Archive:Chromebox

Asus Chromebox
Manufacturer	Asus
Released	2014-03-14 (US)
OS	Chrome OS
CPU	Intel® Celeron 2955U Processor
Storage	16GB internal SSD
RAM	2 GB, Dual Channel, DDR3 at 1600MHz
Graphics	Intel® HD Graphics 4000
Connectivity	HDMI, Displayport, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, 2 -in-1 Card Reader, Audio jack
Dimensions	4.88 x 4.88 x 1.65 inch (WxDxH)

Asus Chromebox Rear Ports

Asus Chromebox Side/Front Ports

Devices

Chromebox

The ASUS Chromebox is a small lightweight intel PC that runs Chrome OS and can be made to boot into other linux versions. It features HDMI, Displayport, USB 3 ports, gig ethernet, SD card slot, and internal wireless-n networking. This page is a collection of links, information, tips, and guides related to running XBMC on the ASUS Chromebox line of computers.

Device Preparation

Put in Developer Mode

Putting the ChromeBox in developer mode will allow you to access the underlying Linux operating system features necessary for installing XBMC.

WARNING: This will erase all user data on the device.

With the device powered off, insert a paperclip into the hole left of the SD card slot and press the recovery button. Power on the device, and remove the paper clip after 2-3 seconds. When greeted with the recovery screen, press CTRL-D to enter developer mode, and press the recovery button again to confirm. The device will reboot and wipe any existing user data.

Disable Firmware Write Protect

With the device powered off and unplugged:

1. Remove (4) rubber feet from bottom of unit
2. Remove (4) screws under rubber feet
3. Separate two halves of unit
4. Remove write-protect screw circled below:

   

5. Reassemble in reverse order

Factory Reset

1. Create recovery media using step 2 of Google's instructions here: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/1080595?hl=en
2. With the device powered off, use a paperclip to press the Recovery button and power on the device
3. Insert the recovery media (USB or SD) when prompted

Create a Backup Copy of ChromeOS (on USB/SD)

If you plan on wiping ChromeOS to install OpenELEC (vs dual booting), it's a good idea to have a backup copy of ChromeOS on USB that you can boot to if necessary. These instructions assume you have already put the ChromeBox into developer mode as per above.

To create a bootable USB copy, perform the following steps:

1. Power off your ChromeBox, then power on but do not login. Press CTRL-ALT-F2 to open a shell.

   Login as user chronos, no password is needed.

   Run the command:

   sudo crossystem dev_boot_usb=1

   This enables booting from USB/SD via CTRL-U

2. Insert a USB stick or SD card (8GB minimum) and run the command:

   sudo fdisk -l | grep 'Disk /dev/sd'

   This will list all the drives your ChromeBox sees. The main internal HDD is /dev/sda, any connected USB/SD devices will be /dev/sdb, /dev/sdc, etc. Identify the device corresponding to the USB/SD card you inserted (compare sizes).

3. Run the following command to copy/install ChromeOS to your USB/SD card:

   sudo chromeos-install --skip_src_removable --skip_dst_removable --skip_vblock --dst /dev/sdb (or whatever your device is from above step)

4. When the process completes, your Chromebook will reboot. Now with the USB/SD card still inserted, Press CTRL-U to boot the USB/SD copy of ChromeOS. On first boot, it will want to repair itself and then reboot to the standard login screen.

5. Lets confirm we're booted off of the external device.

   Press CTRL-ALT-F2 to open a shell.

   Login as user chronos, no password is needed.

   Run the command:

   rootdev -s -d

We should see the same device as identified in step 2 above, instead of /dev/sda for the internal HDD. Now we have a backup ChromeOS install that we can boot into at will with CTRL-U

Installing XBMC

As ChromeOS is based on Linux, all methods of running XBMC involve another Linux distribution in some shape or form.

Installing Along Side ChromeOS

The following approaches install Ubuntu+XBMC or OpenELEC along side ChromeOS, either inside ChromeOS, or on a separate partition of the internal HDD.

Using Crouton

Crouton stands for Chromium OS Universal Chroot Environment. It allows for the installation of Ubuntu inside of ChromeOS. Full instructions are available at: https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton

Once Crouton/Ubuntu are installed, follow the standard instructions for installing XBMC under Linux.

Using ChrUbuntu

ChrUbuntu is a shell script developed by Jay Lee to automate the re-partitioning of the internal HDD and installation of Ubuntu.

Generic instructions for installing ChrUbuntu on any ChromeOS device are available at: http://goo.gl/Zekkcl

After ChrUbuntu is installed, follow the standard instructions for installing XBMC under Linux.

Using ChrOpenELEC

ChrOpenELEC is a modification of the ChrUbuntu installation script which installs OpenELEC instead of Ubuntu.

In order to install ChrOpenELEC, your ChromeBox must be in Developer Mode and Factory Reset (see above for instructions)

1. Power on and boot to ChromeOS
2. Hit CTRL-ALT-F2 to get to command prompt
3. Login with user chronos (no password required)
4. Download and run the ChrOpenELEC script with the command:

   sudo curl -L -O http://goo.gl/WIytxU; sudo bash WIytxU

   (with an uppercase 'i' not a lowercase 'l' in WIytxU)

5. Enter the size of the partition to be used as a whole number, from 1 to the max recommended size (9GB for a stock 16GB SSD)

   NOTE: the numeric keypad is off by default, using it will enter garbage characters that will screw up the installation script and result in a failed install.

