- Asus Chromebox Troubleshooting
- Can You Install Windows On Asus Chromebox Windows 10
- What Is The Best Chromebox
- Can You Install Windows On Asus Chromebox Laptop
- Install Windows 10
- Asus Chromebox Specs
With the components shown above, you could also easily install Windows on the Chromebox and then have a powerful but energy-saving and ultra-compact office computer for under 300 bucks or so. For our tutorial here the weakest Chromebox is sufficient, because Linux/Kodi uses resources much more frugally than the cumbersome Microsoft product. I am writing this article on Windows 8 running on my Asus Chromebox, booting from a USB hard drive. Audio does not seem to work, otherwise it seems fine. I used WinToUsb to install Windows 8.1 to a Toshiba USB 3 portable. I followed the XBMC directions to install dual boot chrubuntu. You can usually find models from HP and Asus on sale for less than their $180 list prices. The living room Chromebox isn’t for everyone, as it requires some tweaking, but it. The tinker in me wants to install Ubuntu 20.04, I like the new GUI, it's slick. However I get screen flickering when trying to install with LEGACYRW which I understand is known and there are no fixes. Realized I can use EFI BIOS and install CloudReady next to Ubuntu Dualboot.
I recently stumbled across the ASUS CHROMEBOX-M004U. It’s a Chromebox, which is cool in its own right, but I was interested in using it’s dual-core Celeron Haswell CPU, expandable RAM (up to 16GB), and M2 Sata storage for other purposes.
First things first, you’ve got to enable the box to run things other than ChromeOS… Thankfully that’s well documented ( http://kodi.wiki/view/ASUS_Chromebox ), so I won’t go into detail at this time. But I will say, I used the standalone, custom coreboot firmware and chose the headless option, as my current planned use cases are for servers. Apparently you want non-headless if you plan to use the box as a Plex Home Theater or Kodi box. Nv3500 technical manual. Oh, also, I set it to boot first from USB if available.
Asus Chromebox Troubleshooting
Now the Chromebox will boot happily from it’s internal SSD or USB if attached.
Time for ESXi! I haven’t been blogging much in the past couple years, but I have been doing a lot of home work with virtualization, ESXi, vSPhere, ZFS, SmartOS, OmniOS… so at this point I’ve got a bunch of crazy tech projects going on at home.
First, you need an ESXi installer ISO image… I’m using ESXi 5.5u2 and it’s freely available from VMware…https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter You probably have to register to get it. 6.0 is out now, but I haven’t made that jump. However, while 6.0 DOES have USB3/xhci driver, even the latest ISO for 5.5 does not… Even though the matrix of VIB versions per release https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Vzx4NLhx1XzhmS-hQuIO1wXa98_8EKN3bhXjFx2GgQ shows later versions which have it. So we’ll have to add that/upgrade after install. (Also, this is helpful information about that matrix: http://www.v-front.de/2012/11/are-esxi-5x-patches-cumulative.html)
Second, we need to customize our installer to have non-standard packages for this machine.
![Asus chromebox reset Asus chromebox reset](https://images.hothardware.com/static/articleimages/Item2157/small_Asus-Chromebox-HotHardware.jpg)
I’ve been using ESXi Customer: https://vibsdepot.v-front.de/wiki/index.php/ESXi-Customizer Graffiti fonts.
And, you’ll need to get some custom VIBs (drivers/configs)… you need the following 2, and you want the offline-bundle versions
To customize, you use a source ISO and add an offline bundle… ESXi Customer only does one VIB at a time… so after it gives you one customized ISO, rename it, then use it as the source, and add the second VIB.
Now, you are ready to install… ** We will install to a different, better supported machine, ensuring your install is good to go, then move to the Chromebox. **
Using your custom ISO burned to a USB flash drive (various tools to do that, on windows I use Rufus), install to a target USB flash drive at least 8GB (not the one you are installing from). Installing can take some time, so be patient. Also, make sure you only install to the desired, target flash drive, not your hard drive or something. ?
Once installed, remove the installer flash drive, and boot from the target ESXi flash drive. Again, it takes a while.
Now we have a few configuration steps.
First, we’ll use F2, to customize the system… navigate to troubleshooting options… press enter on “Enable SSH” ( screenshots here: http://www.thomasmaurer.ch/2012/09/activate-ssh-on-vmware-esxi-5-1/ )
For the rest of the steps, SSH into your ESXi machine, it should be displaying it’s IP on the screen.
For the rest of the steps, SSH into your ESXi machine, it should be displaying it’s IP on the screen.
Second, we need to fix a network setting. By default, the vmk0 (virtual NIC created on which the DHCP client runs) will do a one-time clone of the MAC HW address of your system’s NIC, so you’ll need to fix this, else when booting the USB in a different machine, the installation will boot with the original machine’s MAC… it will CONFLICT with your original machine, you’ll have network issues, including using same IP if you have DHCP static addresses, etc.
more detail from: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1031111
Third, you need to install and make sure that USB3/xhci gets loaded at boot…
and add following to /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh :
more detail from: http://www.v-front.de/2014/11/vmware-silently-adds-native-usb-30.html
Finally, you should be able to shutdown, remove the USB flash drive with ESXi on it, put into Chromebox, and boot. And it should come up with it’s own HW MAC, IP, etc, have access to update its own config on its USB drive, and be able to use an attached keyboard.
SSH to new ESXi IP and/or use the vSphere Client to manage as normal.
