Requirements

• Administrator access.
• Target Disk/USB must be 16 GB minimum.
  • You will also need about 16 GB of free space in your Windows installation.
• A linux installation via WSL2
• pv, tar, unzip and cgpt packages.
• A compatible PC to boot Brunch on.
• An entry level understanding of the linux terminal.
  • This guide aims to make this process as easy as possible, but knowing the basics is expected.

Recoveries

1. Download a recovery suitable for your CPU. The list below can help you select one. You do not need to select a recovery that matches the latest Brunch release number, the most recent avaliable is typically fine.

Intel

• “shyvana” for 4th gen -> 9th gen.
• “jinlon” for 10th gen.
• “voxel” for 11th gen & above.

AMD

• “gumboz” for Ryzen.

Recoveries can be found by clicking the above links. They can also be found by going to cros.tech and searching for the recovery you want.

After selecting the recovery you want, you can select a specific release. Posted releases may be behind the current release, this is normal and you can update into the current release later. It is usually suggested to use the latest release avaliable.

Gathering Files

2. Download the Brunch files from this GitHub repository. Do not use files found on other sites or linked in videos online. The releases tab can be found at the bottom of the right-hand column on the main GitHub page, but it is generally suggested to use the latest release.

When downloading a release, select the brunch…tar.gz file from the assets at the bottom of the release post. You do not need the source code files, do not download them.

Before continuing, you will need a linux distro installed from the Microsoft Store using WSL2, and the distro must be set up and ready to use. Please refer to online resources for this as the setup can be complicated for some systems.

Prepare the Terminal

3. Once both files have been downloaded, the Brunch release and your chosen ChromeOS recovery, Launch WSL2.
4. Make sure that pv, cgpt, tar and unzip are installed.

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install pv cgpt tar unzip

• My example uses apt, a package manager for Debian and Ubuntu based distros. If you use Arch, you will need vboot-utils for access to cgpt and a different package manager may be needed to install the rest.

4b. Some Linux releases may require the universe repo to install some of the above dependencies. If you get any errors about a dependency being unavaliable, add the universe repo with this command, and then try the previous step again afterwards.

sudo add-apt-repository universe

5. After all dependencies have been installed, cd into the directory where your files were downloaded.

• Replace username with your Windows username.
• The linux terminal is Case Sensitive, be mindful of capital letters.

cd /mnt/c/Users/username/Downloads

6. Extract the Brunch archive using tar

• Replace brunch_filename.tar.gz with the file’s actual filename.

tar zxvf brunch_filename.tar.gz

7. Extract the ChromeOS recovery using unzip

• Replace chromeos_filename.bin.zip with the file’s actual filename.

unzip chromeos_filename.bin.zip

Once completed, you will have 4 new files from the brunch archive, and a recovery bin that we will use in the next step.

Install Brunch

8. Once you’ve got your files ready, you’re ready to install Brunch.

• As before, replace chromeos_filename.bin with the bin file’s actual filename.

sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src chromeos_filename.bin -dst chromeos.img

The script will ask for confirmation. If you’re ready to install, type yes into the prompt.

The installation may take some time depending on the speed of your disk, please be patient. There may be a couple of GPT Header errors, which can be safely ignored.

The installation will report that ChromeOS was installed when it is finished. Before closing the terminal, make sure that there are no additional errors in the terminal. If there are no errors, then you are good to go!

Making the USB

9. Since WSL2 does not have direct disk access, we make an img with WSL2 and then use another program such as Rufus or Etcher to write the disk to a USB. Open the program of your choice, select the chromeos.img in your Downloads folder and write it to your USB.

Next Steps

If you installed to a USB or a second internal disk, then you should be ready to boot into Brunch. If you’ve installed to a USB, keep it plugged in and reboot. It is normal for the first boot to take a very long time, please be patient.

