There are some Chromebooks with awesome hardware out there, like the beautiful

Chromebook Pixel, but they don't quite hit their full potential with Chrome OS.
Here's how to install Ubuntu and get more out of your Chromebook.
 Google set out to build "the best laptop possible." The result: the Chromebook Pixel. A
sleek and…

Chrome OS isn't bad, and you can actually do a lot of work with the great Chrome
apps out there. But sometimes, you just need a full desktop to get things done. Enter
Ubuntu: with just a few minutes of work, you can get a full-fledged Linux desktop up
and running on some solid Chromebook hardware, making for a pretty great laptop.
 The Chrome app store has seen a lot of improvements lately, but a lot of the apps that
work inside…

We're going to use a tool called Crouton to install Ubuntu (hat tip to our friends at
the How-To Geek), which uses the chroot command to run Ubuntu on top of Chrome
OS, which is already based on Linux. Unlike dual-booting, that means you can
switch between Chrome OS and Ubuntu with a quick keyboard shortcut, no reboots
necessary, which is awesome. It's speedy, powerful, and there only when you need it.
If you prefer a more traditional dual-boot environment, check out ChrUbuntu
instead, but we'll be using Crouton today. We tested this on a Chromebook Pixel, but
it should work on any Chromebook.

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1. Press and hold the Esc and Refresh keys together, then press the Power button
(while still holding the other two keys). This will reboot your Chromebook into
Recovery Mode.

2. As soon as you see Recovery Mode pop up—the screen with the yellow
exclamation point—press Ctrl+D. This will bring up a prompt asking if you want
to turn on Developer Mode.

3. Press Enter to continue, then give it some time. It'll pop up with a new screen
for a few moments, then reboot and go through the process of enabling
Developer Mode. This may take a little while (about 15 minutes or so), and will
wipe your local information.

4. When it's done, it will return to the screen with the red exclamation point.
Leave it alone until it reboots into Chrome OS.
Note that some older Chromebooks have a physical switch that you'll have to flip in
order to turn on Developer Mode. If you aren't sure, look up instructions for your
specific device on enabling Developer Mode.

Next, we're going to install Crouton and get Ubuntu up and running. To do so, follow
these instructions:

1. Download Crouton from the top of this page (or by clicking here) and save it in
your Downloads folder.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T to bring up a terminal on your Chromebook.

At the Terminal, run the following command to enter a Ubuntu shell:

shell

Next, run the following command to install Crouton:

sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -t xfce

If you're doing this on a Chromebook Pixel, change it to:

sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -t touch,xfce

1. Let your computer install Crouton. This might be a good time to grab a cup of
tea. When it's done it'll ask you for a username and password for your new
Ubuntu installation, so enter them when prompted.

After it's finished installing, run the following command to start your new
desktop environment:

sudo startxfce4

If you want Ubuntu's Unity interface instead of the XFCE desktop environment,
you'd change instances of "xfce" to "unity" (no quotes) in the above commands,
including the last command (which would become "startunity"). You can also install
LXDE or KDE if you prefer. See the Crouton GitHub page for more info on what you
can do, and our guide to desktop environments for the difference between each one.
Now, you can switch back and forth between Chrome OS and Ubuntu using
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Back and Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Forward (if you're on an ARM-
based Chromebook) or Ctrl+Alt+Back and Ctrl+Alt+Forward (If you're on an
Intel-based Chromebook). In the latter case, you will also need to press
Ctrl+Alt+Refresh after pressing Ctrl+Alt+Forward to bring up the desktop. To
exit the Linux desktop, just log out of it like you would on a normal PC—you'll close
it completely and go back to Chrome OS (after which you can run sudo startxfce4
again to go back).
Now that you're on the Desktop, here are some things you may want to know to
optimize your experience:

· Your desktop won't come with very many programs installed. You'll find that
even a lot of default Ubuntu tools are left out, so you'll have to install them
yourself using apt-get. If you're on an ARM-based Chromebook, not all apps
will be compatible. Intel users will be much better off.

· If you're using XFCE, you should disable the screensaver, which can cause
graphics issues in Chrome OS.

· The Downloads folder in Chrome OS is the same as the Downloads folder on the
Linux desktop, so if you download or create a file in one environment, you can
put it in the Downloads folder to make it available in the other as well.

· If you're on a high resolution display like the Chromebook Pixel, your icons will
be very, very tiny. The Crouton wiki has a few options for fixing this, though
none are quite perfect. You either deal with a few tinier buttons or you go to a
more standard resolution.

· Since your Chromebook is in Developer Mode, it will take an extra 30 seconds

· Lastly, if you want to remove your Linux desktop and go back to regular ol'
Chrome OS, you can just reboot your Chromebook and press spacebar when it
prompts you to re-enable OS verification. This will remove Crouton and restore
Chrome OS in its original state.

That's it! Now you have a fully working Linux desktop on top of Chrome OS, and you
can switch between them whenever you want with a quick keystroke. This makes
those great but seemingly dumbed-down Chromebooks a lot more useful (not to
mention tempting).

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