I was pretty happy with Kali on the chromebook, so I wanted to try with a larger SSD. First, I made sure development mode was enabled. This is done by hitting <esc><refresh(F3)><power> at the same time. I hit <ctrl><d> to enable developer mode. The system removed cleared all data. I shut it down and started to take it apart.
I replaced the 16GB SSD with a 64GB SSD following directions here. The SSD is an M.2 format, previously known as NGFF (Next Generation Form Factor). It is not the same as an MSATA. I used this drive. To replace it, basically, remove 13 screws from the bottom, carefully pry the bottom off, remove screw on SSD, replace. I put the screw back on for the ssd, put the cover back on, and booted up.
Of course, Chrome OS wasn't installed so the system asked for restore media. I had created that earlier, so I put in the SD card with the restore image and let Chrome OS install again. Once that was done, I knew the SSD was working fine, so I modified the bios so that it would always boot SeaBIOS. That means I won't have to hit <ctrl><l> to boot into linux at the splash screen.
Before you can modify the bios, you have to remove a write-protect screw from the motherboard. This page has a great picture showing the location of the write-protect screw. It was on pretty tight on my board.
Once the screw is out, I put the case back on (it won't boot because of a switch and a battery-enable screw) and booted to Chrome OS. There, I got a terminal (<ctrl><alt><t>), got a shell (typed 'shell'), and elevated privileges (sudo su). I used a built-in script to modify some flags following the directions here.
I created a Kali usb install drive using unetbootin and the Kali 1.07 x64 iso that I had downloaded. Then I put the usb stick in the chromebook and booted. It went to a UNetbootin start screen. This is where I had to add the boot parameters. Within 30 seconds, hit <tab> to get the boot parameters, and then add 'mem=1536m' to the end of the kernel parameters. I had problems getting the first option, install, to work. Instead, I booted to the live instance and choose "Install Kali Linux" from the "Systems Tools" menu. I had a problem with my WPA2 router, so I set up a 2nd router with open wireless for the install.
From there, it is pretty standard. Once Kali was installed, there are several tweaks to make. Update the system, fix the trackpad, fix suspend, fix sound, maybe others. I'll address these in a future post.
So what features worked out of the box?
ReplyDeleteYou said you had to fix the trackpad, suspend, sound, etc. Did Wifi Work ? Display ?
So far, I have not got around to fixing the trackpad, suspend, or sound. I have fixed it in Kali 1.05 before, and I expect the process to be the same. There is an excellent site that shows how to install Arch Linux on different chromebooks. Most of the information is applicable to Kali as well. I just need to sort through the slight variations in the scripts. I hope to take more time and document it better this time, which is why I haven't started. The page is here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Acer_C720_Chromebook.
ReplyDeleteNote to myself: check this post to see why suspend is not working on the 3.14 kernel in Kali 1.07. https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1411695#p1411695
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ReplyDeleteGood job on the tutorial man. I have finally got a full install of Kali Linux on my Acer C720 Chromebook. Everything is working perfectly. I had patched the track-pad and changed a couple things around to get the sound to work on reboot. I will make a YouTube video for the installation process soon for the 16 SSD card Chromebook, but the tutorial will be a bit different from this one.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! I have patched and recompile kernel 3.14 (Kali 1.07/1.08) to get suspend to work, but I can't get it to work when I close the lid. I have looked at the touchpad patches, but haven't got around to patching the modules again yet. It looks like only two of the six chromeos_laptop.c patches are needed. The other four have already been added to kernel 3.14. I haven't looked at the two i2c patches yet. Please reply when your video is done. I'd like to take a look.
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DeleteHey. It is going to be a little bit before I make the video because I am working on a couple other projects that will become very useful to people that have a Chromebook. The project is related to more stuff about Kali Linux and some other Linux distros.
DeleteAnyway, I do want people to have their track-pad fixed for Kali Linux, so I have a script and the procedure for it saved in a txt document if anyone wants it. You can email me at anonymouscyberjunkie@gmail.com if you want me to send it to you. I tried to post it here, but it would not work. Later.
Hi - I saw the script that you tried to post. It is the same one that I have in an earlier post. I ran into problems with it on Kali 1.04 (maybe it was just me). I was able to get it working manually. On 1.07/1.08 on the 3.12 kernel, many of the patches appear to be integrated already as I mentioned above. I tried running that script, but it did not enable the trackpad. I can try again and hit enter where it thinks the patch is already applied.
DeleteYou have to make sure that you install Kali Linux kernel headers before you run the script. You also have to replace a few things in the original script. Did you replace the kernel version with the exact kernel version that you need for the touch pad? I had to modify the original script that people could not get to work. Like I said, if you want it, just hit me up via email. Everything is working fine for me on the Kali Linux 1.0.7/1.0.8
DeleteI got suspend and touchpad working with the new kernel on a fresh install of Kali 1.09 x64. The post is here: http://jaybee03.blogspot.com/2014/09/kali-10-x64-on-acer-c720-suspend-and.html.
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