How to Expand Storage for Linux on Your Chromebook.
When you turn Linux on on a Chromebook, Chrome OS allocates fixed storage to the Linux container. After that, there is no way to increase or decrease the size of Linux containers. But with the recent Chrome OS 84 update, Google is making a lot of changes; for example, set up a Linux terminal, allow Linux applications to access your microphone, and of course, give Linux applications the ability to expand storage. Here’s how to resize Linux storage on Chromebook.
Extend Linux storage space on your Chromebook
First, make sure you are using the latest version of Chrome OS, i.e. Chrome OS 84 or higher. Now open Settings Device and select Manage Storage. Here you can check how much storage space is available on your device. For example, I only have 7 GB of memory.
So, you need to expand your Linux storage with this available storage space, otherwise your local data may be deleted automatically without notice. If you need more space, delete the files manually and check how much you can extend the storage management.
Now, if you haven’t installed Linux on your Chromebook yet, you can set the Linux disk size during installation.
Case 1: Expanding storage space when installing Linux
To install, go to Settings Linux (Beta) and click the Enable button next to the Linux option. Now in the pop-up window, click Next.
Here you can set your Linux username and also set the disk size for the Linux container on your Chromebook. Make sure you are not expanding any more available storage space.
After that click Install and wait a few minutes for Linux to be installed on your Chromebook.
Case 2: Expand your existing Linux container storage
If you’ve already installed Linux, you can expand your storage in Settings and click Linux under Linux (Beta). Now click the Change button next to the Disk Size option.
Now you can expand the storage in the pop-up window and click Resize. Increasing more than available space can delete your local files, decreasing storage can delete Linux files, or even completely uninstall several Linux applications.
After that, the Linux storage space changes instantly, without booting. If you’ve somehow increased your Linux memory more than you need to, you can open the Files app and view a warning message that files might be deleted. You can open preferences and reduce disk space to go back.
Packaging
This Chrome OS update may be heavily focused on Linux, but still Linux apps lack GPU acceleration, making Linux apps more useful for apps like video editing, etc. Anyway, Linux on Chromebooks is still is in beta testing, but hopefully Google will add this feature in the next update.
Also Read: Best Linux Apps for Chromebooks