID: PARROT ARUANA A-E 8667

recovery_reason: 0x02 recovery button pressed

VbSD.flags: 0x0000670

VbNv.raw: 70 20 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 cb

dev_boot_usb: 1

dev_boot_signed_only: 0

TPM: fwver=0x00010003 kernver=0x00020001

gbb.flags: 0x00000000

gbb.rootkey: ...

gbb.recovery_key: ...

read-only firmware id: Google_Parrot.2685.54.0

active firmware id: Google_Parrot.2685.54.0

When I get to the OS verification screen and press Ctrl+U, the screen sometimes flashes black briefly and returns to the same screen, and makes a few beeps, but it does not boot from a valid linux USB image.

Thanks in advance for your help

-Kristov

[Mike Frysinger]

On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 6:44 PM, Kristov <kwi...@gmail.com> wrote:

When I get to the OS verification screen and press Ctrl+U, the screen sometimes flashes black briefly and returns to the same screen, and makes a few beeps, but it does not boot from a valid linux USB image.

what exactly are you defining as a "valid linux USB image" ?  the CrOS firmware won't boot USB images off the shelf like you download from ubuntu.com.  you have to format it with a CrOS formatted disk.

-mike

[Kristov]

Interesting. I used http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ to create the images. 

[Mike Frysinger]

On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 1:07 AM, Kristov <kwi...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 12:18:51 AM UTC-5, Mike Frysinger wrote:

On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 6:44 PM, Kristov <kwi...@gmail.com> wrote:

When I get to the OS verification screen and press Ctrl+U, the screen sometimes flashes black briefly and returns to the same screen, and makes a few beeps, but it does not boot from a valid linux USB image.

what exactly are you defining as a "valid linux USB image" ?  the CrOS firmware won't boot USB images off the shelf like you download from ubuntu.com.  you have to format it with a CrOS formatted disk.

Interesting. I used http://www.linuxliveusb.com/ to create the images. 

yeah i doubt that'll produce images that will work

-mike

[Kristov]

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 12:18:51 AM UTC-5, Mike Frysinger wrote:

Any idea where I could find instructions for creating a CrOS formatted disk? Would the instructions in the first answer to this question work? http://askubuntu.com/questions/278403/how-do-you-make-usb-bootable-on-chromebook 

[Mike Frysinger]

On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 1:10 AM, Kristov <kwi...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Saturday, November 30, 2013 12:18:51 AM UTC-5, Mike Frysinger wrote:

On Fri, Nov 29, 2013 at 6:44 PM, Kristov <kwi...@gmail.com> wrote:

When I get to the OS verification screen and press Ctrl+U, the screen sometimes flashes black briefly and returns to the same screen, and makes a few beeps, but it does not boot from a valid linux USB image.

what exactly are you defining as a "valid linux USB image" ?  the CrOS firmware won't boot USB images off the shelf like you download from ubuntu.com.  you have to format it with a CrOS formatted disk.

Any idea where I could find instructions for creating a CrOS formatted disk?

you might be able to try this:

http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/cr-48-chrome-notebook-developer-information#TOC-How-to-boot-your-own-non-Chromium-OS-image-from-USB

it's not specific to the CR-48.  that page just gathered a lot of details as we sent out the CR-48 long before any other device, so a lot of details gathered there.

Would the instructions in the first answer to this question work? http://askubuntu.com/questions/278403/how-do-you-make-usb-bootable-on-chromebook 

pretty sure those instructions are for "how do i create a bootable USB image on a Chromebook for use on a non-chromebook".  i don't see anything in their answer that'd make it bootable on a Chromebook system.

-mike

[Julian Bond]

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 00:18:51

>what exactly are you defining as a "valid linux USB image" ?  the CrOS
>firmware won't boot USB images off the shelf like you download from ubuntu.com.  you have to format it with a CrOS formatted disk.

Really? Could you explain a bit more or point at an explanation.

So the BIOS won't boot from a conventional boot disk or USB boot device?
Is there the equivalent of the usual BIOS boot choice where you get to
choose which device to boot from?

And what does "a CrOS formatted disk" mean? Does the boot device have to
be EXT4 or a full CrOS set of 12 partitions or what?

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Follow Dosage Below

[Mike Frysinger]

On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 2:08 AM, Julian Bond <julia...@voidstar.com> wrote:

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 00:18:51

what exactly are you defining as a "valid linux USB image" ?  the CrOS
firmware won't boot USB images off the shelf like you download from ubuntu.com.  you have to format it with a CrOS formatted disk.

Really? Could you explain a bit more or point at an explanation.

