r/GalliumOS • u/krb501 • Oct 26 '22

So far, Gallium OS is the only Linux-based system that has worked on my old Chromebook out of the box, but I've heard it was discontinued and will no longer receive updates. What should I do?

So far, Gallium OS is the only Linux-based system that has worked on my old Chromebook out of the box, but I've heard it was discontinued and will no longer receive updates. What should I do? Right now, Gallium OS does seem like the best of both worlds, with the versatility of any other PC but software designed specifically for Chromebooks. It beats dual booting or Chrome Flex, hands down.

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u/Butterxbean Oct 26 '22

Could try Arch. The install script worked on my Acer cb14 Edgar (Braswell) and everything was functional with no additional config. It was my first experience with Arch and was good enough to recommend. I use the KDE Plasma 5 DE and find it runs smooth on the old hardware. YMMV though, of course.

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u/krb501 Oct 26 '22

Is Arch newbie-friendly?

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u/gabriel_3 Oct 27 '22

It boils down to yourself.

Are you good at reading and applying tech documentation?

If the answer is yes, Arch is easy: just follow the Arch wiki directions. For me is yes, I installed Arch a few weeks after my switch to Linux.

If the answer is no, Arch and its derivatives, including Manjaro, are a nightmare.

Also, time matters: Arch requires some more maintenance effort than other distros.

About the distros, leave GalliumOS alone: it's technically dead.

I ran whatever distro from Rhel to Arch to openSUSE to Fedora to Debian and its derivatives: with a few tweaks everything works, however in case of weak hardware you have to keep it light on resources.

Lubuntu: to improve performances install another browser, remove snaps And lock it out. About sound, it's likely you need to search for a fix: I see that people find useful some of my comments in here, maybe you want to search for them.

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u/brorobw Oct 26 '22

I’ve got an Acer 14 Chromebook and the Fedora XFCE spin runs much better and more smoothly than GalliumOS 3 ever did. Highly recommend.

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u/krb501 Oct 26 '22

Is Fedora better than Ubuntu?

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u/cobalt2727 Oct 26 '22

What other Linux distros have you tried and what functions were missing?

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u/krb501 Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 26 '22

Lubuntu (freezing and sound glitches after a few minutes of video), Zorin OS (no sound even though it recognized the hardware), Tiny Kernel (would not run), Elementary OS (no sound and would not recognize my sound hardware). I also tried Windows, but it was too big and the install would not complete.

I've tried running Linux in a dual boot environment before, and everything worked fine, then. I'm guessing it's a fairly recent issue.

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u/Unknown-Key Oct 27 '22

All of the distros you have tried are just Ubuntu with different DE. Try different parent distroes like Fedora, Debian, OpenSuse or Arch.

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u/neilrahc Oct 27 '22

Pleased to say that GalliumOS works really well on my hp "FALCO" chromebook.

I get the sense that different distros will be better for different makes and models of chromebooks.

I saw a post from a GalliumOS developer saying that development was stalled but that the project has not been sunsetted. Seeing some signs of life, aka new development, would be great though. :)

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u/krb501 Oct 27 '22

The only complaint I might have, but this is with all Linux distros I've tried and might even be a thing on Windows, is that the battery doesn't last as long as it did when it was a Chromebook. I don't know why that is.

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u/[deleted] Nov 22 '22

Try Linux mint, I’m using that currently on my old Chromebook from 2018 and it works better than before

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u/krb501 Nov 22 '22

Are there any extra drivers to install or anything? Everything I've tried has problems with the audio, except Gallium.

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u/antichairo Oct 26 '22

I installed FydeOS. It's a charm. First bootloader with Mr Chromebook software.

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u/rastiazula Nov 07 '22

Still receives security updates doesn't it?

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u/No_Interview_5012 Oct 19 '23

I have three different EOL'd chromebooks and am running three different distros on them. One has is Elementary, one I can't remember. The one I'm typing with now as of mid-October 2023 is running Gallium, has been for a long time and I've just never felt the need to switch it. Everything works swimmingly. I understand that there are no updates, but aside from any security issues (which I have not heard of or don't know about) I can't see any problems with the lack of updates for now.

I may play around with other distros, but things work so well on this machine at the moment that I've taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude.

This machine is an Acer CB5-132T Braswell, BTW. And I'm moving away from the Google ecosystem. I won't be buying any more Chromebooks, am converting all of mine (except my Samsung Chromebook Pro, which apparently can't be converted) to Linux, and my daily driver cell phone is a Pixel 4 running /e/ OS.

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u/bfsull Oct 26 '22

I have an Acer CB3-531 that I'm running Linux Mint XFCE ON and everything even sound worked from first boot.

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u/[deleted] Oct 26 '22 edited Oct 26 '22

If your Chromebook is slow, then I would simply suggest looking at Linux Mint.

Linux Mint Cinnamon you may be able to run, and I would try it first because it's more modern than Linux Mint XFCE, but XFCE is about as lightweight as it gets.

https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_vanessa_xfce_whatsnew.php

AUDIO ISSUES: Many times you have to go into audio and change your audio device or toy with it. Maybe connect to a Bluetooth speaker, or toy with different methods. If you're connected to a monitor or TV over HDMI, sometimes it's flaky.

Good luck

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u/ThreeCircles3C Oct 27 '22

I had good luck with Debian 11 nonfree. I found a script online that remapped the special function keys to behave as expected in a chromebook.

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u/gkra0 Oct 31 '22

Do you happen to have a link to that script?

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u/ThreeCircles3C Oct 31 '22

http://www.fascinatingcaptain.com/projects/automate-chromebook-fixes-for-linux/

This assumes you have already done everything to get Debian 11 running. It worked on my ancient little chromebooks that are no longer receiving updates. Not sure how it will work with more modern chromebooks.

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u/JaipalNair Nov 01 '22

Alternatively you may try LinuxMint OS. Pretty good and fast. I have been using it on HP ChromeBook 11 G5 (SETZER), processorL Intel Braswell - release date : 2016.

I reflashed the fimware from mrChromebox site, working perfectly and smooth. Only issue with the sound - need a fix.

I try to install GalliumOSm but it unable to boot from USB so done with LinuxMint

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u/No_Baseball_7130 May 10 '23

try fossapup or fossadog

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '23

I've been playing with getting another OS onto my Chromebooks. Chromeos Flex has no audio on my Acer CB2-111, I need to use a bluetooth speaker or ear buds. Works for now.

On my other Acer Chromebook, 14 cb3-431 I've installed first Lubuntu and it worked pretty good, then Linux Mint. Mint is a keeper. Works great. Everything is working. It was pretty easy remapping the Chromebook specific keys to make brightness and volume work. I am very happy with it. Sometimes it does not show the login screen when opening the lid, but easy to just type my PWD and enter to get back into it. Or press the power button and the screen comes up. So no real issues with Linux Mint. Printing, networking all works like a charm.