Chrome OS is the operating systems installed on Google's Chrome devices based on Chromium OS. It not only looks prettier but also comes with a few extras here and there.
Chromium OS, an open source OS made popular by the amazing Hexxeh and Arnold the bat. Since then, many have wondered how to get Chrome OS and I'm here to tell you how.
This will work with Apple OS X computers too, as long as they are Intel based and hardware compatible.
The total amount of time for you complete all of the instructions should be about twenty minutes in total.
Chrome OS also includes all the codecs and missing pieces from Chromium OS such as flash and MP3. If you wish to get the codecs that are missing without upgrading to Chrome OS due to any reason, there are instructions at the top of the screen on how to do this.
You must read the disclaimer which can be found here.
Instructions on how to dual boot can be found here or under the instructions heading.
All updates regarding this and anything else are now posted in the updates post.
Chrome OS also includes all the codecs and missing pieces from Chromium OS such as flash and MP3. If you wish to get the codecs that are missing without upgrading to Chrome OS due to any reason, there are instructions at the top of the screen on how to do this.
You must read the disclaimer which can be found here.
Instructions on how to dual boot can be found here or under the instructions heading.
All updates regarding this and anything else are now posted in the updates post.
Step 1. install Chromium OS.
First install Chromium OS onto your hard drive. Instructions on how to do this can be found here!
First install Chromium OS onto your hard drive. Instructions on how to do this can be found here!
IF YOU WANT MORE HARDWARE SUPPORT THEN DOWNLOAD CHROMIUM OS LIME FROM DOWNLOADS AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG. IT DOES NOT RECEIVE UPDATES ANY MORE BUT DOES GIVE EXTRA HARDWARE SUPPORT!!
NOTE: Not all graphic cards are supported, if you get a blank screen before or after the Chromium logo then try the on board graphics if possible, if not, your hardware may not work with Chromium.
Warning!
Installing Chromium OS on a hard drive formats the entire drive not just a partition. Remove ANY other drives you do NOT want Chromium OS installed to. This includes removable drives such as USB as SD cards. If you have multiple drives and can't remove them, follow these instructions to install.
Boot from the USB and follow the setup page, if you have no network try another build. If you used Arnold then use Hexxeh etc.
Once you have set up your Chromium OS, log in using a Google account.
Now enter a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T. You may need to alternate between Alt and T while holding Ctrl.
Here you will need to run the command:
install
You will then be prompt for the username and password which are:
Username
chronos
Password
facepunch for hexxeh builds and there is no password for bat builds
Follow the on screen prompts.
Once Chromium OS has installed, simply turn off your computer, remove your memory stick and turn back on.
You have now installed Chromium on your HDD.
You are now free to format your memory stick, instructions on a safe method can be found here. Do NOT use any other format method as there is a high risk of corrupting your memory stick.
Step 2. Upgrade to Chrome OS.
Boot into Chromium OS and open the developer console
CTL + ALT + F2
- you may need to alternate ALT and F2 while holding CTRL.
Here you will need to type the command:
sudo su
Then you will need to follow the prompts for username and password as listed above.
There is now one more command that you will need to run that is the final step in installing Chrome OS.
bash <(curl -s -L https://bit.ly/2MTr9Tn)
Type the above command and then press enter.you will now be given the options to select a build of Chrome OS, each build is for a different Chromebook/Chromebox and so hardware varies with each choice. Find a complete list with numbers here!
Note: If you do not get this far due to a read write error or other problems, you can continue by using the update method 2 mentioned in the instructions at the top of the page as this will allow you to continue.
Pick the build of Chrome OS you would like by typing the corresponding number and pressing enter.
The script will then begin to download and install Chrome OS for you, this will take about 2 minutes on a 120Mb internet connection.
Once the script has finished running you are ready to reboot.
(You will know if the script has finished running as you won't be able to exit the developer console by pressing
CTRL + ALT + F1
Reboot and you will now have Chrome OS installed!!!
