replacing chromeos with linux mint: hardware issues

[u/telnaga]

I've put linux mint on a handful of chromebooks by now, but I'm having trouble with this one. It's an HP chromebook 14 g5; HWID "Snappy". Initially my process was stopped at commands just not letting me enable booting from a USB.

so then I found and have been referencing https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/docs/firmware/wp/disabling.html , which says this model needs to have its battery disconnected, and the laptop powered externally, to allow for readwriting. I disconnected the battery cable - fairly certain I got the right one, as it's the only cable attached to the battery at all, and the laptop won't power without it. Plugged in the charger - 65W, new and offputting to me is that the laptop takes usb-c -

plugging in the charger turns the laptop on, but it only shows the "OS verification has been disabled" screen I've gotten it to for about a second, then turns off, then struggles back into that screen, then turns off. it doesnt seem to be able to sustain itself on the 65w charger, but I need it to if I want to replace the OS.

[u/Leather-Security8097]

That's not really a Linux question...

If you don't have another charger, you'll need to either buy one with a higher wattage and hope it works, or buy/make a "SuzyQ" cable. If you can find the Flash chip on the board and a schematic, you might also be able to ground the write protect pin and then flash a new ROM with the battery connected.

[u/telnaga → u/Leather-Security8097]

i know its not really a linux question. cant really find a better place to post it - and when looking for similar threads, found one in here with a good answer from someone despite it not being a linux question. (thats where i even learned about mrchromebox.)

mrchromebox says minimum charger wattage for this process is 45 - is there some simple reason mine (65w) isnt working?

[u/Leather-Security8097 → u/telnaga]

r/chrultrabook would generally have more people knowledgeable about Chromebook hardware. u/mrchromebox himself posts / answers questions there occasionally; I don't think I've ever seen him in this subreddit.

The maximum current a USB-C cable can carry is signaled to the charge controllers through specific resistor values. If the cable is damaged or is not original to the charger and designed for a lower wattage, then it will not be able to negotiate the maximum current. A 65W charger should work unless it's faulty, not standards compliant, or for some reason the Chromebook tries to draw more than that when it powers on. I'm assuming the latter.

[u/MrChromebox → u/Leather-Security8097]

I don't think I've ever seen him in this subreddit.

only when summoned ;-)

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[u/telnaga]

so I think I actually just got around it. reconnected battery, tried a different route - putting full steps here for posterity & possibly help others. 1. ctrl + alt + f2 to pull up commands. enter "chronos" to be in admin mode.  2. i found on the mrchromebox site commands to check and alter the read/write state.

sudo flashrom --wp-status

sudo flashrom --wp-disable

i didnt expect it to work, but it seems to have. 

1. run the mrchromebox firmware utility script: cd; curl -LOf https://mrchromebox.tech/firmware-util.sh && sudo bash firmware-util.sh

then you can install the UEFI firmware from there. encountered no walls. restarted & boot linux from thumbdrive

[u/MrChromebox → u/telnaga]

sudo flashrom --wp-status

sudo flashrom --wp-disable

please don't do that, you're lucky you didn't end up with a brick.

the script also does this for you and prompts you to reboot, so that you don't end up with one.

[u/MrChromebox]

not all devices support booting without a battery due to EC bugs, hardware design, etc. SNAPPY appears to be one of those. Use a SuzyQ cable instead.