mjnaderi/install-arch.md

## install-arch.md

      
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              install-arch.md
            
          
    References:

https://gist.github.com/mattiaslundberg/8620837
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installation_guide
http://www.muktware.io/arch-linux-guide-the-always-up-to-date-arch-linux-tutorial/ (Link is broken)

There are 2 choices:

UEFI/GPT mode: UEFI boot mode / GPT partition table
BIOS/MBR mode: Legacy boot mode / MBR partition table

I tried to install in UEFI mode, but my laptop (Acer E5-475-336H) had problems with it, and didn't boot after installation.
This is how I installed arch linux in BIOS/MBR mode with full disk encryption (using LUKS), and LVM on LUKS.
Assumptions

I assume that /dev/sda is the system's disk, and /dev/sdb is USB drive.
Steps


Download arch iso image from https://www.archlinux.org/download/ and copy to a USB drive.
# dd if=arch.iso of=/dev/sdb


Set boot mode to "Legacy" in BIOS configuration, and boot from USB.


Connect to internet. Wired connection is preferred since it's easier to connect. See arch wiki.


Partitioning
A drive should first be partitioned and afterwards the partitions should be formatted with a file system.
Use fdisk to create MBR partitions.
# fdisk /dev/sda

First, create an empty MBR partition table (WARNING: This will erase entire disk)
(fdisk) o

We are going to create 2 main partitions (/dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2):
Device     Boot     Start       End   Sectors   Size Type
/dev/sda1            2048    526335    524288   256M Linux      /boot
/dev/sda2          526336 765986815 765460480   365G Linux      Encrypted with LUKS, 3 LVM partitions:
    swap  vg0 -wi-ao----   8.00g                                   swap
    root  vg0 -wi-ao----  80.00g                                   /
    anbar vg0 -wi-ao---- 277.00g
/dev/sda3       765986816 976773167 210786352 100.5G Linux      (Optional) Other partitions if you need... You can encrypt them separately with another password

Create partitions:
(fdisk) n
(fdisk) p
(fdisk) 1
(fdisk) <Enter>
(fdisk) +256M
(fdisk) t
(fdisk) linux

(fdisk) n
(fdisk) p
(fdisk) 2
(fdisk) <Enter>
(fdisk) +365G
(fdisk) t
(fdisk) linux

(fdisk) n
(fdisk) p
(fdisk) 3
(fdisk) <Enter>
(fdisk) <Enter>
(fdisk) t
(fdisk) linux

(fdisk) w (Write Changes)

Format Partitions:
mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda1


Setup encryption
# cryptsetup -c aes-xts-plain64 -y --use-random luksFormat /dev/sda2
# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sda2 luks


Create LVM Partitions
This creates one partions for root, modify if /home or other partitions should be on separate partitions
# pvcreate /dev/mapper/luks
# vgcreate vg0 /dev/mapper/luks
# lvcreate --size 8G vg0 --name swap
# lvcreate --size 80G vg0 --name root
# lvcreate -l +100%FREE vg0 --name anbar


Format LVM partitions
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg0-root
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg0-anbar
# mkswap /dev/mapper/vg0-swap


Mount the new system
# mount /dev/mapper/vg0-root /mnt
# mkdir /mnt/boot
# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot
# swapon /dev/mapper/vg0-swap


Install the base system
# pacstrap -i /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware openssh git vim


Generate /etc/fstab. This file can be used to define how disk partitions, various other block devices,
or remote filesystems should be mounted into the filesystem.
# genfstab -pU /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

(Optional) For making /tmp a ramdisk, add following line to /mnt/etc/fstab:
tmpfs	/tmp	tmpfs	defaults,noatime,mode=1777	0	0


Enter the new system
# arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash


Set TimeZone
See available timezones:
# ls /usr/share/zoneinfo/

Set timezone:
# ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Tehran /etc/localtime


Set Locale
# vim /etc/locale.gen (uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8)
# locale-gen
# echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
# export LANG=en_US.UTF-8


Set the hardware clock mode uniformly between your operating systems.
Otherwise, they may overwrite the hardware clock and cause time shifts.
# hwclock --systohc --utc


Set hostname
# echo myhostname > /etc/hostname

Add it to /etc/hosts:
127.0.0.1	localhost
::1		localhost
127.0.1.1	myhostname.localdomain	myhostname


Create User
# useradd -m -g users -G wheel -s myusername
# passwd myusername
# visudo
uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL


Configure mkinitcpio with modules needed for the initrd image
# vim /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
Add 'ext4' to MODULES
Add 'encrypt' and 'lvm2' to HOOKS before 'filesystems'

Regenerate initrd image
# mkinitcpio -p linux


Setup grub
# pacman -S grub
# grub-install --target=i386-pc --recheck /dev/sda

In /etc/default/grub edit the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX to:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="cryptdevice=/dev/sda2:luks:allow-discards"

[Tip] To automatically search for other operating systems on your computer,
install os-prober (pacman -S os-prober) before running the next command.
# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg


Exit new system and unmount all partitions
# exit
# umount -R /mnt
# swapoff -a


Reboot into the new system. Don't forget to remove the CD/USB.
# reboot


Connect to internet.
Configure systemd-networkd. Create file /etc/systemd/network/20-wired.network:
[Match]
Name=en*
Name=eth*

[Network]
DHCP=yes

Restart systemd-networkd and systemd-resolved:
# systemctl restart systemd-networkd systemd-resolved
# ping archlinux.org

Restart systemd-networkd and systemd-resolved again if required.


System is installed now. If you want to install Gnome desktop, perform following steps.


Install Xorg server
# pacman -S xorg-server xorg-server-utils


Install graphics driver (Arch wiki). For my laptop, graphics driver is xf86-video-intel.
# pacman -S xf86-video-intel


Install Gnome Display Manager and Gnome Desktop.
# pacman -S gnome gdm
# pacman -S gnome-extra gnome-system-tools  (Optional)


Enable GDM service
# systemctl enable gdm


Reboot!