Installed Arch Linux and very pleased with it...

Discussion in 'all things UNIX' started by accessgranted, Jan 25, 2016.

  1. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    After trying and enjoying both Arch-based Antergos and Manjaro Linux, I decided to give 'pure' Arch a try.

    I have to admit that I kind of cheated a little by using the ArchitectLinux assistant, which is a wonderful tool IMHO.

    Anyone else on Arch? How did you proceed to install it?

    Cheers

    Screenshot from 2016-01-25 23-43-56.jpg Screenshot from 2016-01-25 23-46-35.png Screenshot from 2016-01-25 23-43-26.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2016
  2. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    Congrats! :D

    Don't worry, I cheated at first too, but I didn't use any help tool. What I did was watch numerous YouTube videos on how to install the OS :p

    What is important: to KNOW and UNDERSTAND what each command does, why it's there, and how to change it if necessary. Want to change the kernel from "linux" to "linux-grsec", thus never using the default Kernel and only using grsecurity from the get-go? You need to know why "pacman -Sy" then "pacstrap /mnt $(pacman -Sqq base base-devel | sed 's/^linux$/&-grsec/')" are required.
    Don't want to use GRUB? Go do research on the Wiki.
    Want SLIM instead of gdm or lightdm? Go research on the Wiki.
    Having problems with GPG Keys? You need to know how to solve it. It's all on the Wiki.

    That's one of the reasons I love Arch = you learn quite a bit of Linux while using it. The learning curve TO INSTALL IT is big, but after that Arch is actually way easier to maintain than any Ubuntu/Debian/openSUSE/CentOS/Mint system. It's a much better built system than these, so it works better. And since you install only what you want, the OS won't get bloated because it needs to attend to everybody's needs (from beginner to sysAdmin).

    Take your time, and enjoy the stay. If you need help, either come here or go to linuxquestions' forums. Arch's forums is the best way to get help, as long as you show you did your homework and give tons of details so others can help you better.
     
  3. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    I tried (and spent the all day, yesterday) to install Arch, also with the help of @amarildojr
    No way, a total fail.
    I believe the problem is my hardware, even if I am a bit suprised being pretty standard (Dell E5540 with i5 CPU).
    When starting live, I have got no internet connection at all (ethernet).
    I tried some tutorials I've found around (I was connected with another computer during the installation, just to browse for solutions in case of troubles), no way. I could not ping anything (even 8.8.8.:cool:.
    I have also edited the network configuration, but still nothing.
    Well, I am not a linux advanced user, I could have missed something but that was frustrating.

    So, before giving up, I thought to give Manjaro a try, just to see if an arch-based distro could work.
    Again, problems. The live version did not load properly, no icons, basically no desktop (MATE).
    Second attempt with another DE. I could install Manjaro but then I could not basically access it. I was stuck after booting with a blank screen and a blinking cursor.

    As I need a working machine (and I am tired of Ubuntu), I have installed Fedora23 (Cinammon) which works well, so far.

    I will try to install arch on my second machine, a Lenovo B50-70. Just not today LOL
     
  4. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Would you like to give the architect install helper a shot? Curious to see if it will make for you the same wonders it did for me... Don't be afraid to try on both machines. Frankly, I'm of the impression that Arch is the fastest running distro I've tried so far, to a point that I'm even doubting my eyes.
     
  5. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Ha ;) I'm afraid that you scare most people away from Arch with such advice :D:D:D

    Remember that this is for Arch newbies. Any Arch beginner should install the default kernel first. And if he/she really wants the grsec kernel, installing it and executing

    Code:
    sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    is all what is needed to boot the grsec kernel (provided that grub is used).
     
  6. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Have you followed meticulously the steps in the Beginner's Guide, particularly the part about connecting to the internet? I guess that you hadn't determined the correct network device which you can find with ip link or iw dev for wireless devices.
     
  7. Balthazar

    Balthazar Registered Member

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    I've been using Parabola as my main system for several years now. At first I've been following the Beginner's Guide very closely without knowing very much. On the contrary, very little.

