how to update chroot with keyboard target after moving to usb drive

Question

I have created a chroot using

sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r precise -t unity

I did some config in the chroot and ran a -u update. Then I moved it to a flash drive with

sudo edit-chroot -m ~/media/removable/MYFLASHDRIVE precise

where I can run it with -c /media/removable/MYFLASHDRIVE as per this issue

I now wish to add the keyboard target with

sudo sh -e ~/Downloads/crouton -n raring -t keyboard -u

but there is no option to modify the path (like -c for edit-chroot), and the issue above indicated there is no way to modify crouton's default chroot directory.

How can further targets be added to the chroot without moving it back off the usb drive?

Answer 1

I was able to make it work for me by symlinking to a directory on my external drive, and then running the commands as normal.

Back up your chroots, this worked for me, but I can't guarantee that it will work for you, or that it won't somehow delete your stuff.

1. Label your drive "external." Using a separate Ubuntu box is the easiest way. Install gparted through apt-get or the software store. Run that, make sure your external drive is selected in the top right hand drop down, right click your drive's partition and select "Label". Type "external", click ok, click apply.

2. Create a folder on your drive called "chroots". Move your chroot's folder into it.

3. Set up sym-link on your chromebook. Open a new chronos shell on your chromebook. Run these commands:

cd /mnt/stateful_partition/crouton
sudo mv chroots chroots.old
sudo ln -s /media/removable/external/chroots ./chroots

4. Run crouton commands as normal. You shouldn't need to specify -c on any of your crouton commands, you can just run them as if the chroot was installed locally.