Topic: Chromebook mining. (Read 1053 times)

I have looked somewhat extensively on the subject of mining using the CPU to mine and have come up rather short. i have found that question asked, but usually I find that someone told the person asking that there is currently no known software that would fulfill the request or that the only other method is to install Linux beside Chrome OS. I find that that would be unsatisfactory to me especially due to the fact that Chrome OS is built on the use of Linux, albeit a stripped down version, but theoretically it should work with applications designed for Linux. I did find a solution mostly through others asking questions about other applications and general Linux command line usage. Firstly I take no responsibility of any problems that may arise from use of this guide. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. This may not work depending on the architecture of your CPU, it worked for my Intel based Chromebook, with this method you don't have to install Linux.
The first thing to do is turn off OS verification, YOU WILL LOSE ALL INFORMATION ON THE CHROMEBOOK, this method can vary by model and manufacturer of your Chromebook, for me it was to hold ESC and F3 while pressing the power button and when it reaches developer mode to hit CTRL+D, then pressing ENTER to confirm, just do a quick google search for Turn off OS verification "my model", where my model is your specific model. Make sure to read all of the directions and precautions for turning off OS verification.
After that is completed download the CPU miner by pooler, at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cpuminer/files/ make sure to download the one according to the architecture of your computer, as for me it was pooler-cpuminer-2.3.3-linux-x86_64.tar.gz.
Once that has downloaded open a terminal, by hitting CTRL+ALT+T, once in terminal type shell, then to get to your download type cd Downloads, as with every terminal command case is sensitive, so type it exactly as it shows on this guide. Next you need to unzip that file just type gunzip "filename", where filename is your specific file, if your unsure what it is type ls and that will show all files and folder in your folder. that should give you the same file in the same folder except the .gz is removed which means it should be "filename.tar".
The next step is to extract that one, which can be done by typing tar xvf "filename.tar", which should give you a file called minerd. Once you have minerd you need to make it executable which can be done by typing chmod 777 minerd.
If you know linux it should work right? It would work in a normal Linux distro, but not in Chrome OS, we have to copy it somewhere that it will work, which is /usr/local, the command line way is cp -i ~/Downloads/minerd /usr/local. That is it now we can user minerd as we see fit. You can use minerd as you would normally in Linux, if you are unsure of how to do that just search for getting started minerd.
The drawback that I see of this is that you are required to have chrome opened in order for it to work, which basically makes it a gui miner, and takes from CPU usage. I like to always log in as guest on my Chromebook and the file does stay there after logout and shutdown, so after initial setup it should be there when logged back in.
I put this up to help others that may not have figured this method out, I am not looking for any kind of thanks I just want to help. If you thought what I did was useful than please donate any amount to a worthwhile efficient charity, even if it's a small amount.