6. Press Enter to reboot when prompted. ChromeOS will "repair" itself and reboot.
7. Hit CTRL-ALT-F2 to get to command prompt
8. Login with user chronos (no password required)
9. Download and run the ChrOpenELEC script with the command:

   sudo curl -L -O http://goo.gl/WIytxU; sudo bash WIytxU

10. Press Enter to install when prompted. The script will download and install OpenELEC, as well as update the bootloader and legacy BIOS (SeaBIOS) if needed.
11. Press Enter to reboot when installation complete
12. At the developer boot screen, press CTRL-L to boot the legacy BIOS and into OpenELEC

Installing OpenELEC Using Entire Disk (Internal HDD or External USB/SD)

Before wiping ChromeOS and installing OpenELEC to the internal hard drive, it's highly recommended that you create a back/USB copy of ChromeOS using the instructions above: link. This is useful in case (as an example) you want to change the boot flags after the installation of OpenELEC.

You will also need to manually update the legacy BIOS to enable booting from USB/SD media:

1. Power on and boot to ChromeOS
2. Hit CTRL-ALT-F2 to open a shell
3. Login with user chronos (no password required)
4. Download the updated legacy BIOS with the command:

   curl -L -O http://johnlewis.ie/asus-chromebox-SeaBIOS-new.bin

5. Flash the new bios with the command:

   sudo flashrom -w -i:RW_LEGACY:asus-chromebox-SeaBIOS-new.bin

It's a good idea to set the boot flags to shorten the boot time and set booting to the legacy BIOS as the default (so you don't need to hit CTRL-L every time). Follow the instructions below to do so.

In order to install OpenELEC, you'll need to download a custom build from http://gdurl.com/qnDc/download. This build differs from the regular OpenELEC Generic x86_64 build in that it uses a slightly older version of the syslinux bootloader (5.10, vs 6.02), as the version normally included with OpenELEC does not work properly on the ChromeBox at this time. This custom build also includes a fix for some MCE IR remotes, which fail to work when connected to USB 3.0 ports (fix has been submitted as a patch and hopefully will be included in future official OpenELEC releases).

Installation steps:

1. Download the custom build of OpenELEC from http://gdurl.com/qnDc/download

   Once downloaded to your PC/Mac, unzip/extract the files. Insert a USB stick and run the create_installstick installer.

2. Follow the instructions to create the USB installation media

3. Power off your ChomeBox. Insert the USB/SD installation media. If installing to USB/SD, insert it at this time as well.

   Power on and press CTRL-L to boot to legacy BIOS (if not the default)

   Press ESC to bring up the boot menu and select the number corresponding to your USB installation media

   The OpenELEC installer will load

4. Choose the 'Quick Install' menu option

   Select the target disk for install (either the internal HDD or USB/SD disk)

   Hit Yes/Ok to the prompts confirming that the target disk will be erased/overwritten

5. When the installer has finished, remove the installation media and select Reboot.

   If you installed to the internal HDD and set the boot flags as above, OpenELEC should boot right up in about 15 seconds.

   Otherwise, you will need to hit CTRL-L to boot the legacy BIOS, then ESC to show the boot menu and select the USB/SD disk to boot

That's it! If you don't need the MCE remote fix, you can update to the latest official OpenELEC build using the instructions for a manual update here: http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/Updating_OpenELEC. Afterwards, updates should be automatic.

Set Boot Flags

With the firmware write-protect disabled, we can shorten the default developer-mode boot wait time (from 30s to 1s) and set the device to default to booting the legacy BIOS (and into Ubuntu or OpenELEC) instead of ChromeOS.

• Power on and boot to ChromeOS
• Hit CTRL-ALT-F2 to get to command prompt
• Login with user chronos (no password required)

To shorten the boot wait time only, run the command:

sudo set_gbb_flags.sh 0x1

(This is the same as immediately pressing CTRL-D)

To shorten the boot wait time and set the default boot to the legacy BIOS:

sudo set_gbb_flags.sh 0x489

(This is the same as immediately pressing CTRL-L)

To reset these options to default, use:

sudo set_gbb_flags.sh 0x0

Known issues

• Some MCE remote IR receivers do not currently work with USB 3.0 ports under Linux due to a bug in the mceusb kernel driver. A test build of OpenELEC with a fixed mceusb driver is available in section 2.2 above. For Ubuntu installs, a custom kernel will need to be compiled with the fixed driver.

Random notes

Feel free to place various notes, tips, and links here. As this section of the wiki gets more organized, those notes will be properly sorted. Consider this like a dumping ground for when you're not sure where to put something.

Links

• http://www.deconetworks.com/chromebox-full-linux-desktop/
• http://www.willispickering.com/content/upgrade-asus-chromebox-add-more-memory-and-ssd-and-ubuntu
• http://johnlewis.ie/asus-chromebox-owners-rejoice/
• http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=185329