This machine was an interesting device, its quite large and sturdy with a large, hefty screen. Perhaps, around 16.2 inches of screen real estate. Similar to the HP G6 machine, using an Intel chip, but this machine contained an Intel i3 Core with 2 CPUs baked into the MOBO.
Following my previous steps in preparing this device to install linux onto its SSD, i did come across a bit of an issue when installing Linux Mint. An initial error message stated that it wasnt detecting the nvme SSD, then I rebooted it. I booted back the same approach from using the USB containing the Linux OS. After going back to the same screen and bypassing the selection of SSD screen, it was finally installing.
During installation, it froze at around 85% of the process and generated an error message, which I failed to capture once again. So, I decided to reboot and use the same approach, booting from the USB stick and choosing to boot it after pressing ESC on the keyboard to access the boot menu. Finally, it was operational. The linux install medium seems to have a tiny bit of trouble when recognizing this particular type of SSD on this Chromebook. Crashing during installation was also foreign to me.
After booting multiple times and installing it twice partway, the third time was the Charm. The only complaint i had was to get the device to Developer Mode, this one took around 45 minutes to complete. I honestly dont know why it took so long. Perhaps, going to Dev Mode means that it was wiping everything on the nvme ssd and start anew with a new profile on this system from scratch.
I honestly believed that mrchromebox may not support this newer device but i was so wrong. Firmware did install after removing write-protect using `flashrom -p internal –wp-disable` and then `flashrom –wp-status` to check. Everything came back green after a quick reboot before installing this firmware-util.sh from mrchromebox.tech.
Aside from the long wait of going to Dev Mode and some minor issues with installing Linux Mint, everything was functional, better than I had expected.
