Install Google Chrome OS with VMWare

Last week I introduced Google Chrome OS, the new open-source Operating System based on Linux, from Google. Chrome OS has been designed as a super-fast Operating System that only uses web applications (such as Google Apps) and stores all of your content in "the cloud". It is expected to be officially released some time in 2010. However, because the Operating System is open-source, the pre-beta source code has already been made avilable to the public as part of the Chromium OS project. As a result it is possible for anyone to download the code and compile it to work on any x86 computer. This article will walk you through loading a pre-compilied version of Chrome OS, using VMWare Fusion for the Mac.

A few words of warning before you start. Chrome OS is pre-beta, meaning it's slow, buggy and sometimes simply refuses to work at all. With that in mind let's get started!

To start you will need to download a pre-compiled version of Chrome OS. There are a couple of versions floating about the net, however I recommend you download it from GDGT using the link below:

http://gdgt.com/google/chrome-os/download/

Once downloaded you need to unzip the package to reveal the .vmdk virtual disk.

Next you need to open VMWare Fusion, I am using version 3 for this guide, although version 2 should also work. If you don't already own Fusion I suggest you download the free 30 day trial to get you started. Once open select "File > New". 

From here click "Continue without disc".

You can now select "Use an existing virtual disk" and the browse box shown below will appear. Make sure you select "Share this virtual disk" and highlight your newly unzipped .vmdk virtual disk.

You may then be prompted if you would like to convert the virtual machine. If you are, click "Convert".

As the details of Chrome OS are still a little vague, I suggest you pick "Linux" and the "2.6.x Kernel" to provide the best chance for driver compatibility. 

You will now be shown a summary page of your configuration. To give Chrome OS the best chance of working correctly you will need to change a few settings. Click "Customize Settings".

You will now be prompted to give your new virtual machine a name. This can be anything you want.

There are two settings that need to be custom configured, "Network" and "Processors & RAM".

Under "Network" you need to switch to "Bridged". You can leave the interface as "Autodetect".

Under "Processors & RAM" I recommend you allocate at least 1024MB of memory. if you have a Mac with 4GB, then I have found 2048MB to be the sweet spot.

You are now ready to start the your new Operating System.

Once loaded you will be prompted for a username and password. This is your standard Google Account details (xxxx@gmail.com). A very common error at this stage is "Network not connected and offline login fail". if you receive this error you can try to re-select "bridged" network from the VMWare settings and restart the virtual machine. Unfortunately some people have not been able to get past this error. If experience this issue you can login to Chrome OS using the local account details, which are: username: chronos (no password).

You should now have Chrome OS up and running. This first thing you will notice is that the resolution is not ideal. To change this press "Control+Option+T" which will open a terminal shell. From the terminal type:

/usr/bin/xrandr --size 1280x800

The resolution will now be chnaged to "1280x800". To close the terminal press "Control+Option+T".

Thats it! Chrome OS is up and running. So far (like Google Wave) there is not much you can actually do, however it is always nice to get a glimpse of the future.