Lubuntu on Samsung Chromebook 4 - September 12, 2023

Over the last couple of days I got my hands on a ChromeBook hoping to put linux on 
it. It was much more effort than I initially expected!

From the first minute it was my hope to have standalone Linux on this machine, but 
everything I was reading was mentioning only installing linux apps on ChromeOS or 
dual booting(kind of) with a project called Crouton. As of this past summer Crouton 
is in Maintenance-only mode and does not have much support. I was able to get it 
working, but it was not what I was looking for.

Eventually I found MrChromeBox, which has lots of very helpful information regarding 
alternative OS, bootloading, and more. I found that to install standalone Linux 
(wiping ChromeOS completely) I would need to install new BIOS firmware that 
supported such a thing.

Newer ChromeBooks have a Google security chip that ensures that ChromeOS is being 
used and that the BIOS firmware is write-protected. How does one disable this chip 
to remove write protection? 

The official way to do this is with a special cable that is not sold anywhere. The 
accessible way is to open up the ChromeBook, disconnect the battery, and power the 
device directly from power. This method does not power the security chip!

With that done (only 6 screws) I followed the MrChromeBox guides to flash the new 
BIOS firmware, erasing ChromeOS completely and now being open to a linux 
installation via USB! I decided to go with Lubuntu because I wanted something 
lightweight. This ChromeBook's processor is 1.1 GHz and it has 4GB of RAM. Nothing 
too impressive, but it is running well so far! It's a fun little machine.