Has anyone tried this? I would like the benefit of having regular stable builds with automatic updates without too much experimental stuff. Flow is too outdated, and the nightly vanilla builds are too unstable.

Is it possible to rip the ISO from a CR-48 or an official Chromebook and install it on an unsupported hardware?

Retail Chrome OS cannot work with generic hardware without the device drivers. We need device drivers specially developed for the hardware on which we intend to install Chrome OS.

Chrome OS is a build of Chromium OS that is developed and supported by Google. In creating the Chromebooks, such as the Samsung Series 5 and the Acer Chromebook, Google worked alongside these manufacturers in order to optimize Chrome OS to work with the hardware on these machines for the best performance. Because of this, you cannot download Chrome OS and install it on any computer you wish. In fact, you cannot download Chrome OS at all.

Source: Can I install Chrome OS on my Netbook ?

But can we get ChromiumOS to run on different systems (like a desktop?) similar to how Linux is distributed?

Ryuzaki is correct with the above and I'll also add that there is the whole "verified boot" issue to workaround as well. Chromium OS can be installed on generic hardware (if the drivers are there) but I am currently unaware of anyone making and releasing ISO images or the like.

AFAIK, you have to compile the system yourself.

That makes sense Soldierboy, some other linux distros are like that too, they have to be compiled for the hardware they are to be run on. That said, if you know how, you could always get the source code and compile it yourself.

Originally Posted by Ryuzaki

Retail Chrome OS cannot work with generic hardware without the device drivers. We need device drivers specially developed for the hardware on which we intend to install Chrome OS.

Chrome OS is a build of Chromium OS that is developed and supported by Google. In creating the Chromebooks, such as the Samsung Series 5 and the Acer Chromebook, Google worked alongside these manufacturers in order to optimize Chrome OS to work with the hardware on these machines for the best performance. Because of this, you cannot download Chrome OS and install it on any computer you wish. In fact, you cannot download Chrome OS at all.

Source: Can I install Chrome OS on my Netbook ?

That's not exactly correct. I know what Chrome OS and Chromium OS are. My question was whether anyone has tried ripping the image from their retail machines (whether that's approved by Google or not) and putting it out there for other folks to tinker with.

The majority of modern hardware out there will work with generic drivers. In fact, a lot of the hardware inside the laptops of the same generation that you see on store shelves today (at least in the U.S.) is the same, period.

Originally Posted by Soldierboy

I'll also add that there is the whole "verified boot" issue to workaround as well.

This sounds more like the real reason. If there are signature verifications required, then they would need to be hacked/jailbroken, and that's probably not going to happen any time soon due to lack of interest by hackers.

@Knocks: I was searching for and didn't find any such ripped imgs on the Internet. I think it would be illegal to do such a thing ( ripping Chrome OS imgs) and Google will not approve of it. Chrome OS img ripped from a retail machine might not work with other machines, similar to the Windows installation which requires a different genuine cd key and has to undergo an activation processes to install on other systems. Chrome OS might also require sending of hardware id or something to get the latest updates.

If you're feeling brave, you can build ChromiumOS yourself. I did it myself before hexxeh had any releases of flow/vanilla. Google actually has good detailed documentation on this.

The verified boot will pretty much prevent you from booting any ripped ChromeOS, so you're only option is to get your hands on a chromebook or build the OS yourself. However, Google does let you download the recovery image of the OS. If you're feeling creative, maybe you could find a way to boot that on a non-standard machine.

Link for building ChromiumOS: Chromium OS Developer Guide - The Chromium Projects

It seems that Chrome OS Lime by hexxeh is very hardware-specific. I tried booting it from USB on Lenovo G560 and Compaq CQ62-423NR, and both work very nicely (trackpad, Wi-Fi, sound, Flash, etc.). It does not work when started from a HP DV7 1183CL (Core 2 Duo P7350).

chromeosuser 1-4-2012

Originally Posted by chromeosuser

It seems that Chrome OS Lime by hexxeh is very hardware-specific. I tried booting it from USB on Lenovo G560 and Compaq CQ62-423NR, and both work very nicely (trackpad, Wi-Fi, sound, Flash, etc.). It does not work when started from a HP DV7 1183CL (Core 2 Duo P7350).

chromeosuser 1-4-2012

It might be hardware-focused somewhat. It would be great if it had the hardware recognition/compatibility general Linux has, with the Chrome OS on top.