Arch Linux Installation Guide
for PC "Serena"
by Paul Moffat - 190921
Guide Notes (230221)
- This is a web-adaption of the original guide I created in 2019 using Libre Office which I then printed to hardcopy for personal reference.
- This was created for my first installation of Arch Linux on actual hardware. All my previous installations of Arch Linux were through virtual machines.
- After getting familiar with the Arch install process I decided it would be easier for me to create a step-by-step install guide specific to my own computer.
- The computer Serena was a custom built PC that I had from 2013 to 2021, with various updates in storage and graphics cards etc over the years up until I lost that PC in 2021.
- I decided to install Arch Linux along side the existing Linux Mint and Windows 7 installations to assist in my understanding of Linux in general, and to be honest, for the challenge as well. By having Arch Linux installed separately I could play around with it without the risk of completely borking my main operating systems and if I broke anything in Arch I could just reinstall it, or move on to something else.
- As it turned out, I never did end up breaking that installation of the Arch Linux system, atleast to a point of a need to reinstall.
- I had when I wrote the guide intended for the possibility for Arch Linux to become my main OS. I wasn't 100% sure at the time though so I decided to just experiment around with it at first and see where it went.
- This installation and my experience with it did though seriously increase my interest in Arch Linux so it did eventually become my main operating system on the Serena PC, and actually remains so up until today through all my following computers.
- As Arch Linux became my main operating system on that PC I did eventually remove Linux Mint. I kept Windows 7 installed though for gaming and work related requirements and as a backup OS - just incase.
- Yes, I did actually create a 256 GB SWAP partition (lol facepalm). My understanding at the time was to use a swap space 2x the ram capacity of the system. That PC only had 32 gigs of ram, with a max of 64 but I was planning on building another PC with a motherboard that could support up to 128. I thought I was future proofing Arch by allowing it to eventually be migrated over. Now I just use swap files like a normal person, my current computer (a mobile workstation; Aneeka) does actually have 128 GB of ram, but only has a 2 GB swap file which I'll increase if I ever need to (though doubt-it).
Overview
Linux Mint is currently the core operating system within Serena and has the Grub bootloader already installed. Once Arch Linux is installed the Arch Linux file system will need to be mounted in Linux Mint. Grub will then need to be updated through Mint to install Arch to the Grub menu.
The Arch Linux system will be installed onto the 4TB Seagate BarraCuda Pro harddisk. This harddisk will need to be partitioned for EFI support via the following partitions. The EFI partition will be in place for when Arch Linux eventually becomes the core operating system but won't be enabled to begin with.
- Partition 1 - EFI
| Device |
sdb1 |
| Size |
512 MB |
| Type |
EFI System |
| Mount Location |
/mnt/boot/EFI |
- Partition 2 - BOOT
| Device |
sdb2 |
| Size |
512 MB |
| Type |
Linux extended boot |
| Mount Location |
/mnt/boot |
- Partition 3 - SWAP
| Device |
sdb3 |
| Size |
256 GB |
| Type |
Linux swap |
- Partition 4 - HOME
| Device |
sdb4 |
| Size |
2 TB |
| Type |
Linux home |
| Mount Location |
/mnt/home |
- Partition 5 - ROOT
| Device |
sdb5 |
| Size |
All remaining free space (approx 1.75 TB) |
| Type |
Linux root (x86-64) |
| Mount Location |
/mnt |
Pre-Installation
- Install Arch Linux installation USB drive into the computer and boot into the Arch Linux Installation boot menu.
