I’m one of those people who loves stopping by my local pawn shop to score some sick deals on used electronics. Often, I come across devices that the shop can’t get rid of due to them being locked with forgotten passwords or some sort of security measure that prevents the device from being used. While I understand that its the business’s responsibility to vet these devices before they purchase them; sometimes passwords are just lost by employees or some sort of lock was left on without notice from the previous owner. (The devices aren’t always stolen.)
In this specific case its Chromebooks. These devices are given out to students for free all the time and usually end up at pawnshops as soon as they aren’t needed anymore. Often, these laptops have old Google accounts that the users probably forgot to remove and wont allow the next person to reset the laptop and set it up as new. I’ve bought quite a few of these laptops for pennies on the dollar.
After having some of these sitting in my closet for a while I decided to grab one and see what I could do with it. A Acer C771. It looks like a fairly inexpensive laptop but feels like its made to be rugged. I was very interested in using this one due to the fact that it charges via type C. Having a cheap laptop that I don’t have to worry about and charges via type C can be very useful for my outdoor projects.
After some intense Googling; I came upon MrChromeBox. They develop custom UEFI BIOS for various Chromebook models. All I had to do was find my motherboard version here. Once I knew what my board was I found the proper BIOS file provided on MrChromeBox’s GitHub. My scenario was different from most people. Because I did not have access to the actual Chrome OS; I wasn’t able to run MrChromeBox’s script to automate the process of writing the new BIOS. I had to find a way to flash the actual BIOS rom on the board. I did this by using a EEPROM Flash USB Programmer Module with clip. This allowed me to clip on to the BIOS module on the board and flash it directly from another computer.
While I can’t disclose the specific software used for this process, it can be found relatively easily through online search engines. Once I identified the BIOS chip, I created a backup and replaced it with MrChromeBox’s UEFI, enabling successful booting from a USB drive.
Subsequently, I attempted to install Windows and Ubuntu but encountered compatibility issues, such as insufficient driver support for Windows and suboptimal performance with Ubuntu’s kernel. That’s when I stumbled upon Gallium OS, an operating system designed explicitly for a variety of Chromebook models. It featured a specific build with a kernel tailored to nearly perfect device support. The performance is exceptional, and I now enjoy impressive battery life of nearly ten hours. With the ability to install programs just like any other Debian-based distribution, I’ve grown quite fond of it. The only minor drawback is that the touchscreen functionality isn’t currently operational, though this isn’t a deal-breaker for me, even if it might be for some.
Electronic waste (e-waste) has emerged as a significant environmental concern, primarily due to the proliferation of security measures that often render electronic devices useless. These measures, while important for data protection, contribute to the premature disposal of perfectly functional electronics. Devices locked with forgotten passwords, encryption, or other security features become virtually inaccessible, forcing users to discard them even when the hardware remains intact. This not only exacerbates the global e-waste crisis but also poses a security challenge in terms of proper disposal and data erasure. Addressing this issue requires a balance between data security and device reusability, emphasizing the need for more user-friendly recovery options and sustainable recycling practices to mitigate the environmental impact of e-waste.