Chromebooks are very popular among users for productivity purposes. Although google has been updating the ChromeOS fairly regularly, its very limiting in nature. In terms of features it does not even come close to Windows or some Linux distros.
Some of you may be wondering is there some way to install Windows 10 on a Chromebook? There is a simple way to do so actually. Here I will tell you how to install Windows 10 on Chromebook.
Contents
- 1 How To Install Windows On Chromebook?
Before You Install:
There are some things you need to know about before you can install Windows on Chromebook.
1. Compatibility issues
You can only install Windows 10 on Chromebooks if you have an Intel based processor. If you have an ARM based processor, this method wont work, and you may end up bricking your device.
2. Storage space
You need to have ample space on your device in order to install and run Windows on your Chromebook. A 32-bit Windows 10 OS requires a minimum of 16GB of storage space, and the 64-bit OS requires a minimum of 32GB of storage.Make sure you have enough space left after an install to run the device smoothly and install Windows Updates as well.
3. Specifications
Windows 10 has some minimum requirements to work smoothly. Make sure your device has met the minimum requirements to install Windows 10.
4. Device Drivers
During installation, the drivers are not enabled. So, your trackpad and keyboard wont work during the install. Make sure you have an additional USB mouse and keyboard (optional) for input during installation.
5. Warranty issues
To install another OS, you may have to remove a write-protect screw from your motherboard. This will void your warranty, so in case anything goes wrong keep that in mind.
6. Backup
Make sure to backup your firmware and data as your Chromebook will be wiped to factory settings.
Now that you know what may go wrong, here is how you can install Windows 10 on your Chromebook.
How To Install Windows On Chromebook?
To install Windows 10 on Chromebook, you need to follow these steps:
1. Remove the Write Protection screw if your system has one. Check the developer website to check if your system has one and how to remove it.
2. Enable Developer Mode
With your Chromebook switched off, hold the ESC+REFRESH keys and then press the Power button. Wait for the screen to boot up to display “chrome OS is missing or damaged”.
Press Ctrl + D to bypass this screen and press Enter at the next screen.
Again, press Ctrl + D to bypass this message. Wait for your system to go into developer mode. You will see a timer on the top right-hand corner. Power off the device once developer mode is enabled.
3. Enable USB Boot
You can go to ChromeOS install when you next power on your device by pressing Ctrl + D. but we need to boot from a USB devise, so we need to enable USB boot.
Power on your device, and press Ctrl + D at the initial startup screen to load Chrome OS.
Press Ctrl + Alt + F2 at the ChromeOS login screen.
Login using the password chronos.
In the terminal prompt, enter the following command and press Enter:
sudo crossystemdev_boot_usb=1 dev_boot_legacy=1
Power off your device by typing: sudo poweroff
Now at startup you will get BIOS screen instead on ChromeOS.
4. Create Bootable Media
You need a bootable USB device that contains the Windows 10 you want to install on your Chromebook.
On a separate device, download the Windows .iso Media Creation tool from their website.
Here you can create a bootable USB device using the onscreen instructions.
Alternatively, you can download the .iso file and use an iso burner like Rufus or MiniTool Partition Wizard to create a bootable USB device.
5. Wipe The Preloaded OS Data
Insert the bootable USB device you created into your Chromebook.
Power on your device and press Ctrl + L at the login screen to enter BIOS screen.
At the BIOS screen, press Esc to enter boot media device selection. Choose your flash drive.
Hopefully you should see the Windows logo and the loading circle. Drama serial dil diya dehleez episode 65.
If you don’t see this option, it may be because your BIOS does not support it yet. I will show how to install a different BIOS later in this post.
Also, now is the time to connect an external mouse and keyboard.
Click on Next in the Windows Setup to select the language and architecture.
Click on Repair your computer.
Click on Troubleshoot in Choose an Option. Click on Advanced and select Command Prompt.
Here use the diskpart command to open the native disk partition tool.
Enter list disk to show the disk partitions on your device.
Locate the disk number of your internal disk drive by using the command: select disk ####
(Replace #### with your disk number)
Type exit to close the command prompt and turn off your PC.
5.1) Install BIOS Firmware
If you did not see the Windows Logo, it may be because your BIOS does not support Windows firmware. You need to install a script to run this.
Enter the developer mode as said above.
Press Ctrl + D to boot ChromeOS
Can You Install Windows On Asus Chromebox Windows 10
Once logged in, press Ctrl + Alt + T to open a terminal in the new browser tab.
Type shell and press Enter.
Paste the following command into shell and press Enter:
cd ~; curl -L -O https://coolstar.org/chromebook/setup-firmware.sh && sudo bash setup-firmware.sh
What Is The Best Chromebox
Once the script has run, select Install/Update Full ROM Software.
Follow the on-screen instructions to backup your firmware and install the new BIOS.
Power off your PC. Insert your bootable device in now.
6. Install Windows
Can You Install Windows On Asus Chromebox Laptop
Power on your device and press Ctrl + L at the login screen to enter BIOS screen.
At the BIOS screen, press Esc to enter boot media device selection. Choose your flash drive.
The device should boot from your flash drive. Click on InstallNow to complete a fresh install of Windows on your PC.
7. Run Updates Or Download Drivers
Install Windows 10
Most of the drivers during install would not be compatible with your device, so download them from your manufacturer’s website or online stores.
Conclusion
Asus Chromebox Specs
Although it is not recommended to do so because of the incompatibility issues, you can still install Windows 10 on Chromebook using the method given below. Do comment below if you have any queries or for further discussion.