4061CEM - Programming and Algorithms 1
As part of this course, you will need to become familiar with the Linux operating system and the various commands. However, you may not want to install Linux on your personal laptop as a dual-boot option. In this instance, this tutorial will guide you through the process of setting up the Linux operating system on your university issued Chromebook.
Before you proceed with this task, you need to ensure that the Chromebook is at its factory settings. If you have already set up your Chromebook then you need to activate a procedure known as powerwashing. This is the process of resetting the Chromebook back to its factory settings. To do this, you need to go to:
Settings > Advanced > Reset Settings
Once you have reached this menu option, you will be presented with an option to powerwash. To begin this process,
click on the Reset button, similar to the one shown in the screenshot below.
This will begin the process of resetting the Chromebook back to the factory settings. Note, that it may take some time for this to complete.
You may have already activated the developer mode of your Chromebook. If you want to re-enable OS verification then when you boot your machine, and you are presented with the following text:
To turn OS verification OFF, press ENTER
Your system will reboot and local data will be cleared.
You can re-enable OS verification by the following the on-screen instructions and pressing the Enter key. This will begin the process of powerwashing your machine to factory settings.
Later versions of ChromeOS come pre-installed with an option to activate the Linux terminal. To do this you need to go to:
Settings > Advanced > Developers
You will then be presented with a section titled: Linux Development Environment, and it is within this window you can
click on the button that is labelled: Turn on; as shown in the screenshot below.
Once you have clicked this button, you will be presented with a dialogue window which will guide you through the process
of setting up the Linux development environment on your Chromebook. Follow this process carefully, as you will be asked
to provide a username, the size of the disk (recommend size of 10Gb) and the process may take sometime to complete.
However, upon successful completion you will have a Linux terminal shell pop up in your desktop environment.
Before you begin following the guide on installing the integrated development environment, you will need to perform some essential maintenance with your Linux environment. You will need to check for any updates to the tools, software and packages that are pre-installed with the Kali Linux distribution; this can be done using the following command:
$ sudo apt update
This command will read information from the package repositories and check if there are any updates for packages that are pre-installed on your machine. You may be presented with the following question:
Do you want to accept these changes and continue updating from this repository? [y/N]
As you want to proceed with making the changes and updating your software, you can enter Y and push the Enter key on your keyboard. Once this command has finished executing, you will be met with either the of the following texts:
NUMBER packages can be upgraded. Run `apt list --upgradeable' to see them
or
All packages are up-to-date.
If you are met with the second message, then there are no updates to install. However, if you are met with the first message then there are some updates required to be installed; this can be achieved with the following command:
$ sudo apt upgrade
Running this command will begin the process of downloading the updated packages and installing them. Depending upon the number of packages required to be updated this could take some time.
You have now reached the end of this tutorial. The outcome of this tutorial is the successful activation of the Linux development environment on the university issued Chromebook. You can now follow the tutorial on how to set up the integrated development environment at the following link:
If you have spotted any errors or issues within this tutorial, you can e-mail Dr Ian Cornelius. Ensure to include in your message a description of the error/issue and a possible resolution.