Widespread geekiness observed me seeking to get the Chrome OS strolling this weekend. It took quite a bit of time to work through all the sources consisting of some conflicting commands and a horrific software program. It all labored out, although and I now have the OS strolling on a netbook. This submit is a brief precis of what turned into worried and does not consist of the numerous dead ends and problems I encountered.
Basically, this is Google’s try to develop a small-footprint manipulate device for netbooks for walks net-primarily based apps. The core plumbing is Linux, and the UI is a variation of the Chrome browser. Whether this may discover massive-scale mindshare may not be determined for quite a while. The reliable release will probably be 12 months from now. However, it’s far a thrilling idea, and I wanted to get my palms around it if it does emerge as famous as it will be something that consumer assistance professionals will want to apprehend on the way to aid their apps correctly.
The 2 main factors are the device hardware and the Chrome OS software.
The pre-release model of Chrome OS has plenty of hardware dependencies. So I did a few internet studies to pick out a tool on which the OS has been successfully set up. There have been several applicants. I picked the Asus Eee laptop Seashell because it met the requirements and gave the look of a pleasant netbook.
The netbook comes with windows 7 established. To use the Chrome OS, you want to boot from a USB flash pressure that has a picture of the software on it. The page referenced underneath by Jorge Sierra affords commands, a Chrome build, and a photograph writing device. I already had a couple of the equipment mentioned inside the article.
I did all the flash disk processing on my Toshiba/Vista computer.
The Sierra article gives a hyperlink to a chunk Torrent package with the Chrome OS and an image writing device. There are different Chrome OS builds to be had, but this one worked quality. I ran the torrent, and the download took approximately ten mins. I opened the zip record that turned into in the torrent package and then extracted the Chrome OS build: chrome_os-img. The following step was to format a flash pressure.
Because the image document turned into near to three GB, I purchased a four GB SanDisk Cruzer. Any logo will paintings but I wanted one with an LED so I could inform there has been activity on it. I used the HP Disk garage format tool to format the USB drive the usage of the NTFS placing. The format device is to be had from several sites.
I checked the formatting the usage of the windows manage command. Click on laptop/control/storage/Disk management. If the formatting went successfully, you have to see the USB pressure indexed and a “healthful” message. Next, I used the Win32 Disk Image application to install the picture file on the USB force.
This turned into covered in the Sierra package deal, but I had it already. After launching the application, I pointed to the chrome_os—img record. My USB drive (E) changed into already decided on. Click on Right, and the process starts. While the development bar is complete, the copying is whole. The USB force is now equipped to be used.
After unpacking the netbook, I first activated the windows 7 Starter package protected at the tool. I do not assume you need to do this. However, I wanted the tool to work with windows besides. And that I wanted to test the wifi connection. The wifi discovered my community simply great and that I powered it down.
The final step calls for a trade to the BIOS so the netbook boots from the USB drive.
I plugged the USB power into the netbook. I pressed the energy button and tapped the F2 key until the BIOS setup was regarded. The BIOS key might be exclusive from device to tool. BTW, I needed to faucet the F2 key instead of preserving it down. The boot commands I found on the internet did not quite work for me. I needed to make changes inside the BIOS. The following commands worked for this Asus netbook.
