A complete guide on how to make your chromebook into a lightweight Arch Linux machine with the i3 window manager. Special thanks to MrChromebox for providing the custom UEFI firmware and script.
- A chromebook
- A screwdriver
- A USB drive with the latest Arch Linux ISO (other distros can also be installed, but we will use arch for this build)
First, check your chromebook model and your motherboard model, you can check your model at the bottom stickers. I had the Acer R752T, so it had the Bobba360 motherboard, you can check your motherboard on > https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/supported-devices.html#device-listing
When you have your chromebook model, you have to turn on the Developer Mode. This might be different for other chromebooks model, search your developer mode keys. Be careful—this will erase all local data on your Chromebook. Turn on developer mode by:
- Power off
- Esc + Refresh + Power
- When you see a recuperation panel, press Ctrl + D
- Then set the OS verification off
- When the OS verification is off press Ctrl + D again
- Now, everytime you power on the chromebook, you will find the OS verification is OFF window, press Ctrl + D to boot normally into the dev mode.
Great! Now, set up your account again. Do not set a password for the developer account, as this might cause issues preventing you from using sudo commands. Once you boot in, you have to run the Firmware Utility Script, to see if you have fw write protection.
Run the script from the VT2 terminal. While on the desktop, press Ctrl + Alt + F2 (or the forward arrow key). Then, login with the user chronos, you should be able to boot in without a password. Paste the following command in the terminal
cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh && sudo bash firmware-util.shYou should see your chromebook info and your Firmware Protection status, if it's not enabled, skip the next step.
The method to disable firmware protection depends on your Chromebook model. For example, I had a Bobba360, so I used the battery removal method. Check out the motherboard page to see what method you should use > https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/supported-devices.html#device-listing
- Power off the device
- Unscrew the back and open it
- Remove the WP screw, you can see it at > https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/supported-devices.html#device-listing
- Reassemble the device
- Skip to the next step
- Power off the device
- Unscrew the back and open it
- Remove the battery
- Plug in the charger to your usb-c port
- Reassemble the device
- Skip to the next step
- Once you finished the tutorial, you can put back in the battery
- Power off the device and unplug the charger
- Unscrew the back and open it
- Disconnect the battery
- Locate the WP jumper, you can see it at > https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/supported-devices.html#device-listing
- If the jumper holes are opened, you can make a bridge with a paperclip, else, you might have to make a solder bridge
- Reconnect the battery
- Reassemble the device
- Skip to the next step
If your model requires a SuzyQable, refer to this guide for instructions: https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/firmware/wp/disabling.html#using-closed-case-debugging-ccd-using-a-suzyqable
Run the Firmware Utility Script at the vt2 terminal with
cd; curl -LO mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh && sudo bash firmware-util.shChoose the second option (CAUTION: THIS MIGHT BRICK YOUR DEVICE, DO AT YOUR OWN RISK) If its not available, sorry, you cannot install Arch Linux as your chromebook isnt compatible with custom UEFI. Follow the instructions of the script.
Once it's done, reboot your device to boot into the custom UEFI. When you see the UEFI logo, press esc, and plug in your installation USB. Go to boot options and boot with your USB, this should boot into the Arch installer.
In this step we'll install arch linux.
Connect to wifi using iwctl utility :
iwctl
device list
station name scan #replace name with your internet interface name ex: wlan0
station name get-networks
station name connect SSIDEthernet should just work right away. Then write archinstall command, and choose your hour, partitions, hostname, username, password etc. It's important to select the desktop profile, i3WM, and PipeWire for audio. I also recommend using NetworkManager for Wi-Fi management.
Press done and reboot your computer (IMPORTANT : Remove the instalation media.)
Ricing’ refers to customizing your system's appearance. We'll achieve this using my i3WM dotfiles. Install the following packages with:
sudo pacman -S cairo libxcb python2 neofetch nerd-fonts font-awesome xcb-proto xcb-util-image xcb-util-wm xcb-util-xrm jsoncpp i3-gaps dmenu ranger vim rxvt-unicode feh imagemagick python-pip python-pywal w3m gitThen, we should install yay to add some more packages.
cd ~
mkdir -p /tmp/yay_install
cd /tmp/yay_install
sudo pacman -S base-devel
sudo pacman -S expac yajl git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
cd ~
rm -rf /tmp/yay_installThen add the following packages with yay
yay -S polybar-git picom otf-overpassThen, download my dotfiles,
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/VendavalSC/archbook
cp -r ~/archbook/neofetch/ ~/.config/
cp -r ~/archbook/i3/ ~/.config/
cp -r ~/archbook/picom/ ~/.config/
cp -r ~/archbook/polybar/ ~/.config/
cp -r ~/archbook/.Xresources ~/
xrdb .XresourcesFinally, you have to install your wallpaper, and store it in /Pictures/wal as bg1.jpg
If you installed my dotfiles, you have my wallpaper, so, you can get it from there.
mkdir -p ~/Pictures/wal
mv ~/archbook/bg1.jpg ~/Pictures/wal/bg1.jpg
wal -i ~/Pictures/wal/bg1.jpgThen, for the last step, you just put
polybar barReboot your laptop by using
reboot nowWe'll install lightdm-mini-greeter as our login manager. Let's begin. *This only works with one user.
First, well install the lightdm-mini-greeter.
yay -S lightdm-mini-greeterGreat, then, copy my lightdm folder into yours with:
cp -r ~/archbook/lightdm /etc/Then, you'll have to modify the lightdm-mini-greeter file, so you log-in into the right user:
nano /etc/lightdm/lightdm-mini-greeter.confReplace v3nd1 with your username in the 7th line.
You're done! Enjoy!