How to install official google chrome os on any pc/laptop (Brunch)

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

This is how to install google chrome os on any pc/laptop using the brunch framework.this will install the official google chrome os. in this post I will cover single boot ,dual boot and multi boot.

the brunch framework is created by Sebanc.

feel free to ask questions below!

hardware needed

x86_64 computers with UEFI boot support,
Intel hardware (CPU and GPU) starting from 1st generation "Nehalem" (refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core),
AMD Stoney Ridge and radeon graphics only is paired with amd cpus(refer to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_accelerated_processing_units), only with "grunt" recovery image (older AMD CPU and Ryzen models are not supported)
nvidia graphics are not supported.

prerequisites

Linux Mint (depends if needed by the method) : https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Rufus (again depends if needed by the method): https://rufus.ie/

grub2win (again depends if needed by the method):https://sourceforge.net/projects/grub2win/

Brunch (needed for all methods shown here): https://github.com/sebanc/brunch/rele...

ChromeOS recovery images can be downloaded from here and are needed : https://cros-updates-serving.appspot.com/ or cros.tech

gparted live (for help in partitioning and depends on which method you use):https://gparted.org/livecd.php

and finally your patience

ChromeOS recovery images

2 types of ChromeOS recovery images exist and use different device configuration mechanisms:

non-unibuild images: configured for single device configurations like eve (Google Pixelbook) and nocturne (Google Pixel Slate) for example.
unibuild images: intended to manage multiple devices

recommended images

"rammus" is the recommended image for devices with 4th generation Intel CPU and newer.
"samus" is the recommended image for devices with 3rd generation Intel CPU and older.
"grunt" is the image to use if you have supported AMD harware.

ChromeOS recovery images can be downloaded from here: https://cros-updates-serving.appspot.com/ or cros.tech

feel free to try other images too... try choosing a image with the closest match to your pc...but for amd only AMD Stoney Ridge is supported with the grunt image only.

Install instructions

You might need to edit the grub to complete the installation and there are quite a few ways to do it... here I will show the methods..

From Linux

(i). using the grub costumizer

here are the commands how..

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer

$ sudo apt-get update

$ sudo apt-get install grub-customizer

(ii)mount the efi ...

Create a directory to mount the EFI partition:

mkdir /tmp/efi_part

Mount the partition 12 of your device to your EFI partition:

sudo mount /dev/< partition 12 of ChromeOS device > /tmp/efi_part

Edit the file /tmp/efi_part/efi/boot/grub.cfg with your favorite editor (launched as root).
Unmount the partition:

sudo umount /tmp/efi_part

From Windows(and If using grub2win method there will be a app mostly)

Install notepad++ (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/)
Look for the EFI partition in the Explorer and browse to the efi/boot folder.
Edit the grub.cfg file with notepad++ (warning: editing this file with standard Notepad or Wordpad will render the file unusable and prevent GRUB from booting due to formatting issues)
Add your specific kernel parameters at the end of the Linux line arguments.

From ChromeOS(only in single boot)

Run sudo edit-grub-config

multiboot./dual boot with linux

multiboot./dual boot

method using external usb

Requirements

root access.
pv, tar and cgpt packages/binaries.

Install ChromeOS on a USB flash drive / SD card

Download the ChromeOS recovery image and extract it.
Download the Brunch release corresponding to the ChromeOS recovery image version you have downloaded (from the GitHub release section).
Open a terminal, navigate to the directory containing the package.
Extract it:

tar zxvf brunch_< version >.tar.gz

Identify your USB flash drive / SD card device name e.g. /dev/sdX (Be careful here as the installer will erase all data on the target drive)
Install ChromeOS on the USB flash drive / SD card:

sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src < path to the ChromeOS recovery image > -dst < your USB flash drive / SD card device. e.g. /dev/sdX >

Reboot your computer and boot from the USB flash drive / SD card (refer to your computer manufacturer's online resources).
(Secure Boot only) A blue screen saying "Verfification failed: (15) Access Denied" will appear upon boot and you will have to enroll the secure boot key by selecting "OK->Enroll key from disk->EFI-SYSTEM->brunch.der->Continue". Reboot your computer and boot again from the USB flash drive / SD card.

The GRUB menu should appear, select ChromeOS and after a few minutes (the Brunch framework is building itself on the first boot), you should be greeted by ChromeOS startup screen. You can now start using ChromeOS.

Install it to the hdd

ChromeOS partition scheme is very specific which makes it difficult to dual boot. One solution to circumvent that is to keep ChromeOS in a disk image on the hard drive and run it from there.