- Choose Boot Arch Linux (x86_64) from the menu selection
Installation Root Command Prompt (#)
Networking
| Initialise DHCP Client |
# dhcpcd |
| Verify Connection Availability & Wireless Interface |
# ip addr show |
| Install Wireless WPA Settings Example Template |
# cp /etc/netctl/examples/wireless-wpa /etc/netctl/Archemon |
| Edit Archemon Wireless WPA Settings File |
# nano /etc/netctl/Archemon |
| 1 |
Set Interface=wlp5s0 |
| 2 |
Set Description='Orcon' |
| 3 |
Set ESSID='Archemon' |
| 4 |
Set Key='<redacted>' |
|
| Start Wireless Interface |
# netctl start Archemon |
| Test Internet Connection (via Google DNS Server) |
# ping -c4 8.8.8.8 |
Configure Hardware Clock Sync & Timezone
| Enable Network Time Syncronisation |
# timedatectl set-ntp true |
| Set Time Zone |
# timedatectl set-timezone "Pacific/Auckland" |
| Check Time Settings |
# timedatectl status |
| Copy Time from System Clock to Hardware Clock |
# hwclock --systohc |
Disk Preparation
| Verify Available Block Devices (harddrives etc) |
# lsblk |
| Open fdisk for Partition Creation |
# fdisk /dev/sdb |
| Create GPT (EFI enabled) Partition Table |
Enter 'g' to create a new empty GPT partition table |
Create EFI Partition (1) - 512 MB
| 1 |
Enter 'n' to create new partition |
| 2 |
Press ENTER to select initial partition number (1) |
| 3 |
Press ENTER to select first sector default |
| 4 |
Enter partition size reference "+512M" |
| 5 |
Enter 'y' to remove any existing signature (if asked) |
| 6 |
Enter 't' to change partition type |
| 7 |
Press ENTER to select default partition (1 - if required) |
| 8 |
Enter '1' to change partition type to EFI System |
|
Create BOOT Partition (2) - 512 MB
| 1 |
Enter 'n' to create new partition |
| 2 |
Press ENTER to select next partition number (2) |
| 3 |
Press ENTER to select first sector default |
| 4 |
Enter partition size reference "+512M" |
| 5 |
Enter 'y' to remove any existing signature (if asked) |
| 6 |
Enter 't' to change partition type |
| 7 |
Press ENTER to select default partition (2) |
| 8 |
Enter '30' to change partition type to Linux extended boot |
|
Create SWAP Partition (3) - 256 GB
| 1 |
Enter 'n' to create new partition |
| 2 |
Press ENTER to select next partition number (3) |
| 3 |
Press ENTER to select first sector default |
| 4 |
Enter partition size reference "+256G" |
| 5 |
Enter 'y' to remove any existing signature (if asked) |
| 6 |
Enter 't' to change partition type |
| 7 |
Press ENTER to select default partition (3) |
| 8 |
Enter '19' to change partition type to Linux swap |
|
Create HOME Partition (4) - 2 TB
| 1 |
Enter 'n' to create new partition |
| 2 |
Press ENTER to select next partition number (4) |
| 3 |
Press ENTER to select first sector default |
| 4 |
Enter partition size reference "+2T" |
| 5 |
Enter 'y' to remove any existing signature (if asked) |
| 6 |
Enter 't' to change partition type |
| 7 |
Press ENTER to select default partition (4) |
| 8 |
Enter '28' to change partition type to Linux home |
|
Create ROOT Partition (5) - REST OF FREE SPACE
| 1 |
Enter 'n' to create new partition |
| 2 |
Press ENTER to select next partition number (5) |
| 3 |
Press ENTER to select first sector default |
| 4 |
Press ENTER to use all remaining free space |
| 5 |
Enter 'y' to remove any existing signature (if asked) |
| 6 |
Enter 't' to change partition type |
| 7 |
Press ENTER to select default partition (5) |
| 8 |
Enter '24' to change partition type to Linux root (x86-64) |
|
| Review Partitions Changes |
Enter 'p' to review |
| Save Partitions Changes |
Enter 'w' to write |
Format Partitions
| EFI Partition |
# mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sdb1 |
| Boot Partition |
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb2 |
| Home Partition |
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb4 |
| Root Partition |
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb5 |
Configure Swap Partition
| Make |
# mkswap /dev/sdb3 |
| Enable |
# swapon /dev/sdb3 |
Configure Partition Mounts