    I think the guide is very well written and there aren't that many obstacles if (big if) your hardware is not the source of problems. So I'd encourage you to take your time and read the guide and follow it step by step. In time you will know if you're satisfied with a simple install or become interested in more challenging configurations. Patience is the key.

    I am still no Linux expert but at least I am now able to help myself regarding the most common problem areas like networking. I've been ignoring man-pages (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Man_Pages) for a long time but they are a great help indeed.

    If you have trouble with a wireless connection you could also try out "wifi-menu" (easiest way) or "wpa_cli" (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/WPA_supplicant).
    You should also use the latest Arch Linux release. I had trouble getting a connection in the past because I had used an older release. Using the latest solved the issue.
     
  8. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    Just so people know: I only helped him with cryptsetup and how to use LUKS on LVM with a different encryption algorithm :isay:

    Well, that was just an example hehehe. My point was: You must know how to configure Arch. Arch won't hold your hands when installing, so you must dominate the install process. An Arch user must be the Master of the install process for his/her own hardware.

    I admire Parabola and I'm sometimes in contact with the developers. The only reason I don't use it is because of monitor/firmware issues. Tohugh my system is pretty much 99% Parabola, giving the fact that I use their your-freedom and your-privacy packages, and their Iceweasel, and some other packages.

    I really wish someone would give 1 million dollars to Kernel developers so that they could develop Libre firmware images for all recent video cards, specially with the AMDGPU recent fiasco.
     
  9. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    Well, more or less.
    I could not ping anything, even a DNS Server, so I had no connection at all.
    I went to see my device name and then I did

    Code:
    systemctl enable dhcpcd@enXXXX
    But it did not work. Then I tried something else I do not recall exactly but still no fix.
     
  10. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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  11. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    The error was "network not present" or something like that.

    I did iplink to determine the device name.
    Then:

    systemctl enable dhcpcd@<device name>.service

    Still no ping.

    That was done right after booting.

    Maybe I should stop dhcpcd and try netctl

    Anyway, I think it's a driver problem.
    My ethernet controller is a Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection I218-LM which is pretty standard and I could not find any evidence of issues.
    Also, the linux kernel should work with it because I had no problems with Fedora, Ubuntu, etc.
    The attachment shows it's loaded in the kernel (Fedora23).

    Mmhmm.....I am working with a docking station, just wondering if I should try connecting the laptop undocked.

    Maybe tomorrow I give it another try..

    But
     

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  12. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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  13. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    I keep getting this kind of error when trying to compile packages from AUR sources (for instance, yaourt pamac):
    ==> ERROR: A failure occurred in prepare().
    Aborting...
    ==> ERROR: Makepkg was unable to build pamac-AUR (or whatever other specific package).

    I searched wikies where this seems to be a common and known problem in the Arch community, but after reading most of the cryptic-to-me threads, I can't come up with a simple system-wide all-around solution. I understand they expect users to do their homework before posting help requests, but keeping telling people to 'read the wiki and find out for yourself' is not much more time-consuming than providing a clear and concise newbie-understandable answer. This could be a put-off to many new users IMHO, and not quite coherent with a larger intent to seduce Linux fans into Arch/Antergos/Manjaro. Yes, reading a complete phone-book provides all the needed phone numbers after weeks of reading, but I don't need to digest the whole book, and just need one or two specific numbers.

    Nevertheless, as suggested in https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/cower/?comments=all
    I added the MIT GPG server to my keyring:
    gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys F56C0C53
    but to no avail.