Make sure you have an ext4 or NTFS partition with at least 14gb of free space available and no encryption or create one (refer to online resources).

Perform the steps 1 to 4 as described in the previous section (Install ChromeOS on a USB flash drive / SD card), boot to Chrome OS and open crosh(Chrome OS terminal).
Mount the unencrypted ext4 or NTFS partition on which we will create the disk image to boot from:

mkdir -p ~/tmpmount
sudo mount < the destination partition (ext4 or ntfs) which will contain the disk image > ~/tmpmount

Create the ChromeOS disk image:

sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src < path to the ChromeOS recovery image > -dst ~/tmpmount/chromeos.img -s < size you want to give to your chromeos install in GB (system partitions will take around 10GB, the rest will be for your data) >

Copy the GRUB configuration which appears in the terminal at the end of the process (between lines with stars) to either:

your hard disk GRUB install if you have one (refer to you distro's online resources).
the USB flash drive / SD card GRUB config file (then boot from USB flash drive / SD card and choose "boot from disk image" in the GRUB menu),

Unmout the destination partition

sudo umount ~/tmpmount

(secure boot only) Download the secure boot key "brunch.der" in this branch (master) of the repository and enroll it by running the command:

sudo mokutil --import brunch.der

Reboot your computer and boot to the bootloader with the modified GRUB config.

The GRUB menu should appear, select "ChromeOS (boot from disk image)" and after a few minutes (the Brunch framework is building itself on the first boot), you should be greeted by ChromeOS startup screen. You can now start using ChromeOS from your HDD.

Dual boot with windows

do the same steps till copying the grub config from the above post

but do it on a live usb version of linux instead of local installation.

in the point of copying the grub config close the window when it opens..copy the config and save it as a text file somewhere you know and easily shareable..

then boot into windows and copy the text file to somewhere memorable.

now download and install grub2win from the above links

now paste the grub config from the text to a grub entry by creating a new grub entry in the grub2win

save it and reboot now you can boot into chrome os!

single boot

method 1

Requirements

root access.
pv, tar and cgpt packages/binaries.

Install ChromeOS on a USB flash drive / SD card

Download the ChromeOS recovery image and extract it.
Download the Brunch release corresponding to the ChromeOS recovery image version you have downloaded (from the GitHub release section).
Open a terminal, navigate to the directory containing the package.
Extract it:

tar zxvf brunch_< version >.tar.gz

Identify your USB flash drive / SD card device name e.g. /dev/sdX (Be careful here as the installer will erase all data on the target drive)
Install ChromeOS on the USB flash drive / SD card:

sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src < path to the ChromeOS recovery image > -dst < your USB flash drive / SD card device. e.g. /dev/sdX >

Reboot your computer and boot from the USB flash drive / SD card (refer to your computer manufacturer's online resources).
(Secure Boot only) A blue screen saying "Verfification failed: (15) Access Denied" will appear upon boot and you will have to enroll the secure boot key by selecting "OK->Enroll key from disk->EFI-SYSTEM->brunch.der->Continue". Reboot your computer and boot again from the USB flash drive / SD card.

The GRUB menu should appear, select ChromeOS and after a few minutes (the Brunch framework is building itself on the first boot), you should be greeted by ChromeOS startup screen. You can now start using ChromeOS from the usb .

Install ChromeOS on HDD from ChromeOS

Boot your ChromeOS USB flash drive / SD card.
Open the ChromeOS shell (CTRL+ALT+T and enter shell at the invite)
Identify your HDD device name e.g. /dev/sdX (Be careful here as the installer will erase all data on the target drive)
Install ChromeOS to HDD:

sudo chromeos-install -dst < your HDD device. e.g. /dev/sdX >

Shutdown your computer and remove your ChromeOS USB flash drive / SD card.

Note: Even if you boot from GRUB on your HDD, if you have a ChromeOS USB flash drive / SD card inserted, the initramfs will boot from it in priority.

The GRUB menu should appear, select ChromeOS and after a few minutes (the Brunch framework is building itself on the first boot), you should be greeted by ChromeOS startup screen. You can now start using ChromeOS

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

And are there any missing features, does it lack updates or google play store functionality, and can you install Linux inside these versions of ChromeOS? Also is this less of a pain in the back passage to install and use compared to CloudReady?

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

every thing is working but things like bluetooth and wifi depend on your pc

kelvinhall05 · August 28, 2020

Why not just use Cloudready?

zeusthemoose · August 28, 2020

What does this method add that cloud ready by neverware does not have?

