gerarldlee/Experimenting with ChromeOS on VirtualBox.md

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Installing ChromeOS on VirtualBox using the NeverWare build

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Experimenting with ChromeOS on VirtualBox.md

Installing ChromeOS on VirtualBox

Download the NeverWare's ChromeOS build from http://www.neverware.com/freedownload
Extract the *.bin.zip
Convert it to VDI. vboxmanage convertdd chromiumos_image.bin chromiumos_image.vdi
mv chromiumis_image.vdi C:\t\v\chromeos\
Create a VM with settings:

Guest OS type: Linux/Other Linux
2048 RAM
Use existing chromiumos_image.vdi as hard disk
Enable EFI (special OSes)
Enable PAE/NX
change pointing device to PS/2 Mouse

Start the VM

Arslan30 commented Jun 29, 2019

Can someone share the converted .vdi image?
We can host it on Google drive and then anyone can download and Install.

Most of the people don't have vboxmanage command available (In Windows)

you can find it here "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage"....Use an elevated CMD and run this command and covert command combined

Lucaslah commented Oct 9, 2019

Can someone share the converted .vdi image?
We can host it on Google drive and then anyone can download and Install.

Most of the people don't have vboxmanage command available (In Windows)

Hi,
I have the converted .vdi image link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AJPAFrULMGawmLabBhz627N45p9cO0QD/view?usp=sharing
Thanks

Lucaslah commented Oct 9, 2019 •

edited

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@Lucaslah Says: Hi, I have the converted .vdi image link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AJPAFrULMGawmLabBhz627N45p9cO0QD/view?usp=sharing Thanks

Anyone can downlaod this file to use or host elce where.
Thanks

RobT2012 commented Oct 19, 2019

CloudReady will not work with Virtualbox as a host-application due to graphics incompatibilities

I read that part and tried it with vmware-player, same issue as with vbox, it hangs with nothing but a blank screen. When the cloudready vm fires up, vmware complains that there's no 3D graphics, so that's likely the reason for the blank screen. I'm on fully updated Debian Buster with Radeon GPU.

LiVanych commented Nov 23, 2019

Hi, there! I got old but working version from this link https://davrt8itj6cgg.cloudfront.net/cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit/cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.zip

$ unzip cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.zip
$ qemu-img convert -raw cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.bin -O vdi cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.vdi

I have VirtualBox 6.0.14 on Ubuntu 16.04
Enjoy!

unfor19 commented Nov 26, 2019

Hi, there! I got old but working version from this link https://davrt8itj6cgg.cloudfront.net/cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit/cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.zip
$ unzip cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.zip
$ qemu-img convert -raw cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.bin -O vdi cloudready-free-63.3.41-64-bit.vdi
I have VirtualBox 6.0.14 on Ubuntu 16.04
Enjoy!

Tried it on Ubuntu 19.10 .. Didn't work for me :\

tomsaleeba commented Nov 28, 2019

Using virtualbox 6.0.14 on Manjaro and the original method in this gist, I had the same boot to a black screen issue. Presumably because of the graphics issue that Neverware warn about.

I changed the virtualbox VM graphics controller from the default VMSVGA to VBoxVGA and then I managed to get the splash screen to show briefly but then it goes black again. The shortcut to get to the dev console works but after a few seconds the VM seems to go back to the black screen. Not sure if that's a bootloop or that's how the chromium dev console works (if you're not fast enough to select an option).

There's also a warning about the VBoxVGA graphics adapter being deprecated so it's not a long term solution even if it did work better.

Deliaz commented Jan 13, 2020 •

edited

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From the https://cloudreadykb.neverware.com/s/article/Download-CloudReady-Image-For-VMware

CloudReady will not work with Virtualbox as a host-application due to graphics incompatibilities

enthalpie91 commented Jan 14, 2020 •

edited

Loading

Hi the only problem at this date is :: we can't( get a image from neverware !! even for a home free edition we need a PROFESSIONAL email no more gmail, free , wanadoo or verizon !! so how can i try chromeos ( i am obliged !! to try because i need to help my grandson , the us school obliged then to have a chrome book .. freedom

Deliaz commented Jan 14, 2020

I have downloaded it yesterday and installed it on VMWare Fusino without asking me for any email.
Here is the link:
https://cloudready-free-downloads.neverware.com/vmware/CloudReady-Home-v76-x64.ova

but it claims to be

Tested in VMware ESXi 6.5, Workstation 14.1.1 and Fusion 10.1.
Does not work on VMware Workstation 15 in our testing, but does work in Workstation Pro
CloudReady will not work with Virtualbox as a host-application due to graphics incompatibilities

enthalpie91 commented Jan 14, 2020

Hi the only problem at this date is :: we can't( get a image from neverware !! even for a home free edition we need a PROFESSIONAL email no more gmail, free , wanadoo or verizon !! so how can i try chromeos ( i am obliged !! to try because i need to help my grandson , the us school obliged then to have a chrome book .. freedom