• The first boot is the best time to setup anything important such as changing kernels or framework options by selecting the “ChromeOS (Settings)” boot option.
• If you have any issues, it is strongly advised to check out the Brunch Configuration Menu for possible patches or solutions.
• At this point, your device may incorrectly state that your installation is only 14 GB, regardless of it’s actual size. This can be fixed by opening a developer shell on the startup screen with Ctrl + Alt + F2.
  • Log in as root there should be no password.
  • Enter resize-data then reboot the PC when it’s finished. Your reported size should now be accurate.

Secure Boot

10. If secure boot is enabled, a blue screen saying Verification failed: (15) Access Denied may appear upon boot.

• To enroll the key directly from a USB, select OK -> Enroll key from disk -> EFI-SYSTEM -> brunch.der -> Continue and reboot.

Requirements

• Administrator access.
• Target Disk must be 16 GB minimum.
• Working Brunch USB.
• A compatible PC to boot Brunch on.
• An entry level understanding of the linux terminal.
  • This guide aims to make this process as easy as possible, but knowing the basics is expected.

Selecting a Target Disk

1. Log into ChromeOS, and open a Crosh Shell with Ctrl + Alt + T, then enter shell at the prompt.

2. Before continuing, you will need to know what disk you want to install to. Be absolutely sure before you continue, this installation will erase everything on that disk, including other partitions. The disk must be at least 16 GB, or the installation will fail. There are several ways to determine which disk is your target, in my example I’ll be using lsblk.

lsblk -e7

This command will show your disks, and the partitions on them. It will also show their sizes and if they are currently mounted. Use this information to determine which disk is your target.

Tips:

• Your target will never be zram or a loop device.

• Some PCs may require RAID to be disabled before showing your disks correctly.

• For this installation, a USB is treated the same as any HDD or SSD.

• If there is an EFI mountpoint on a disk that disk is your boot disk.

  • You cannot install Brunch directly onto the same disk you are currently booting from.

• When doing a singleboot installation, your target will not be a partition. This method installs to the entire disk.

  ---

Install Brunch

3. Once you’ve determined your target disk, you’re ready to install Brunch.

• You will replace disk with your target disk. (Such as sdb, mmcblk0 or nvme0n1 for example)

sudo chromeos-install -dst /dev/disk

The script will ask for confirmation. If you’re ready to install, type yes into the prompt.

The installation may take some time depending on the speed of your target disk, please be patient. There may be a couple of GPT Header errors, which can be safely ignored.

The installation will report that ChromeOS was installed when it is finished. Before closing the terminal, make sure that there are no additional errors in the terminal. If there are no errors, then you are good to go!

Next Steps

It is normal for the first boot to take a very long time, please be patient.

• The first boot is the best time to setup anything important such as changing kernels or framework options by selecting the “ChromeOS (Settings)” boot option.
• If you have any issues, it is strongly advised to check out the Brunch Configuration Menu for possible patches or solutions.

Requirements

• Administrator access.
• Target partition must be 16gb minimum, unencrypted (bitlocker disabled), and formatted as NTFS.
• A linux installation vis WSL2
• pv, tar, unzip and cgpt packages.
• A compatible PC to boot Brunch on.
• An entry level understanding of the linux terminal.
  • This guide aims to make this process as easy as possible, but knowing the basics is expected.

Recoveries

1. Download a recovery suitable for your CPU. The list below can help you select one. You do not need to select a recovery that matches the latest Brunch release number, the most recent avaliable is typically fine.

Intel

• “shyvana” for 4th gen -> 9th gen.
• “jinlon” for 10th gen.
• “voxel” for 11th gen & above.

AMD

• “gumboz” for Ryzen.

Recoveries can be found by clicking the above links. They can also be found by going to cros.tech and searching for the recovery you want.

After selecting the recovery you want, you can select a specific release. Posted releases may be behind the current release, this is normal and you can update into the current release later. It is usually suggested to use the latest release avaliable.

Gathering Files

2. Download the Brunch files from this GitHub repository. Do not use files found on other sites or linked in videos online. The releases tab can be found at the bottom of the right-hand column on the main GitHub page, but it is generally suggested to use the latest release.

