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I have an ASUS Chromebox and I need to put it into developer mode so that I can...develop on it. However, I can't seem to get into Recovery Mode so that I can reboot it in developer mode. I followed the instructions to put it in Recovery Mode as documented and the Chromebox appears to turn on, but nothing happens on the monitor. How do I fix this?

Jackson Egan
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  • If the problem is not your monitor, did you follow the instructions for the ASUS Chromebook (it's different depending on OEM)? [Asus Chromebox](http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices/asus-chromebox) I have also found this blog: [Chrome* OS - What's Developer Mode?](https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2014/07/01/chrome-os-whats-developer-mode) informative. – ChileAddict - Intel Oct 07 '14 at 20:49
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    In addition to needing to use an appropriate monitor, I discovered that my keyboard had to be connected to one of the USB ports on the *back* of the device for the recovery mode interface to receive input. – arexx Jan 12 '17 at 02:40

2 Answers2

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The ASUS Chromebox in Recovery Mode does not support all monitors. If your Chromebox appears to have booted in recovery mode (lights are on) but the screen is blank, try booting it with a different monitor. Once it has restarted in developer mode, you can plug it back into the first monitor and it will work again.

Jackson Egan
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    Tested with a 4k monitor and 4k HDTV, neither of them work. I'm guess it needs a monitor that reports standard VGA mode support. :-/ – cmcginty Apr 24 '17 at 01:33
  • Doesn't require VGA mode (640x480) but you do need something probably 1080p or less to see the screen. Otherwise you can just try to blindly go through the steps in the other answer. I ended up using a DP to DVI adapter and a cheap monitor I had with DVI to perform recovery, but I also discovered if you don't need developer mode and just want to recover, inserting the USB/SD before powering into recovery and waiting 10 minutes and pulling the USB will typically be plenty of time for the recovery to happen (it is automatic with the media inserted and the recovery switch activated). – dragon788 Aug 26 '17 at 21:47
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Chromium.org's wiki has this page --> http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-information-for-chrome-os-devices that includes the following steps to enter Developer mode on the Asus Chromebox.

Entering

To invoke Recovery mode, you insert a paper clip and press the RECOVERY BUTTON (just above the kensington lock) and press the Power button. Release the RECOVERY BUTTON after a second.

To enter Dev-mode you first invoke Recovery, and at the Recovery screen press Ctrl-D (there's no prompt - you have to know to do it). It will ask you to confirm by pressing the RECOVERY BUTTON again.

Dev-mode works the same as always: It will show the scary boot screen and you need to press Ctrl-D or wait 30 seconds to continue booting.

I've found this list of systems and how to enter developer mode very useful.

Tim Duncan - Intel
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  • This is also possible do to blind (headless) as long as you have a keyboard to press Ctrl+D and keep your paperclip handy from holding the RECOVERY BUTTON while powering on to poke the RECOVERY BUTTON again after pressing Ctrl+D. To avoid the noisy developer mode beep during boot you can press Ctrl+D anytime within a few seconds of powering on. – dragon788 Nov 01 '17 at 03:31