Re: Installing Debian On Chromebook Pixel
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your feedback. Some responses inline.
Quoth Bob Proulx:
> I don't have a Chromebook. Therefore I don't consider myself well
> versed in the subject. I can't test it out. But I have written
> laptop pages for Debian before though so have some experience with
> that end. Since no one else answered I wanted to give feedback.
>
> I read through the wiki page you created and I am impressed. I found
> it covered all of the information I could think of covering. It
> provided good references to the issues. Thank you for making all of
> that great information available. Good job!
Great, glad you think so, thanks! I wasn't sure about linking to the
external guide for installing Debian, but it's so clear I thought it
was best.
> It both motivated me that I should get an ARM laptop
So firstly, the Chromebook Pixel isn't an ARM. Some other
Chromebooks are, but this one is x86_64. The exciting things about
this laptop for me are the screen primarily, and also the freeness
of the firmware [2] (though I lack the expertise to take advantage
of that, which is a pity as there are some changes I'd ideally
like).
> and terrified me
> due to the battery loss dev-mode issue. I would like to ask about
> that issue. Have you experienced a flat battery yourself and had to
> go through the recovery process?
>
> The posting by Bill Richardson said that the Chromebook 1) was not
> bricked but needed ChromeOS recovery and 2) that dev-mode was stored
> in "battery-backed CMOS". But battery-backed CMOS should survive a
> main battery used to zero. Those are all new enough that a CMOS
> battery shouldn't be dead year. Therefore a main battery used to zero
> shouldn't seem to brick the unit. Is that not true on the Chromebook?
The battery loss thing scares me too. It hasn't happened to me,
despite the battery completely running out on me quite a few times
(that was before I learned about the potential danger). All I have
to go on is the post I linked, plus a couple more [0] [1].
I read "battery-backed CMOS" as meaning the CMOS settings were
backed by the main battery. But perhaps I'm wrong. Either way
though, it's clearly something that has burned others (and you're
right, I can't imagine a non-defective battery lasting less than a
year), so it's worth being very cautious about.
Probably it's technically possible to flash different firmware onto
the thing, and Google have been fantastic about releasing firmware
code [2], so it may be fixable. But it's beyond my resources to fix
it, sadly.
Nick
0. https://plus.google.com/111049168280159033135/posts/4nkSEmGoVF4
1. https://plus.google.com/117057264318218846563/posts/hnVnjpF53zY
2. https://lwn.net/Articles/537791/
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