    Any Arch specialist willing to lend a simple helping hand? Complete sequence runs likes this:

    ==> Building and installing package
    ==> Making package: pamac-aur 2.4.3-3 (Wed Jan 27 13:14:56 CET 2016)
    ==> Checking runtime dependencies...
    ==> Checking buildtime dependencies...
    ==> Retrieving sources...
    -> Downloading pamac-2.4.3-3.tar.gz...
    % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
    Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
    100 155 0 155 0 0 270 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 270
    100 207k 100 207k 0 0 95684 0 0:00:02 0:00:02 --:--:-- 146k
    ==> Validating source files with sha256sums...
    pamac-2.4.3-3.tar.gz ... Passed
    ==> Extracting sources...
    -> Extracting pamac-2.4.3-3.tar.gz with bsdtar
    ==> Starting prepare()...
    ==> Starting build()...
    /tmp/yaourt-tmp-user1/aur-pamac-aur/./PKGBUILD: line 50: make: command not found
    ==> ERROR: A failure occurred in build().
    Aborting...
    ==> ERROR: Makepkg was unable to build pamac-aur.
    ==> Restart building pamac-aur ? [y/N]

    But the make command is present on line 50:
    build() {
    cd "$srcdir/pamac-$pkgver"

    # build
    make all
    }

    Thanks.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 27, 2016
  14. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    I never install yaourt or whatever aur helper because they don't force you to read the PKGBUILDS, and you can't edit them with the helpers.

    I had that cower error too, it seems I have to trust the AUR-user GPG key. I don't want that. So I install "cower-git" instead, which doesn't require trusting GPG keys.
     
  15. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Last edited: Jan 28, 2016
  16. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    :p See, lesson learned! hehehehe. That info is on the Wiki page "Newcomers' guide", right bellow the "Installation" part. Remember to read that page (almost) completely and to search the Wiki on things you yet don't know, because some things on Arch differ a lot from other distros.

    And always remember: The Wiki is your best friend.


    https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_guide#Install_the_base_packages
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2016
  17. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    Short update. Due to lack of time I did not make any further trial. Maybe later I will.
    Just FYI, Fedora23 it's a joy to use, so happy. This is also one of the reasons why postponing Arch.
     
  18. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Hi, I'm curious and eager to extend my Linux experience. In your opinion as a Parabola user, what is it that could make Parabola attractive to an Arch user? What are the advantages or specific additions of the former over the latter for a day-to-day desktop use? Or, IOW, what seduced you into PB? Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2016
  19. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    As long as he doesn't answer:

    Parabola is pretty much Arch. It's 99.999% exactly like Arch, except that you get a trully GNU Linux OS. A few commands different on the install process, but the rest is exactly the same, except de-blobbed Kernel, no proprietary software, etc.
     
  20. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Wow, didn't know Clonezilla could be installed and run from inside a running OS like any other package. Now I can save or restore partitions without rebooting to launch a live session. Pretty cool! Man, how can I have wasted so many years on Windows before getting to Linux?! Shame on me. Here some screenshots on Manjaro:
     

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    Last edited: Feb 1, 2016
  21. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Updating package-query today broke the package's functionality on Arch, so I had to restore a clone and exclude package-query from the proposed updates (1.7-1 to 1.7-2). Gotta test further to check if upgrading pacman from 4.2.1-4 to 5.0.0-1 is safe, too. Manjaro doesn't have the same problems as of now because of delayed updates and additional testing.
    Edit: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/package-query/?comments=all
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2016
  22. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    Wait. Are you using Arch or Manjaro?

    I just installed Arch and it's fully up-to-date with no problems regarding pacman.

    Manjaro, on the other hand, seem to be quite unstable these days.
     
  23. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    I think you can do the same with dd command, right @amarildojr ? :D;)
     
  24. Amanda

    Amanda Registered Member

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    ;) Yes. However, the user must be VERY careful while using dd, because it only takes a letter in the wrong place to pretty much destroy any chance of recovering data from the drive if something goes wrong.
     
  25. accessgranted

    accessgranted Registered Member

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    Nope. To dd a 30 Go partition gets a 30 Go backup partition. PartClone, which is part of Clonezilla (and could of course be used without the need for the CZ suite), only takes into account the used sectors of the partition to backup, saving huge amounts of time and storage.
     
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