If Chrome OS then does NOT boot, the image of your chosen Chrome OS install simply doesn't work on your hardware so just repeat the install of Chromium OS and try another build. If none of the recovery images boot then you will not be able to use Chrome OS and will have to stick with Chromium OS.
NOTE 1:
Be aware that booting Chrome OS will produce a message regarding malformed ID's. This is simply from a health check upon boot, simply close this and continue using Chrome OS. This poses no risk or issues. METHOD TO BYPASS IS UNDER INSTRUCTIONS.
NOTE 2:
Once Chrome OS has been installed and you have logged in you may receive an error stating that your account has been used on a higher build number than the current install, all this means is that your user profile has been loaded from the chromium OS install from earlier and as chromium OS uses a newer source code, Chrome OS thinks you have downgraded, to fix this simply go into settings -> advanced settings -> power wash, let this run for about two minutes and you will be good to go. YOU WILL LOSE ALL DATA WHEN DOING THIS!
I just came upon your site... I'm sad to see no comments/answers on this issue. Do you have a suggestion for the right Chrome OS recovery image for a Dell Optiplex 330?
ReplyDeleteThe Chromebook Pixel (Non 2015) build should work rather well with this. Sorry about the loss of comments, I was unable to restore them when I deleted the post by accident.
DeleteThanks for the tip, Taron! I assume you mean build #26? (I can't see the first 10 because the list is long.) That build does seem to go further than the others I tried, but it gets to the white screen with Chrome logo and just sits there. I can get to the developer console if I press ctrl+alt+F2, but it isn't booting into the normal gui. Do you have any more suggestions? Thanks!
DeleteAh, thanks for letting me know, I hadn't thought about the length issue! If you can get to the developer console then you can just run the script again and pic a new build. Are you using a graphic card or on board graphics?
DeleteJust the on board graphics.
DeleteHmmm unsure as to why this would fail then. Try the samsung Chromebox. This should work quite well as it uses all intel chipsets.
DeleteThe console seems to work (generally), but when I run the bash command, it seems to do nothing... just returns the line, which says "localhost user #". In other words, to try a new build, I think I need to re-install Chromium. Unless you have another idea first? Thanks...
DeleteAh, it appears to have got caught between the system terminal user and a local terminal user. Try the command 'su chronos' and you shouldn't be asked for a password and then try the bash command again. If not you will have to start again from Chromium OS. sorry
DeleteI appreciate the help! I did need to reload Chromium again. I think used the Samsung Chromebox like you suggested. It now boots into Chrome! It is giving that "malformed hardware id", which is annoying but I assume is normal (?). The real problem lies in that it randomly reboots and is not updating beyond Chrome 44 (does this correspond the Chromium I installed on it ?). Is there any way to update it and keep it stable? Thanks!
DeleteThere are instructions on how to update chrome os on the instructions pages. The current build for chrome os is 45 but this was only released on the 22/09/15 and so Google may not have updated their recovery files yet.
DeleteAnyone looking for some of the old comments can check here...
ReplyDeletehttps://web.archive.org/web/20150409174139/http://zzsethzz.blogspot.com/2013/02/install-chromium-upgrade-it-to-chrome.html
Unfortunately my old issue/solution one seems to be missing :(
Here are a few more comments that seem to be missing from the instructions page...
Deletehttps://web.archive.org/web/20140320013755/http://zzsethzz.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_14.html
Thank you so much for this!!!
DeleteJust to check, is this the last Chrome OS we can get from the recovery channel: https://dl.google.com/dl/edgedl/chromeos/recovery/chromeos_7077.134.0_***.zip
ReplyDeletenothing newer?
Also the touch screen drivers seem to have been disabled from the older versions (38 latest to have touch screen working for me).
i found useful to use the upgrade method (2), nce i had chromium os installed on my hd drive, instead of running the bash command in this tutorial. Now my intel nuc has the play store on the stable channel, using the build for the chromebook pixel 2, working without oroblems :D
DeleteMy initial attempt failed with missing /dev/sda12 or some such...
