Installing BionicPup on a Acer C710 Chromebook

[joes]

First big thanks to bigpup and mouldy.

I have an Acer Chromebook, C710-B8472G32iii (code name Parrot)
https://mobilespecs.net/laptop/Acer/Ace ... 32iii.html
With an Intel Celeron 847, 2GB Ram and 256GB 2.5 HDD (instead of the 320GB, my guess it was replaced).

One thing to notice, I used https://coolstar.org/chromebook/windows ... Parrot-ivb guide
to flash the BIOS so I could install Windows instead of Chrome OS, and do I did.

Now, I would like to install BionicPup as the only OS
since Windows is super heavy on this Chromebook.
I can run BionicPup32 8.0 from a USB device, but failed to understand how to install it.

I will appreciate your help on how to do it!

Do you want to keep Windows installed?

No

Do you boot to a Windows boot menu and select booting Windows?

No, at the moment I have no boot menu, nor a functional OS.

[Jafadmin]

If it were me in your situation, I would boot the BionicPup32 USB thumbdrive and ..
[Edited to correct #3]
1) Format the internal 256GB drive as ext3 using GPartEd
2) Still in GPartEd, set the boot flag on the internal 256GB Drive
3) [Edit] Use the "Install" wizard (universal Installer) to install BionicPup32 to the internal drive as a frugal install
4) Remove the USB thumbdrive and reboot into the new HD install
5) Exit the new install and when puppy asks if you want a save file, say yes, and save
as a directory type savefile (no encryption)

YMMV

[joes]

First thank you!

3) Use Grub4Dos to install BionicPup32 to the internal drive as a frugal install

Can you please expand on section 3 (I need to open G4Dos from my BPup32 USB Thumbdrive?)

5) Exit the new install and when puppy asks if you want a save file, say yes, and save as a directory type savefile (no encryption)

"and save as a directory" = can you tell me which Path?

[bigpup]

Grub4dos is not going to do an install of Bionicpup.
Grub4dos is a boot loader used to boot the computer and the operating systems on it.

If you have done this as you indicate you did.

Turn off your device, open the back and remove the Write Protect Screw.
Press Esc + Refresh + Power
Press Ctrl + D and press Enter to enable developer mode
Press Ctrl + D to boot Chrome OS
Open a tab and press Ctrl + Alt + T
Type in "shell" and press Enter.
Paste the following into the shell and press enter

cd ~; curl -L -O https://mrchromebox.tech/uefi-flash.sh && sudo bash uefi-flash.sh

The Chromebook now has a mrchromebox uefi firmware on it. So the bios firmware acts like a normal computer.

You are going to need to use a Puppy installer that can also install a UEFI boot loader to boot it.

I suggest this:

Do all of this from Bionicpup running from the Bionicpup USB.

Use Gparted program
Note:
Not knowing exactly what partition table setup the drive has.
You could keep it the same or change it to msdos.
Then do partitioning.

Delete all partitions on drive and start over.
Setup the internal drive with 2 partitions.
First one, small 300MB, fat32 format, flagged boot. (location for boot loader files, boot partition)
Rest of drive, whatever other partition(s), but one ext3 or 4 format. (location to put frugal installs)
(this is UEFI standard requirement, and some computers, look for a fat32 partition, for boot loader files)

Use Frugalpup Installer to do the install.
Run Frugalpup Installer main program.
On the main window are selection buttons.
Select the Puppy button, to do the install.
Go through install process, selecting to install to the ext formatted partition.
Note:
When selecting the partition to install to.
A window pops up, giving option to make a directory, to put the frugal install in.
I make this directory and usually name it, the name of the Puppy version.
Carefully read that windows info.
Press enter, makes the directory, not the OK button.
complete the install.

When it gets back to the main Frugalpup window.
Select the boot button.
Select the location of the frugal install, on the internal drive.
Select the small 300MB partition on the internal drive, as location to install the boot loader. (may need to scroll the selection window)
Select the boot loader type.
UEFI
mbr ->legacy bios boot
both

You can install the UEFI for UEFI computers, mbr for legacy bios computers, or both, to boot anything.

You probably need the UEFI one.

Now you should have Bionicpup as a frugal install and the boot loader installed to boot it.

Shutdown poweroff the computer.
Remove the Bionicpup USB.

Now you have to get the computers bios setup to first try booting from the internal drive.

Poweron and boot the computer.
Just as it starts should see a screen where you can press a specific key to enter the bios setup.
Do that and go to the config where you can change the boot device order.
Make the first boot device the internal drive.
Save change.
If this is the same mrchromebox firmware I have. back at the main config screen you can select use default boot.
It should boot to the boot menu with selection to choose to boot Bionicpup.

To put more frugal installs on the same drive.
Do the complete Frugalpup Installer process again, for the new Puppy version.
When you run the boot loader install.
It will make entries, for all installs it finds, on the drive.

[bigpup]

Understand Chromebooks are in their own world of computers.
It is unreal how many different ways one is built.
What works for me, may not for you or just the opposite.

Hopefully your Chromebook is not like mine in trying to get Puppy booting from the internal drive.
My HP 14 Chromebook will not boot Puppy from the internal drive.
This is a Puppy bug being worked on to fix.
It has to do with how the drive is accessed just at boot and how Puppies boot process is not seeing it.

It boots with no problem if Puppy is on a USB drive or a SD card.
Not that big a deal to me.
I have all Puppies as frugal installs on a SD card and use the small internal drive as storage.
Mine is a micro SD card so it does not even show on the side of the computer.

[bigpup]

This is a topic about Chromebooks I am trying to keep updated as a one stop place for all things Chromebook.
viewtopic.php?f=156&t=431

Good info about getting different parts of a Chromebook working.
It does get to be a trip down the rabbit hole to figure out fixes and work a rounds.
Some are just like normal laptops and hardware operation.
Others in their own world!