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

google play functionality ,linux intergratiions and any other feature google adds as it is the official chrome os

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

@kelvinhall05 @zeusthemoose

3 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

google play functionality ,linux intergratiions and any other feature google adds as it is the official chrome os

Try to tag people so they see the reply.

kelvinhall05 · August 28, 2020

5 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

google play functionality ,linux intergratiions and any other feature google adds as it is the official chrome os

iirc cloudready supports that, but why would you need linux integration when you can easily dual-boot on a normal laptop?

Either way, good work. I am a big fan of ChromeOS.

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

one thing I missed in the advantages...It also has a option to enable auto update..

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

I'm a little confused, how do install ChromeOS directly to a hard drive, no partitioning or dual booting, since I have a separate hard drive that I use for a separate OS like Linux. Does the Install to HDD mentioned above work?

Also when choosing a build, for example samus, which one to pick, the number ranges from 72 to 84, is the number just supposed to represent the version, and newer is therefore better?

Thanks for posting this, I wanted to try ChromeOS on my pc since I was curious to see how it worked but cloudready wouldn't boot up from the USB, maybe this works.

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

@AndreiArgeanu

try the kedar nimbalkar method

I am yet to type the single boot method as my hand started to pain after typing so much

yes all the methods work but be careful

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

yes the newer version is better

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

I've got an issue, when I get to the step where I need create a ChromeOS disk image, that is for dual booting ChromeOS alongside Linux I get this error any idea?

ChromeOS recovery image dev/sdb2/home/andrei/Downloads not found

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

@AndreiArgeanu

have you extracted and renamed the recovery to rammus_recovery.bin?

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

4 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

@AndreiArgeanu

have you extracted and renamed the recovery to rammus_recovery.bin?

I did it now but it yields the same result. Here's the command I ran and the files in my downloads folder.

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

17 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

@AndreiArgeanu

have you extracted and renamed the recovery to rammus_recovery.bin?

Well I moved forwards but now i get this

Not enought space to create image file

Edit: Solved, had to reduce the size from 63 to something lower like 50.

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

since you are already in downloads why are you typing the path from home? and you havent typed the name of the file in the end of the path thus giving you this result.....

what is the size of the usb?It has to be atleast around 15 gigs

wait! the commands you are executing have to be done on the chrome os install on the usb!

@AndreiArgeanu

It is written clearly in the above guide

in the brackets.

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

11 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

@AndreiArgeanu

It is written clearly in the above guide

in the brackets.

I'm dual booting with linux. I've done nearly everything, now I have no idea on how to add this to the GRUB loader so I can boot to Chrome OS now. For reference I used the guide on GitHub

menuentry "ChromeOS (boot from disk image)" {
	img_part=/dev/sdb2
	img_path=/chromeos.img
	search --no-floppy --set=root --file $img_path
	loopback loop $img_path
	linux (loop,gpt7)/kernel boot=local noresume noswap loglevel=7 disablevmx=off \
		cros_secure cros_debug loop.max_part=16 img_part=$img_part img_path=$img_path
	initrd (loop,gpt7)/initramfs.img
}

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

the method is now in the main post.

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

It is possible to do it without the app but we have to google a bit

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

9 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

but there is how to do it in the post without this app

So is this fine?

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

you should only paste the things inbetween the bracket..and If it doesnt boot type "rmmod tpm" before the first line

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

11 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

you should only paste the things inbetween the bracket..and If it doesnt boot type "rmmod tpm" before the first line

It didn't work for me without the rmmod tpm, now its doing a bunch stuff but I guess its OK. Hope it works.

TheCoverUp · August 28, 2020

the first boot takes some time.. but after that Its ready under a minute...but wait 2 mins at the login screen for the android container to start..... It is a bug but the problem doesnt occur with every device..and at the first boot this wont happen but after a reboot the container maynot start thus have to wait on every reboot..

but it is a real beauty after that..

AndreiArgeanu · August 28, 2020

21 minutes ago, TheCoverUp said:

you should only paste the things inbetween the bracket..and If it doesnt boot type "rmmod tpm" before the first line

Well, got past boot and it did all that stuff but now it seems to be stuck at the boot screen for quite a bit.

Edit: nevermind, sorry didn't see the replies. Thanks a lot for helping me though

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How to install official google chrome os on any pc/laptop (Brunch)

Install instructions

From Linux

From Windows(and If using grub2win method there will be a app mostly)

From ChromeOS(only in single boot)

Requirements

Install ChromeOS on a USB flash drive / SD card

method 1

Requirements

Install ChromeOS on a USB flash drive / SD card

Install ChromeOS on HDD from ChromeOS

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