

Surely, a lightweight Linux distribution is more suited for a (generally) low end device like a Chromebook. If you ask for my advice as to which desktop environment should you choose among Unity, XFCE, and KDE, I’d advise XFCE because it takes fewer resources. I usually do not favor encryption for regular users, but the choice is yours. Then the command will become: sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -t xfce You can also use the parameter e for encryption. touch,unity to install Ubutnu with Unity for touchscreen Chromebooks.touch,xfce to install Ubuntu with XFCE for touchscreen Chromebooks.touch,kde to install Ubuntu with KDE for touchscreen Chromebooks.All you need to do is run the following command: sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t xfce

So, we have the crouton script already saved in the Downloads directory. But when you use shell, you can use the normal commands like ls and cd, and run shell scripts. If you press Ctrl+Alt+T (yes, the same shortcut as in Ubuntu), the crosh terminal will be opened in a new tab in the Chrome web browser.īy default, crosh doesn’t support all the Linux commands, not even cd or ls.

This is not a stand alone GUI program, it is run inside Chrome browser. If you did not know already, there is a terminal in Chrome OS, crosh (an acronym for Chrome Shell). It will be saved in the Downloads directory, exactly where we want it to be. If you are convinced, let’s see how to install Ubuntu Linux on a Chromebook. You cannot install other Linux distributions using this method. On the downside, this method is limited to Ubuntu Linux. This is an added advantage.Īlso, a typical Linux install will take at least 6 GB. Moreover, the Download directory will be shared between Linux and Chrome OS. This way, you can switch between the operating systems without a reboot. Crouton basically installs Linux in a chroot environment. There are several benefits to installing Ubuntu using crouton. Why install Ubuntu on a Chromebook using crouton? In this article, we shall see the third method: installing Ubuntu using crouton. Install Linux inside Chrome OS and switch between Chrome OS and Linux using keyboard shortcuts, thanks to crouton.Remove Chrome OS and install Linux (possibly).The kind of lock down Google has put on Chromebooks reinforces my belief that Google hates Linux.

It’s a closed source, propriety OS and it is locked down, for security reasons. Even many simple Linux commands won’t work by default. It has a hidden terminal, but it doesn’t let you do many things. The answer is that Chrome OS is not really Linux, even though it is based on the Linux Kernel. So do we really need to install Linux separately? You might already know that Chrome OS is based on the Linux kernel. This detailed guide provides step-by-step instructions with screenshots on how to install Linux on Chromebook.