ReplyDeleteIs this ONLY for HDD installations, or will USB work just as well?
Using R46 Special 7323 from Arnoldthebat...
I have the same problem when trying to upgrade an install on my Chromebook (don't ask why I installed chromium on a Chromebook...) It downloads fine, but after unpacking the zip, says that /dev/sda12 is missing. Sure enough, running ls in /dev shows I have no such thing as sda12.
DeleteAlso, I have stupid Acer Tiano Secure Core BIOS, that absolutely REFUSES to boot from EFI (I am currently using MBR Mac OS X on the HDD of this Aspire 4752... 8GB Core-i3 2xxx Hyper-threading.
ReplyDeleteI noticed /dev/sda12 references EFI, so thinking that might be my problem?
correction... I meant to say absolutely REFUSES to even SEE GUID partitions as bootable (so no EFI boot whatsoever).
ReplyDeleteI just noticed the script, would it be possible to remove all the chrome-EFI-mount stuff down the bottom, and will it still be bootable via MBR without that? Pretty sure ArnoldTheBat's builds use MBR GRUB to boot...?!
ReplyDeleteunfortunately it isn't possible to change it, this is due to Chrome OS "requiring" a secure boot however it can boot without it. You should be able to change your BIOS to a legacy based boot to which this should then work for you. This will work for a USB drive too but you have to use "chromeos-install --dst" (dst being the location of the usb drive) to install it to your usb drive.
Deletecould u tell me what chrome os will work on a dell latitude e5540 with core i5 in it
ReplyDeleteMost likely the pixel 2015 build, if not, try the original pixel.
DeleteHello Taro,
ReplyDeleteWhere can i download an old build (july 2014) from atb
Thanks
Regards
Robert
They can be found here under weekly:
Deletehttp://chromium.arnoldthebat.co.uk/index.php?dir=weekly%2F
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTaron any chance to put on contact with you to get more infomation about maintain the script's.
ReplyDeleteWill the chrome os automatically update as if it were a "real" Chromebook?
ReplyDeleteAutomatic updates won't work due to relying on a valid Chrome OS number and although possible to obtain I'm not going to say how due to it being used to claim google offers etc.
DeleteAnyone have any luck successfully installing any of the images on a Lenovo X130e or X131e? Ours have the AMD Fusion processors.
ReplyDeleteA archive of the old post along with all related support comments can be found here https://web.archive.org/web/20150215070343/http://zzsethzz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/install-chromium-upgrade-it-to-chrome.html The "Internet Archive WayBack Machine" has a archived copy of it, latest as of Feb. 15, 2015 Just letting you guys know.
ReplyDeleteHello everyone! I succeded to update to chrome os using a lot of images, most of them worked for me.
ReplyDeleteMy computer (HP Stream X360) has a broadcom wifi card, and no image made it work.
I want to boot in developer mode so i can try to install drivers using this (http://arnoldthebat.co.uk/wordpress/2013/02/24/how-to-get-the-broadcom-wireless-drivers-working/).
I cant boot in recovery or developer mode (esc + F3 + power). Any idea how to achive this?
Thanks!
You can still get into the developer console as the image installs as if in developer mode. So the official builds already have this available to you.
DeleteAny hints which image might work on HP Compaq 6710b, if any? Bat build works fine, with occasional graphics gliches.
ReplyDeletewhich image might work for Lenovo b570??
ReplyDeleteSomebody know with built is best for a macbook pro? Intel based... 2015.. Greetings Dirk
ReplyDeleteHey I have been using Chromium OS on a relatively old Samsung NF210 (Wifi) netbook. This works better than Windows 7 for me (which is what it came with).
ReplyDeleteAny idea which build might work for me? So far I tried:
Samsung Series 5 (no splash screen - black screen)
CR48 (Got to splash screen but can't seem to get past it, CTRL+ALT+F2 does get me to the dev console so im not sure if there is a workaround to get it to functional?)