So the BIOS won't boot from a conventional boot disk or USB boot device? Is there the equivalent of the usual BIOS boot choice where you get to choose which device to boot from?

certainly not.  the CrOS firmware is designed to be fast which means there is no GUI for the user to interact with.  the "usual BIOS" is bloated and slow and does way more than we would ever need or want on a CrOS system.

And what does "a CrOS formatted disk" mean? Does the boot device have to be EXT4 or a full CrOS set of 12 partitions or what?

the partition marked as bootable must have an image the firmware knows how to parse (have a valid verified boot header at the start).  the dev.chromium.org wiki has a page or two on the topic.

-mike

[Julian Bond]

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 02:15:39

>On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 2:08 AM, Julian Bond <julia...@voidstar.com>
>wrote:

>Is there the equivalent of the usual BIOS boot choice where
> you get to choose which device to boot from?
>
>certainly not.  the CrOS firmware is designed to be fast which means
>there is no GUI for the user to interact with.  the "usual BIOS" is
>bloated and slow and does way more than we would ever need or want on a
>CrOS system.

Hrmph! I don't recall ever seeing a GUI based BIOS screen but perhaps
there is one out there somewhere. And Coreboot+SeaBios (or an OEM
equivalent from Phoenix say) is not exactly bloated and slow.

Reading a bit more, it seems that Chrome-OS on an official Chromebook
uses a locked down coreboot, U-Boot, boot code sequence that really
doesn't want to allow you to boot from a USB stick; Mainly for security
reasons.

There may be a way to trick this to launch another linux based OS but
you'll be in dev mode and have a 5 minute lockout during the boot
process. As described here
http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-d
evices/cr-48-chrome-notebook-developer-information/how-to-boot-ubuntu-on-
a-cr-48
and
http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-d
evices/cr-48-chrome-notebook-developer-information#TOC-How-to-boot-your-o
wn-non-Chromium-OS-image-from-USB

Basically you're starting Chrome but early in the boot process switching
to another OS.

In the second answer here
http://askubuntu.com/questions/278403/how-do-you-make-usb-bootable-on-chr
omebook he says:-
"reboot your computer and spam F12 while it's booting up - it should ask
you what you want to boot from." From your answer, and what I've read I
don't think this will work. Because coreboot and U-Boot are never going
to give you that option.

----------
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but ISTM that Chromebooks are NOT
general purpose laptops pre-loaded with a Google OEM version of
Chromium-OS. They are locked down laptops that are designed to ONLY run
Chrome-OS. It's just about possible to persuade them to run another
Linux but with limitations.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact it could be viewed as a good
thing. As long as we're all clear that that's what they are.

So to get back to Kristov's original query, we're into this territory.
"You can't do that, why would you want to?"

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Don't Touch That Dial

[Mike Frysinger]

On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 1:26 PM, Julian Bond <julia...@voidstar.com> wrote:

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 02:15:39

On Sat, Nov 30, 2013 at 2:08 AM, Julian Bond <julia...@voidstar.com>
wrote:

Is there the equivalent of the usual BIOS boot choice where
 you get to choose which device to boot from?

certainly not.  the CrOS firmware is designed to be fast which means
there is no GUI for the user to interact with.  the "usual BIOS" is
bloated and slow and does way more than we would ever need or want on a
CrOS system.

Hrmph! I don't recall ever seeing a GUI based BIOS screen but perhaps there is one out there somewhere. And Coreboot+SeaBios (or an OEM equivalent from Phoenix say) is not exactly bloated and slow.

anything that shows graphics or looks for user input is slow.  coreboot+seabios is better than most to be sure in terms of bloat, but it's still more than we need.

Reading a bit more, it seems that Chrome-OS on an official Chromebook uses a locked down coreboot, U-Boot, boot code sequence that really doesn't want to allow you to boot from a USB stick; Mainly for security reasons.

when you're not in developer mode, everything is locked down by design.  it's fast and secure.

if you want to do anything else, you enable developer mode, and then you can boot whatever you want (including off USB).  the limitation is that the thing you want to boot has to be formatted in the way the CrOS firmware expects.

or you can build & install your own firmware, although that can be risky.

There may be a way to trick this to launch another linux based OS but you'll be in dev mode and have a 5 minute lockout during the boot process. As described here

the 5 min lockout is just once when you transition to dev mode for the first time.  it clears all the local state.  once that has happened, there is no 5 min delay.

In the second answer here
http://askubuntu.com/questions/278403/how-do-you-make-usb-bootable-on-chr
omebook he says:-
"reboot your computer and spam F12 while it's booting up - it should ask you what you want to boot from." From your answer, and what I've read I don't think this will work. Because coreboot and U-Boot are never going to give you that option.

