Installing Archlinux.

arch_install.md

Installing and Configuring Arch Linux

Prerequisites

• Before you begin, make sure you have a bootable Arch Linux installation USB drive. You can create one following the official Arch Linux installation guide.

Installation Steps

1. Boot from the Installation USB:

   • Insert the bootable Arch Linux USB drive into your computer.
   • Boot your computer from the USB drive. You may need to adjust the boot order in your BIOS/UEFI settings.

2. Set the Keyboard Layout:

   • Use the loadkeys command to set your keyboard layout if it's not the default US layout. For example, to set the German layout, you can use: loadkeys de-latin1.

3. Connect to the Internet:

   • Ensure you have an active internet connection. You can use Ethernet or Wi-Fi. To connect to Wi-Fi, use the wifi-menu or ip command as needed.

4. Partition the Disk:

   • Use a tool like fdisk or cfdisk to partition your hard drive. Create at least two partitions: one for the root filesystem and, if desired, one for the swap space. Format the partitions with the appropriate filesystem (e.g., ext4 for the root partition).

5. Mount the Partitions:

   • Mount the root partition to /mnt using the mount command. If you created a separate partition for the home directory, mount it to /mnt/home.
   • If you created a swap partition, activate it using swapon.

6. Install the Base System:

   • Use the pacstrap command to install the base system and essential packages to the mounted root partition: pacstrap /mnt base base-devel.

7. Generate an fstab File:

   • Generate an fstab file using the genfstab command: genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab.

8. Chroot into the New System:

   • Change into the new system's root directory: arch-chroot /mnt.

9. Set the Time Zone:

   • Use the timedatectl command to set your time zone: timedatectl set-timezone Zone/Subzone.

10. Set the Locale:

    • Edit the /etc/locale.gen file and uncomment the desired locales.
    • Generate the locales with locale-gen.
    • Set the system-wide locale with echo LANG=your_locale > /etc/locale.conf.

11. Create the Hostname:

    • Create a hostname file: echo your_hostname > /etc/hostname.

12. Set the Root Password:

    • Set the root password with the passwd command.

13. Install a Boot Loader:

    • Install a boot loader like GRUB with pacman -S grub and configure it according to your system.

14. Exit Chroot and Reboot:

    • Exit the chroot environment with exit.
    • Unmount all partitions: umount -R /mnt.
    • Reboot your system: reboot.

15. Post-Installation Configuration:

    • After rebooting into your new Arch Linux system, you can further configure your system by installing additional packages, setting up user accounts, and customizing system settings.