gbOS86

Install guide

From a blank USB stick to a running Googlebook OS. Read it through once before you start: step 4 can erase your laptop's drive.

On this pageWhat you need1. Flash the stick2. Boot it3. Try it live4. Install5. Update laterIf something is wrong

What you need

  • A laptop with an Intel 6th-gen (Skylake) or newer CPU and Intel graphics. See Hardware.
  • A USB stick of 8 GB or more (it will be erased).
  • The gbOS86 image (how to get it) and a flashing tool: balenaEtcher, Rufus, or dd.
  • For installing: a laptop with an internal NVMe SSD that you are happy to erase, and a backup of anything on it. Live mode touches nothing and works without NVMe.

1. Flash the stick

Write the whole .img file to the USB stick (not copy it as a file). With balenaEtcher: Flash from file, select the image, select the stick, Flash. On macOS or Linux:

sudo dd if=gbOS86.img of=/dev/rdiskN bs=4m   # macOS (check N with diskutil list)
sudo dd if=gbOS86.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress   # Linux

2. Boot it

  1. Plug the stick into the laptop and power on.
  2. Press the boot-menu key (F12 on Dell and Lenovo, F9 on HP, Esc or F8 on Asus, F12 on Acer) and choose the USB stick (UEFI).
  3. In firmware settings, turn Secure Boot off if the stick will not start.

The gbOS86 menu appears with a 10 second timer:

1Live from USB. Nothing is saved.
2Install or update on the internal SSD.
3Boot the installed system (default when one exists).

3. Try it live

Choose 1. The first boot takes a while because some CPU instructions are emulated. At the first screen your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound, touchpad and brightness should work; if not, see troubleshooting.

4. Install to the internal SSD

This erases the internal drive. The installer will show the drive's model and serial number and make you type that serial number on the laptop before it erases anything. There is no way to skip it.
  1. Boot the stick and choose 2.
  2. The installer shows the NVMe drive's model, size and serial number and says everything on it will be erased. To continue you type the serial number exactly as shown; anything else cancels.
  3. It partitions the drive, copies the system and data partitions, verifies every file with a checksum, and tells you when to remove the stick.
  4. Remove the stick and boot from the internal drive.

5. Update later

Boot a newer stick and choose 2. When it finds an existing install it offers 1) Update (keeps apps, accounts and settings) or 2) Reinstall (erases). Choose 1, wait for "Update done", then remove the stick.

If something is wrong

  • Black screen or reboot loop on the stick: try another USB port (a USB 2.0 port is often more reliable), and check Secure Boot is off.
  • Edit gbos/gbos.cfg on the stick from any computer: HWDETECT=0 turns off auto-detection; LOAD_I915=0 avoids the graphics driver if the screen freezes right after it loads; RESOLUTION and DENSITY change the UI size.
  • Every boot writes logs to gbos/logs/boot-N/ on the stick. hwdetect.txt lists your devices, which ones got a driver, and any missing firmware. Post it in the support forum.
Next: How it works →

Something wrong or missing? Tell us or ask in the forum.