----------
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but ISTM that Chromebooks are NOT general purpose laptops pre-loaded with a Google OEM version of Chromium-OS. They are locked down laptops that are designed to ONLY run Chrome-OS. It's just about possible to persuade them to run another Linux but with limitations.

they are *designed* to only run ChromeOS, but they aren't *restricted* to only run ChromeOS.  we provide a dev mode switch so that, if you really want to own the hardware, you can.  that includes running anything you want.

-mike

[Julian Bond]

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 14:36:44

>they are *designed* to only run ChromeOS, but they aren't *restricted*
>to only run ChromeOS.  we provide a dev mode switch so that, if you
>really want to own the hardware, you can.  that includes running
>anything you want.

I'm tempted to say, "As long as what you want can use the Chromium
kernel instead of it's own.".

However, I've just come across this:-
http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/chrubuntu-for-new-chromebooks
-now-with.html

Note the first para:-
"Since I started ChrUbuntu back in December of 2010, it's always been
necessary to utilize the Chrome OS Linux kernel with Ubuntu in order to
solve some compatibility issues with the Chromebook architecture. That's
changed with the Chromebook Pixel and the newer Haswell-based
Chromebooks like the Acer C720 and HP Chromebook 14. Each of these
models supports booting from a more traditional PC BIOS mode which makes
it simple to use stock Ubuntu kernels on them."

So the Pixel, C720 and HP14 DO have a traditional BIOS on board and it's
possible to boot $arbitraryLiveDistroOs from a USB stick. Probably.

So back to Kristov. Which Acer Chromebook is it? And after putting it
into dev mode, perhaps you need CTRL-L instead of CTRL-U.

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Void Where Prohibited

[Mike Frysinger]

On Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 2:54 AM, Julian Bond <julia...@voidstar.com> wrote:

Mike Frysinger <vap...@chromium.org> Sat, 30 Nov 2013 14:36:44

they are *designed* to only run ChromeOS, but they aren't *restricted*
to only run ChromeOS.  we provide a dev mode switch so that, if you
really want to own the hardware, you can.  that includes running
anything you want.

I'm tempted to say, "As long as what you want can use the Chromium kernel instead of it's own.".

that's not what i said.  you have to add a proper header (which is pretty small, and can be generated with our open source verified boot tools, and is all documented in our wiki), and then you can boot any image you want.

However, I've just come across this:-
http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/chrubuntu-for-new-chromebooks
-now-with.html

Note the first para:-
"Since I started ChrUbuntu back in December of 2010, it's always been necessary to utilize the Chrome OS Linux kernel with Ubuntu in order to solve some compatibility issues with the Chromebook architecture. That's changed with the Chromebook Pixel and the newer Haswell-based Chromebooks like the Acer C720 and HP Chromebook 14. Each of these models supports booting from a more traditional PC BIOS mode which makes it simple to use stock Ubuntu kernels on them."

So the Pixel, C720 and HP14 DO have a traditional BIOS on board and it's possible to boot $arbitraryLiveDistroOs from a USB stick. Probably.

yes & no.  they have the ChromeOS firmware like normal, but we additionally included a SeaBIOS payload in the flash.  when you're in normal mode (not dev mode), the CrOS firmware runs like every other system -- it's tiny & fast & just boots signed images, and does not read let alone execute SeaBIOS.  when you're in dev mode, the CrOS firmware shows you the scary warning screen like every other system.  but at this point, if you hit CTRL+L, that tells the firmware to chainload the SeaBIOS and then you have a more traditional PC BIOS resident.

-mike

[DennisLfromGA]

@Mike, Quick question: I just bought the HP Chromebook 14 from Walmart (4GB RAM / 16GB SSD) for my son for Christmas and was wondering about Developer mode on the Haswell Chromebooks. In developer mode I know you can press Ctrl-D or wait and get into ChromeOS and I know you can press Ctrl-L and access SeaBIOS and boot different partitions but can you also press Ctrl-U like on my Acer C710 and boot directly off a usb stick?

Curious,

-DennisL

P.S. I'm not sure where to find this info., I have looked around a bit but haven't come up with this answer yet.

[Mike Frysinger]

yes

all dev info can be found here:

  http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices

if there's device-specific info you think is missing, you could request an update via http://crbug.com/new

-mike

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View archives, change email options, or unsubscribe:
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[DennisLfromGA]

@Mike, Thanx for the quick reply and info., that's good to know.

I may take you up on requesting an update on device-specific info. though, the link you provided me for the HP Chromebook 14 makes no mention of setting up dev_boot_legacy or using Ctrl-L at the scary screen and I think it's pretty important.

