Can I put Ubuntu on this ASUS chromebook and turn it into a full PC?

john5220

Senior member
Mar 27, 2014
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http://www.amazon.com/Asus-C300MA-DB...%22+chromebook

this chromebook, I need a laptop to run an IDE like even say DEV C++ or something basically to program on and for school. I need something super light and super slim to travel and stand over an hour in line when waiting for the hourly BUS for school

How safe is it and how easy is it to put Ubuntu on these things? can you destroy and brick the laptop in the process?

I already have a microsd card with a adapter already its a fast class 10 ADATA I think whatever number the fast class is.

Could I safely run Ubuntu off the SD Card and not interfere with the Chrome OS? I am afraid to buy this and destroy it.

I like this laptop because its so slim. Also for the same price would you recommend this Chromebook or a used ASUS UL30A with windows 7 and 6GB RAM? I don't need much ram honestly I need something for school assignments and learning programming.

Moved from CPUs to Notebooks
-ViRGE
 
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Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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I read a few guides on how to do it. Honestly though, with so much cheap hardware out there, you could get a decent laptop for a little more that would be much easier to work with...

Here's one of the guides....there are many. I've not done it, but I like having peripherals. Another consideration is that battery life on Ubuntu is a little worse than Windows and maybe Chrome. Just be aware that idle cycles and processor utilization will vary from OS to OS and you can end up with a far shorter battery life as a result of changing up OS. If you get it on there, you may need to do some tuning to maximize battery life.

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-install-linux-on-a-chromebook-and-unlock-its-ful-509039343
 

john5220

Senior member
Mar 27, 2014
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^Yeah but nothing for anywhere near $230 that happens to be a razer thin fanless 13 inch laptop with an SSD.

Its like there is no comparison to chromebooks when it comes to price.

I would love to see a Laptop for around $250 that's 13 inch and so razer thin not to mention how beautiful this ASUS chromebook actually looks.

Why don't they put this much effort into normal PC laptops? sheesh
 

MiddleOfTheRoad

Golden Member
Aug 6, 2014
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^Yeah but nothing for anywhere near $230 that happens to be a razer thin fanless 13 inch laptop with an SSD.

Its like there is no comparison to chromebooks when it comes to price.

I would love to see a Laptop for around $250 that's 13 inch and so razer thin not to mention how beautiful this ASUS chromebook actually looks.

Why don't they put this much effort into normal PC laptops? sheesh

I've seen brand new Toshiba Laptops for $199 with similar specs -- which were preloaded with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Not really sure if those units are as visually nice, but would be a bit easier to install Ubuntu on.
 

Vesku

Diamond Member
Aug 25, 2005
3,743
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This should probably be in the notebooks section. That said I have Fedora on my Acer C710 Ivybridge notebook. Arch Linux people keep a decent list of which Chromebooks support a full Linux install:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Chromebook

Looks like Asus' support for full Linux installs is lacking.
 

gotcha640

Junior Member
Oct 14, 2013
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While I totally get the urge to put linux on everything, when I look at any of the smaller, lighter, minimal storage machines, I see an oversized tablet. I would use it for the times when I can carry a bit more than just my Nexus 7, and I'll be in one place a bit longer (plane, conference, one or two night trips) but I don't want the hassle/risk of travelling with my main 18" laptop.

So, what would you do under Linux, on that processor, with that amount of storage, on that screen size, that you couldn't do under Chrome OS?
 

Vesku

Diamond Member
Aug 25, 2005
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While I totally get the urge to put linux on everything, when I look at any of the smaller, lighter, minimal storage machines, I see an oversized tablet. I would use it for the times when I can carry a bit more than just my Nexus 7, and I'll be in one place a bit longer (plane, conference, one or two night trips) but I don't want the hassle/risk of travelling with my main 18" laptop.

So, what would you do under Linux, on that processor, with that amount of storage, on that screen size, that you couldn't do under Chrome OS?

I swapped out the built in storage for a 120GB SSD and am running things like LibreOffice and a full media manager. Basically it's one of the few ways to avoid the Windows tax.