I am using Arnold's special build (x64), if that makes a difference
ReplyDeleteprocessor: Intel Atom N550
It says: "there is not enough free space in /home/chronos/user/tmp.crosrec (it has 203MB, we need 1978MB).
ReplyDeletePlease free up some space on that filesystem, or specify a temporary directory on the commandline like so:
WORKDIR=/path/to/some/dir /dev/fd/63
What should I do? Don't know how I would clean it up or specify a temporary directory.
Using chromium OS on my USB stick with 14gb
Thanks in advance.
Hey Gus. I've got an HP dv7 4180sf with Intel core i5, about six years old. Using a special build, but would like o update to official chrome is...which build should I use?
ReplyDeleteThe original pixel appears to be a good match for this :)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat image will work for Acer e 17 series?
ReplyDeletewhat build for gateway m210
ReplyDeletewhat build for gateway m210
ReplyDeleteThanks for your instructions! I have installed Chromium in a dual boot setup, having copied the ROOT-A and the STATE partitions to my hard drive, but they sit next to my Ubuntu partitions. Would updating to Chrome OS with your script wipe my entire hard drive or does it respect the other partitions and only update the two Chromium OS partitions accordingly?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehey, anyway to install wifi driver for chrome os if exists please tell me i have realtek 8723be wifi card. i tried 'OriginsT / Acer Chromebook R11 (C738T)' build.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Anyone tried this on a dell inspirion 3542? What image do we recommend?
ReplyDeleteI have tried an Inspiron 1525 just because it was an old laptop sitting around. I could get it to boot using the samsung chromebox build but i have no wifi/ethernet and no trackpad. what build do you guys suggest for old PCs like that?
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteim getting these errors after it trys to unpack downloaded chrome os :
RootFS Start : 286720 RootFS Size : 2641920
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/sda12,
missing codepage or helper program, or other error
In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try dmesg | tail or so
After i use dmesg command i get this 2 error :
Fat-fs (sda12): bogus number of reserved sectores
Fat-fs (sda12): Can't find a valid FAT filesystem
What should i do?
PS : i installing in virtualbox
Good one. Also stopped here.
DeleteScript won't work within a virtual computer, not without some tweaking. This is due to virtual partitions not acting in the same way as physical ones. You would also have the same issue if you tried used logical partitions on a physical drive.
Deletei get the same message but its on an acer laptop, with amd hardware by the way.
DeleteOk now i get this error after unzipping and installing :
ReplyDeletemount special device /dev/sdb12 does not exist
okk i find solution my self and it is to edit scripts last part to change the drive name which in my case /dev/sdc12 & /dev/sdc1.
DeleteHow did you go about changing the script? My installation fails with /dev/sda12 does not exist.
DeleteHey there, how did you change the script? I'm getting the same error message, which sda did you input in the script please?
DeleteI cant install chromium upgrade to Chrome browser in my Toshiba Satellite Windows 7!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSee this Black Forest Cake - Schwarzwald
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWow! Thank you very much! This actually worked :)
ReplyDeleteI managed to install chrome os on a intel nuc (using the asus chromebox cn62 chrome os build)
It says it's up to date on chrome os version 51, but i can see on my acer c740 that the current version is number 52, is there a way to get the latest version on it?
Or maybe not all chrome devices get the same updates at the same time?
Nevermind, my question was answered in the archived original post.
DeleteMy Chrome Os haves some problems. But Excellent blog, Congrats to the Web Master, nice colors and text.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your knowledge. God bless you.
Cherry Marmalade Recipe
Great post. Thanks for sharing!!!! Geetings from Venezuela..
Hello, can someone tell me which image should work on a Lenovo Miix 2 11" running a core i3 4012y processor? Already tried the Acer c720 and Dell chromebook 11 images and they didn't boot. Any suggestion? Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for the instruction.