Thanx again,

-DennisL

[DennisLfromGA]

@Mike, I reported the issue here, if you or anyone else would like to *star* it, please do.

[Kristov]

On Wednesday, December 4, 2013 2:54:14 AM UTC-5, Julian Bond wrote:

So back to Kristov. Which Acer Chromebook is it? And after putting it
into dev mode, perhaps you need CTRL-L instead of CTRL-U.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm using an Acer C710-2834.  When I boot up, Ctrl-L doesn't do anything. Ctrl-U causes the screen to go to black briefly, followed by a lower pitched beep, and then two higher pitched beeps. I don't know where the beep codes are documented, but it "sounds" like it's rejecting the USB drive I have inserted due to being improperly formatted.

Earlier in the thread, someone linked to: http://dev.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/cr-48-chrome-notebook-developer-information#TOC-How-to-boot-your-own-non-Chromium-OS-image-from-USB

This provides instructions for "Creating a USB disk that will boot a simple script", but the "Create a USB disk that will boot another operating system" instructions are not filled out at all. I don't have the skills or time to develop said skills to figure that out, unfortunately. Looks like I will not be able to use this Chromebook for what I want to use it for.

[DennisLfromGA]

@Kristov - The Acer C710 doesn't support 'legacy bios' via Ctrl-L like the Pixel and the newer Haswell Chromebooks, only the 'usb boot' option in Dev mode via Ctrl-U which needs a signed image as @Mike mentioned previously. You may be familiar with a Googler by the name of Jay Lee who has provided a way to create these 'signed' images and boot 'Chrubuntu' which you can now use to load any one of several Ubuntu desktops - Kubuntu, Xubuntu, EdUbuntu, etc. These can be loaded on your internal drive or an external USB drive which I think is what you're interested in. Take a look at "ChrUbuntu: One Script to Rule Them All!'' for more info. I've done this on my Acer C710-2847 - both internally and externally and it works great. It's a good option for these older Chromebooks and bypasses the need to 'have the skills or time' to figure this stuff out.

-DennisL

[Ron]

All

It is my understanding the Acer 710 models have the additional space in the
BIOS/ROM to potentially support the official Google provided Seabois. There
are UN-official versions of Seabios available on the WEB that can be
installed on the Acer C710 Chromebook models that allow the CTRL-L option.
This allows booting many Linux distros via the USB ports on the Acer C710
models; however, since the un-official Seabios is not Digitally Signed by
Google, the Acer C710 can NOT boot to the super secure Google Stable
ChromeOS. If the original/official backed up BIOS/ROM version were
restored, then one could boot into the secure (Factory delivered) stable
mode. The Acer C720 models do support the Control-L option (ONLY while in
developer mode) which is a step in the right direction.

Comments/Questions regarding above:

Will Google ever supply Official Digitally Signed versions of the SeaBios
to Acer C710 owners? or is this even possible given the security model?

Could it be possible (on the C720 models/C710 models with an Signed SeaBios)
to allow booting from USB without reverting to developer mode? One possible
method: Require the Owner (ONLY) of the Chromebook to Authenticate to the
device prior to performing a soft boot which could potentially allow booting
many Linux xyz distros via USB. Again, would doing so, weaken the strong
security model?

It would be fantastic if I could boot from a Puppy Linux hardware write
locked USB flash drive (which runs entirely from RAM ie.. no hard drive
required/mounted), then simply power cycle the ChromeBook to revert back to
the super secure factory delivered official Google ChromeOS mode.

Regards, Ron

[Mike Frysinger]

On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 11:31 AM, Ron <Ron.O...@gmail.com> wrote:
> models; however, since the un-official Seabios is not Digitally Signed by
> Google, the Acer C710 can NOT boot to the super secure Google Stable
> ChromeOS.

i don't believe this is true. the R/O firmware isn't signed. the R/W
firmware is signed, but only so that the R/O firmware will boot it.
the signing of the firmware itself has nothing to do with its ability
to boot something like CrOS.

maybe you're confusing the ability of the firmware to verify the CrOS kernel ?

> Will Google ever supply Official Digitally Signed versions of the SeaBios
> to Acer C710 owners? or is this even possible given the security model?

most likely not for the foreseeable future

> Could it be possible (on the C720 models/C710 models with an Signed SeaBios)
> to allow booting from USB without reverting to developer mode?

not with the official firmware by design
-mike

[ana villegas]

[deus]

The only way is to dual boot using crouton. The process is found here https://tr1t.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/installing-mint-cinnamon-in-crouton/