Arch Linux

rasheduzzaman
February 2015

Installing Arch Linux (UEFI/GPT)

Follow the list of command in sequence. When writing these command just write the test part of
the command (means dont write # sign).

1.1

Establish an internet connection

# ping -c 3 www.google.com
PING www.l.google.com (74.125.132.105) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from wb-in-f105.1e100.net (74.125.132.105):
icmp_req=1 ttl=50 time=17.0 ms
64 bytes from wb-in-f105.1e100.net (74.125.132.105):
icmp_req=2 ttl=50 time=18.2 ms
64 bytes from wb-in-f105.1e100.net (74.125.132.105):
icmp_req=3 ttl=50 time=16.6 ms
--- www.l.google.com ping statistics --3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2003ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 16.660/17.320/18.254/0.678 ms

1.2

Create new partition table

This instruction are for UEFI based booting system. If you have legacy bios boot system use
different method.
# lsblk
# parted /dev/sda print
# parted /dev/sda
(parted) mklabel gpt
(parted) mkpart ESP fat32 1M 513M
(parted) set 1 boot on
(parted) mkpart primary ext4 513M 20.5G
(parted) mkpart primary ext4 20.5G 100%
(parted) quit
# lsblk /dev/sda
# mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sda1
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3
# parted /dev/sda print

1.3
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Mount the partitions

mount
mkdir
mount
mkdir
mount

1.4

/dev/sda2 /mnt
-p /mnt/boot
/dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
-p /mnt/home
/dev/sda3 /mnt/home

Install the base system

The base system is installed using the pacstrap script. The i switch can be omitted if you wish
to install every package from the base group without prompting. To build packages from the AUR
or with ABS, you will also need the base-devel group. Other packages can be installed later using
pacman.
# pacstrap -i /mnt base base-devel

1.5

Generate an fstab

Generate an fstab file with the following command. UUIDs will be used because they have certain
advantages (see fstab#Identifying filesystems). If you would prefer to use labels instead, replace
the -U option with -L:
# genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
Warning: The fstab file should always be checked after generating it. If you encounter errors
running genfstab or later in the install process, do not run genfstab again; just edit the fstab file.

1.6

Chroot and configure the base system

Next, chroot into your newly installed system: At this stage of the installation, you will configure
the primary configuration files of your Arch Linux base system. These can either be created if they
do not exist, or edited if you wish to change the defaults. Closely following and understanding
these steps is of key importance to ensure a properly configured system.
# arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash
# nano /etc/locale.gen
# en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8
# locale-gen
# echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
# export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
# ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Eastern /etc/localtime
# hwclock --systohc --utc
# pacman -S intel-ucode
# mkinitcpio -p linux
# bootctl install
# nano /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf
title
Arch Linux
linux
/vmlinuz-linux
initrd
/intel-ucode.img
initrd
/initramfs-linux.img
options
root=/dev/sdaX rw quiet splash # sdax should be root (sda2)
# nano /boot/loader/loader.conf
default arch
timeout 5
# echo myhostname > /etc/hostname
2

#
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passwd
systemctl enable dhcpcd
pacman -S iw wpa_supplicant dialog
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

Graphical user interface

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pacman -S
pacman -S
pacman -S
pacman -S
pacman -S
startx
pacman -S
systemctl
reboot

xf86-input-synaptics
xorg-server xorg-server-utils xorg-utils xorg-xinit
xorg-twm xorg-xclock xterm
mesa
xf86-video-intel
gnome gnome-extra
enable gdm

Setting up an Arch Linux VM in VirtualBox

3.1

Create a VM

Download and install VirtualBox

Download archlinux-YYYY.MM.DD-dual.iso from Arch Linux Downloads page
Create a new VM in VirtualBox
Select Arch Linux (32 bit)
RAM: 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommend
Hard disk: 20 GB minimum, 50 GB or more recommended. Choose Dynamically
allocated
Boot the VM using the live CD image you downloaded.

3.2

Establish an internet connection

# ping -c 3 www.google.com

3.3

Create new partition table

# lsbl
# parted /dev/sda
(parted) mklabel msdos
(parted) mkpart primary
(parted) set 1 boot on
(parted) print
(parted) quit
# lsblk /dev/sda
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1

3.4

ext4

0%

100%

Mount the partitions

# mount

/dev/sda1

/mnt
3

3.5

Install the base system

# pacstrap -i /mnt base base-devel

3.6

Generate an fstab

# genfstab -U -p /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

3.7
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arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash

nano /etc/locale.gen
en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8
locale-gen
echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
export LANG=en_US.UTF-8
ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Eastern /etc/localtime
hwclock --systohc --utc
pacman -S intel-ucode
mkinitcpio -p linux
pacman -S grub os-prober
grub-install /dev/sda
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
echo myhostname > /etc/hostname
passwd
systemctl enable dhcpcd
pacman -S iw wpa_supplicant dialog
exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

4
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Window manager
pacman
pacman
pacman
pacman
pacman
startx
reboot

4.1
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Chroot and configure the base system

-S
-S
-S
-S
-S

xf86-input-synaptics
xorg-server xorg-server-utils xorg-utils xorg-xinit
xorg-twm xorg-xclock xterm
mesa
xf86-video-vesa

Awesome

sudo pacman -S awesome vicious ranger

echo "exec awesome" >> ~/.xinitrc
mkdir -p ~/.config/awesome/
cp /etc/xdg/awesome/rc.lua ~/.config/awesome/

4.2

OpenBox

# pacman -S openbox menumaker

# mmaker -v OpenBox3

4.3
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LightDM

pacman -S lightdm
pacman -S lightdm-gtk-greater
systemctl enable lightdm
reboot

List of useful applications

# systemctl enable NetworkManager

# pacman -S gnome-tweak-tool
# nano /etc/pacman.conf
[archlinuxfr]
SigLevel = Never
Server = http://repo.archlinux.fr/$arch
# pacman -S yaourt
# pacman -S net-tools
# ifconfig
# pacman -S pavucontrol flashplugin vlc unrar gimp
# useradd -m -g users -G wheel,storage,power -s /bin/bash rasheduzzaman
# passwd rasheduzzaman
# EDITOR=nano visudo
# %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL
# pacman -S bash-completion
# easy_install pip
# pacman -S terminus-font
# pacman -S gcc-fortran
# pacman -S texlive-most
# pacman -S blas lapack
# pacman -S eigen glew glm freeglut valgrind openmpi nodejs
# pip install numpy
# pip install scipy
# pip install pandas
# pip install matplotlib
# pip install tornado
# pip install pyzmq
# pip install pyflakes
# pip install pylint
# pip install jupyter
# pip install scikit-image
# pip install scikit-learn
# pip install virtualenv

6
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Some useful Arch commands

pacman
pacman
pacman
yaourt

-Sy
-Syu
-R
-Syua

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To
To
To
To

update
update
remove
update

the repositories
system
any package
packages from AUR