| Mount Root Partition to existing Root directory |
# mount /dev/sdb5 /mnt |
| Create Home Directory |
# mkdir /mnt/home |
| Mount Home Partition to New Home Directory |
# mount /dev/sdb4 /mnt/home |
| Create Boot Directory |
# mkdir /mnt/boot |
| Mount Boot Partition to New Boot Directory |
# mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/boot |
| Create EFI Directory |
# mkdir /mnt/boot/EFI |
| Mount EFI Partition to New EFI Directory |
# mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/boot/EFI |
Configure Pacman Mirrors
| Install Reflector Mirror List Script |
# pacman -Sy reflector |
| Utilise 10 Fastest NZ Mirrors |
# reflector --verbose --latest 10 --country 'New Zealand' --sort rate --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist |
Arch Linux Installation
| Install Arch Linux Base into Root Partition |
# pacstrap -i /mnt base |
| Create File System Table |
# genfstab -U -p /mnt/etc/fstab |
| Verify File System Table |
# cat /mnt/etc/fstab |
| Chroot Into New Arch Linux Install |
# arch-chroot /mnt |
Configure Timezone & Locales
| Link to Auckland Time Zone Data |
# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Pacific/Auckland /etc/localtime |
| Set Locale Configuration File |
# echo 'LANG=en_NZ.UTF-8' > /etc/locale.conf |
| Set Locale Generation Configuration File |
# echo 'en_NZ.UTF-8 UTF-8' > /etc/locale.gen |
| Create Keymap file for US Style Keyboard |
# echo 'KEYMAP=us' > /etc/vconsole.conf |
| Generate Locales |
# locale-gen |
Create Host Files for Local Host
| Set Host Name |
# echo 'Serena' > /etc/hostname |
| Set Hosts |
# echo '127.0.0.1 localhost' > /etc/hosts
# echo '::1 localhost' >> /etc/hosts
# echo '127.0.1.1 Serena.localdomain Serena' >> /etc/hosts |
Install Required Additional Packages (For First Bootup)
# pacman -S dialog dosfstools efibootmgr grub mtools openssh os-prober sudo vim wifi-menu wireless_tools wpa_supplicant
Enable Required Services (For First Bootup)
| Wifi |
# systemctl enable wpa_supplicant.service |
| SSH |
# systemctl enable sshd.service |
Configure User Accounts
| Set Root Password (Very Important!) |
# passwd |
| Add Primary User Account |
# useradd -m <username> |
| Set Primary User Password (Important!) |
# passwd <username> |
| Add Primary User to Sudo Groups |
# usermod -aG wheel,audio,video,optical,storage,power <username> |
| Open Sudo Configuration |
# visudo |
| Uncomment |
%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL |
Exit & Restart
| Exit Chroot Session |
# exit |
| Unmount All Partitions (Ignore BUSY Errors) |
# unmount -a |
| Restart Machine |
# reboot |
| Remove the Arch Linux Install Media |
As Required |
| Boot into Linux Mint |
As Required |
After-Installation
Grub Configuration (Linux Mint)
Arch Linux will not yet be available for bootup. Login to Linux Mint and access the terminal. Mint needs to detect the Arch Linux installation and allow Grub to create a boot entry for Arch into its bootup menu.
| Verify Arch Linux Install Presence |
# os-prober |
| Mount Arch Partitions |
As Required |
| Update Grub |
# update-grub |
Restart Computer into Arch Linux
- Use the standard restart method available within the Linux Mint GUI.
- Choose the new Arch Linux boot entry from Grub to start Arch.
- Once Arch Linux has booted up, login via the root user for some required after-installation setup.
Networking
Follow the information provided earlier in this guide to setup the Wifi access again. This time it should hold and be permanent.
Install Desktop Environment (with Web Browser)
| Update Base System Packages |
# pacman -Syu |
| Install Video, KDE and Firefox Packages |
# pacman -S firefox plasma-desktop nvidia sddm xf86-video xorg-server xorg-xinit |
| Enable SDDM Service |
# systemctl enable sddm.service |
| Restart Machine |
# reboot |
Desktop
After Arch Linux restarts SDDM should boot up and give a login window. Login using the primary user account and password (not root) created earlier and the KDE Plasma desktop should startup and load the desktop environment.
Enjoy :)