When downloading a release, select the brunch…tar.gz file from the assets at the bottom of the release post. You do not need the source code files, do not download them.

Before continuing, you will need a linux distro installed from the Microsoft Store using WSL2, and the distro must be set up and ready to use. Please refer to online resources for this as the setup can be complicated for some systems.

Prepare the Terminal

3. Once both files have been downloaded, the Brunch release and your chosen ChromeOS recovery, Launch WSL2.
4. Make sure that pv, cgpt, tar and unzip are installed.

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y install pv cgpt tar unzip

• My example uses apt, a package manager for Debian and Ubuntu based distros. If you use Arch, you will need vboot-utils for access to cgpt and a different package manager may be needed to install the rest.

4b. Some Linux releases may require the universe repo to install some of the above dependencies. If you get any errors about a dependency being unavaliable, add the universe repo with this command, and then try the previous step again afterwards.

sudo add-apt-repository universe

5. After all dependencies have been installed, cd into the directory where your files were downloaded.

• Replace username with your Windows username.
• The linux terminal is Case Sensitive, be mindful of capital letters.

cd /mnt/c/Users/username/Downloads

6. Extract the Brunch archive using tar

• Replace brunch_filename.tar.gz with the file’s actual filename.

tar zxvf brunch_filename.tar.gz

7. Extract the ChromeOS recovery using unzip

• Replace chromeos_filename.bin.zip with the file’s actual filename.

unzip chromeos_filename.bin.zip

Once completed, you will have 4 new files from the brunch archive, and a recovery bin that we will use in the next step.

Install Brunch

8. Once you’ve got your files ready, you’re ready to install Brunch.

• As before, replace chromeos_filename.bin with the bin file’s actual filename.
• You will also replace size with a whole number. (Such as 14, 20, or 100 for example)
  • The number must be a minimum of 14, but less than the avaliable space on your partition in GB.

Make a directory to install Brunch, for example:

• run mkdir /mnt/c/Users/username/brunch if you want to install brunch in your home folder on C: partition.
• or mkdir /mnt/d/brunch if you want to install brunch in the D: partition.

Then launch the installer providing “-dst” argument with the name of the image file to be created (in your brunch directory):
sudo bash chromeos-install.sh -src chromeos_filename.bin -dst /mnt/c/Users/username/brunch/chromeos.img -s size

The installation may take some time depending on the speed of your target disk, please be patient. There may be a couple of GPT Header errors, which can be safely ignored. If you are told that there is not enough space to install, reduce the number at the end of your command until it fits. It is normal that the img cannot take the entire space of the partition, as some of that space is reserved by the system.

When the installer asks you for the type of install, type “dualboot” in the terminal and press “Enter” to continue.

The installation will report that ChromeOS was installed when it is finished. Before continuing, make sure that there are no additional errors in the terminal. If there are no errors, then you are good to continue!

Set up Grub2Win

10. Install Grub2win if you have not already, then launch the program.

11. Click on the Manage Boot Menu button, then Add A New Entry.

• Select Create user section from the ‘Type’ section. This will open a text file. Open the chromeos.grub.txt file we saved earlier, it’s in the same directory as your chromeos.img. Copy the grub boot entries saved in that file and copy them into Grub2win.

• Click Ok and Apply to save your entries into Grub2win.

  • Your entry will not be saved unless you click both Ok and Apply.

Prevent Windows from locking the NTFS partition

12. Disable encryption / hibernation

ChromeOS will not be bootable and / or stable if you do not perform the below actions (Refer to Windows online resources if needed):

• Ensure that bitlocker is disabled on the drive which contains the ChromeOS image or disable it.
• Disable fast startup.
• Disable hibernation.

At this point, you are ready to reboot and you’ll be greeted by the Grub2win menu instead of booting into Windows.

Next Steps

It is normal for the first boot to take a very long time, please be patient.

• The first boot is the best time to setup anything important such as changing kernels or framework options by selecting the “ChromeOS (Settings)” boot option.

• If you have any issues, it is strongly advised to check out the Brunch Configuration Menu for possible patches or solutions.