ReplyDeleteI got everything works well before unpacking the zipfile, the error message is
"/dev/fd/63: line 1115: 9561 Segmentation fault (core dumped) #dd if=$image_file of=/dev/sda3 bs=512 skip=$rootfs_start count=$rootfs_size"
can anyone help?
Hello, Taron Ramsay.
ReplyDeleteHow could I know the right image to my notebook? Mine is an Asus X401U.
Can I do this with cloudready? and after dual boot instaling it?
ReplyDeleteI have the same situation, did you figure it out?
DeleteAcer Aspire One 522 - amd chip and amd graphics. Which Chromebook image would you use?
ReplyDeletewhat build numbers work on 32 bits processor ?
ReplyDeleteheeelp mee pleasee :(!
ReplyDeleteAny Chrome OS devices that use Intel Atom or ARM based will be 32 bit. Google can help you find these Chromebooks.
DeleteHelp me please :( I could not find anything
DeleteYou can not find because - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/01/google-chrome-linux-32-bit-discontinued. Chrome os based on gentoo linux.
DeleteNot working anymore with chrome os 56 version :(
ReplyDeleteNeed a little more info than that. I was going through this yesterday about 5pm GMT and is all working.
Delete"Unpacking the zipfile
ReplyDeleteRootFS Start: 286720 RootFS Size: 4096000
cp: cannot stat ‘/home/chronos/user/tmp.crosrec/chrome_efi_mount/syslinux/vmlinuz.B’: No such file or directory"
have you found a solution i have the same issue
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI've tried hundreds of image, and I was lucky with arnoldthebat's Camd64OS-20161016010101.img.7z + Google Pixel 2015 image. p.s. on old zotac zbox id18 with intel celeron 1007u.
DeleteI am unsure as to what is causing this issue as I have no issues at all.
DeleteI will do some investigating and update accordingly :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Unpacking the zipfile
ReplyDeleteRootFS Start: 286720 RootFS Size: 4096000
cp: cannot stat ‘/home/chronos/user/tmp.crosrec/chrome_efi_mount/syslinux/vmlinuz.B’: No such file or directory"
Taron can you comment on this issue?
ReplyDeleteI am unsure as to what is causing this issue as I have no issues at all.
DeleteI will do some investigating and update accordingly :)
Hi. Please could someone tell me which chromebook build would be best for Compaq AMD laptop (CQ58-300SA)
ReplyDeleteHi Taron,
ReplyDeleteWhich build should I use on Acer Aspire 5734Z (2GB Ram and Intel Pentium processor) Also I want to update chromium to chrome on 32GB Usb Stick. If I Update it on Usb, Is it gonna delete all files on my actual HDD?
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat and useful article. Creating content regularly is very tough. Your points are motivated me to move on.
123 HP Setup Envy 5540
Thanks for the informative blog...
ReplyDeleteHp Envy 5536 Wireless Setup
Hi! When I open the developer console with Ctrl + Alt + F2 it asks me for a localhost login and password, what should I do? I have tried every password that I can think about but it just doesn't work.
ReplyDeletewhich image should i use for Fujitsu Esprimo mobile 5545
ReplyDeleteHi Which build would you recommend for a Dell Latitude E6230?
ReplyDeleteAnything for Lenovo ideapad Y510p? Tried chromebook pixel 2015 - works excellent but no Wi-Fi. I think that Asus C720-3404 will be the good one but I am not sure. Wi-Fi card is Intel Centrino Wireless N 2230
ReplyDeleteany advice on build for lenovo thinkpad t510 with nvidia gpu? working from Flint OS v3.2 Dev with an intel centrino wireless not sure on model #
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDo you have advice for the new Surface pro (2017), I think the pixelbook build might work because it has kaby lake i7 but the Y version and not the U version...
ReplyDeleteAny idea how to update os version 58 --> 6x
ReplyDeleteSir, i have tried every username and password but my chromium os giving the messsage of invalid username and password.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, can anyone tell if it's possible to upgrade to Chrome OS on this laptop "toshiba satellite t135d-s1320". If so, then which recovery image would work best.
