how to read a Chromebook SSD on a PC

[x0]

How can I read the files from a Chromebook (a dead Acer C7) SSD on a desktop PC? I have the SSD mounted on the PC, and it shows up as Local Disk D:, but trying to open it in Windows Explorer results in a message that I need for format the disk.

 

[JaredDM]

Chrome OS is a sort of Linux based system. So the drive is probably formatted to EXT3/4 which Windows won't recognize. I'd probably start by installing a demo of some good data recovery software such as R-Studio or Recovery Explorer and confirm what the format is.

Then you can buy a third-party tool such as Paragon EXTFS for Windows to allow mounting it in Windows.

That, or just boot the computer to a Linux live USB and it'll probably just recognize it fine.

 

[x0]

Chrome OS is a sort of Linux based system. So the drive is probably formatted to EXT3/4 which Windows won't recognize. I'd probably start by installing a demo of some good data recovery software such as R-Studio or Recovery Explorer and confirm what the format is.

Then you can buy a third-party tool such as Paragon EXTFS for Windows to allow mounting it in Windows.

That, or just boot the computer to a Linux live USB and it'll probably just recognize it fine.

Thanks for the suggestion about Linux Live. I used it to boot with Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" (Unity), which opens the 12 GB volume.

The only sizable file or folder is a 3.5 GB file "encrypted.block". Unfortunately, an attempt to open this file yields the following error:

Could not display "encrypted.block".
The file is of an unknown type

Is there any way to open this to at least see a list of the files in the block?

 

[Rocky Bennett]

Use GParted in Ubuntu to find out what file system that drive is formatted in then report back.

 

[x0]

Use GParted in Ubuntu to find out what file system that drive is formatted in then report back.

GParted shows the drive has 12 partitions, in the following file systems

• 4 in ext4
  1 in fat16
  7 unknown

The only large one is in ext4. It has a key icon next to it and the flag msftdata.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The only sizable file or folder is a 3.5 GB file "encrypted.block". Unfortunately, an attempt to open this file yields the following error:

Could not display "encrypted.block".
The file is of an unknown type

Is there any way to open this to at least see a list of the files in the block?

That file (encrypted.block) cannot be opened without the encryption key. Chrome OS by default encrypts its filesystem.

 

[x0]

The only sizable file or folder is a 3.5 GB file "encrypted.block". Unfortunately, an attempt to open this file yields the following error:

Could not display "encrypted.block".
The file is of an unknown type

Is there any way to open this to at least see a list of the files in the block?

That file (encrypted.block) cannot be opened without the encryption key. Chrome OS by default encrypts its filesystem.

I see a 48-byte file named encrypted.key owned by root. Attempting to open with gedit yields the error "You do not have the permissions necessary to open the file." Can I change the permissions in Ubuntu?

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The contents of "encrypted.key" won't do you any good outside the Chromebook the drive came out of. The information held by the TPM chip in the Chromebook is also required. Bottom line is that the encrypted data cannot be decrypted without all parts working perfectly. Wouldn't be secure if it were otherwise.

 

[x0]

The contents of "encrypted.key" won't do you any good outside the Chromebook the drive came out of. The information held by the TPM chip in the Chromebook is also required. Bottom line is that the encrypted data cannot be decrypted without all parts working perfectly. Wouldn't be secure if it were otherwise.

Thanks. I will try to repair the Chromebook.