I have found version 78.4.3 bin file and convert it to VDI
when i start th VM ( virtualbox under opensuse i get a black screen after a short message "virtualbox)
I have try to change order on boot ==> ko
I have try to set /unset parameter like PAE/NX PS2 for mouse .. but KO

bart2016 commented May 3, 2020

From the https://cloudreadykb.neverware.com/s/article/Download-CloudReady-Image-For-VMware

CloudReady will not work with Virtualbox as a host-application due to graphics incompatibilities

thanks, spent 2 hours, but no luck with virtual box.

vmware player 15 + OVA from this URL works directly, after boot I could do the upgrade to latest.

dilshadak commented Apr 7, 2022

I can see only shell. No ui. I tried all the solution mentioned here. I am using VBox in windows 10.

clintonimaroo commented Nov 21, 2022

I don't know why i can't download the Neverware CloudReady ChromeOS OVA file (https://cloudready-free-downloads.neverware.com/vmware/CloudReady-Home-v83-x64.ova).

bleonard252 commented Nov 21, 2022 via email

That would be because CloudReady doesn't exist anymore. Try Chrome OS Flex[https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WoWwf4Y1O7Jwsj4njaApJz-DY7EUU9_x] Nov 21, 2022 02:56:41 Clinton Imaro ***@***.***>:

…

***@***.**** commented on this gist. ---------------------------------------- I don't know why i can't download the Neverware CloudReady ChromeOS OVA file (https://cloudready-free-downloads.neverware.com/vmware/CloudReady-Home-v83-x64.ova). — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub[https://gist.github.com/57b5467d25f5e9129abe5c4d1881a745#gistcomment-4376293] or unsubscribe[https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ADUJCOQNN2XN53VZKYYH3LDWJMTLRBFKMF2HI4TJMJ2XIZLTSKBKK5TBNR2WLJDHNFZXJJDOMFWWLK3UNBZGKYLEL52HS4DFQKSXMYLMOVS2I5DSOVS2I3TBNVS3W5DIOJSWCZC7OBQXE5DJMNUXAYLOORPWCY3UNF3GS5DZVRZXKYTKMVRXIX3UPFYGLK2HNFZXIQ3PNVWWK3TUUZ2G64DJMNZZDAVEOR4XAZNEM5UXG5FFOZQWY5LFVA2DGOJZGUZDQNNHORZGSZ3HMVZKMY3SMVQXIZI]. You are receiving this email because you commented on a thread. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS[https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675] or Android[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub].

stefanschmidt commented May 1, 2023

The ChromiumOS distribution CloudReady was discontinued some time after Google acquired the company that offered it. As mentioned above the successor is ChromeOS Flex but there don't seem to be any official virtual machine images available.

Downloading the virtual machine image

The CloudReady OVA file mentioned in the knowledge base article is available on the Wayback Machine (direct download).

$ sha256sum CloudReady-Home-v83-x64.ova
7e4c7304c4b7363dfd778d3a58765c4d03fcd9fb3a1e5ae97c2582b42e4b66ad  CloudReady-Home-v83-x64.ova

The download from the Google Drive link above is unsurprisingly much faster.

The version of the CloudReady OVA is actually fairly dated. The virtual machine image was created using CloudReady 83.4.4 and the last released version seems to be CloudReady 96.4.6, which is available on the Internet Archive.

Running ChromiumOS in a virtual machine

If you'd like to run CloudReady as a VM, you can do so using VMware applications on Linux, Windows and Mac including VMware ESXi, VMware Workstation, VMware Player, and VMware Fusion. We've prepared a CloudReady: Home Edition image as a VMware OVA file to make it easy to import and get started.

CloudReady will not work with Virtualbox as a host-application due to graphics incompatibilities

https://web.archive.org/web/20190130020129/https://neverware.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001615368

CloudReady in VirtualBox

CloudReady 83.4.4 ChromiumOS in VirtualBox 6.1.40 on macOS 10.15.7 (hangs on boot screen, see above)

CloudReady in VMware Fusion

CloudReady 83.4.4 in VMware Fusion Player 12.1.2 on macOS 10.15.7 (seems to work fine)

romansaff commented Jan 12, 2024

CloudReady 83.4.4 ChromiumOS OVA file from the link above works fine for me in VirtualBox 7.0.12 on Fedora 39 after I set Graphics Controller on Display page to VMSVGA, also set Enable 3D Acceleration.