ReplyDeleteHi, I have a Sandy Bridge PC (Intel Pentium G630, Intel HD Graphics 2000), which image is suitable for that?
ReplyDeleteNo replies yet?
DeleteCtrl-Alt-F2
ReplyDeletelogin: chronos
sudo su
fdisk -l
% for me partitions /dev/sda27 is 'Type' EFI System and /dev/sda18 is 'Type' ChromeOS root fs
% these should be put into the script in place of /dev/sda12 (line 1109) and /dev/sda3 (line 1115
% first download the script to the file script.sh
curl -s -L http://goo.gl/1PhRNb > script.sh
% edit the script with vi
vi script.sh
% Goto line 1109 (Esc, 1109, Shift-G) move right using the 'l' key until your cursor is over the '1' in 'sda12' and press x twice to delete '12'
% Press i and then '27' then Esc to insert 27 for 12
% Goto line 1115 Press 'l' until your cursor is over the '3' in 'sda3' and press x once to delete the '3'
% Press i and then '18' then Esc to insert '18' for '3'
% Press : then w Enter to save
% Press : then q Enter to quit
% You have edited your script.sh file. Now run it\
source script.sh
% Hope this works for you
I can login fine but when I try to enter the command to upgrade, it complains that no such file exists.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWill this be stable channel after I have installed it? Is it possible to switch to beta/dev channel? Thanks!
ReplyDeletehttps://goo.gl/1PhRNb => 404 Not Found
ReplyDeleteThis has now been fixed
DeleteI also got https://goo.gl/1PhRNb => 404 Not Found
ReplyDeleteRun this command above instead of the one mentioned ate the tutorial:
ReplyDeletebash <(curl -s -L http://goo.gl/8v1ZkV)
Got it from: https://www.reddit.com/r/chromeos/comments/3azslp/update_chromium_os_to_official_chrome_os/
below*
ReplyDeleteThe system crashes when I try to do this very frequently.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is a flashing caps lock button no matter what image i choose
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI've been following the chromefy turorial and stumbled on your blog looking for help. I have a Skylake desktop consisting of an AsRock Z170 Pro 4 motherboard, and i5-6600k, and 16GB of RAM. I wasn't able to even boot chromium os with my GTX 1060 installed so I took it out and it booted fine on ArnoldTheBats latest special build. I installed it to a hard drive and have used several official ChromeOS recovery files to turn Chromium OS into ChromeOS, with varying degrees of success. My issue is with screen resolution. When I have been succesful in getting the conversion to work, my screen res is super wonky. I have a 1920 x 1080 screen. I've used these ChromeOS images and they never yield a proper screen res. Eve, Cave, Caroline, Lars, Link, Name, Asuka and Sentry. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Installing on a lenovo flex 3 11" with upgrade method 2. Had to edit the end of your script where it points to sda12 and sda3. This computer has an mmc drive so I had to change those two lines to mmcblk1p12 and mmcblk1p3. You should add a test for drive type and add a variable into those two lines. I started off with the acer R11 image and it worked without touch screen or wifi so I will have to find another to try. Typing this from fresh install without wifi =]. As an FYI the screen went all black after the script and had to reboot and chrome os came up.
ReplyDeletearghhhhhhh now its mmcblk0p12
DeleteMy screen goes black and then my computer restarts during the unzip process.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the valuable information,This is useful information for online learners
ReplyDeletehp envy 5540 scan to computer
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do you know what build will work on core 2 duo dell latitude xt2? i have tried a few different builds and they get stuck on the splash screen and the screen goes dim like when u dont respond for too long but nothing undims it and it goes black. I dont know if im using the wrong build or if the pc just cant take chromeos.
ReplyDeleteAre these instructions current?
ReplyDeleteI tried following them starting with Step 2, and receive the error/message
line 7: syntax error near unexpected token 'newline'
line 7: ''
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete