My favourite distribution of Linux is Arch Linux. The reason? It lets you choose exactly what components you'd like to install - nothing more. Unlike pre-packaged distros like Ubuntu, Arch doesn't come with an office suite, a graphics editor, various games, tons of GUI tools, etc. Oh, you can install all of these things. As a matter of fact, you can make Arch look and behave exactly like Ubuntu, or any other distro. But that's not what I'm into.
When I install Arch, I either run Tom's Window Manager (TWM) which was one of the original window managers for Unix, or I run XFCE4 which is a nice, lightweight but modern window manager. I tend to install Arch often - recently I re-did my laptop after buying a bigger hard drive, or into a virtual machine for testing purposes. Here is the guide I use to install Arch:
Installation Notes
# iwctl ;when using wifi instead of LAN
[iwd]# device list ;make note of your device ie: wlan0
[iwd]# station {device} connect {SSID}
# ping archlinux.org ;ensure you have Internet!
# timedatectl set-ntp true ;ensure system clock is accurate
# lsblk ;list devices
# fdisk /dev/sdx ;partition drive
Command: g ;create GPT table - clears drive
Command: n, 1, enter, +512M ;partition 1 for EFI
Command: t, 1, 1 ;set partition 1 type = 1 (EFI Boot)
Command: n, 2, enter, +8192M ;partition 2 for Swap
Command: t, 2, 19 ;set partition 1 type = 19 (swap)
Command: n, 3, enter, enter ;partition 3 for Linux System
;by default, partition type = system
Command: p ;display partition table - double check!
Command: w ;write changes and exit app
# mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sdxX ;format EFI boot partition
# mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdxY ;format primary partition
# mkswap /dev/sdxZ
# swapon /dev/sdxZ
# mount /dev/sdxY /mnt
# pacman -Syy
# pacman -S reflector
# reflector -c "Canada" -f 12 -l 10 -n 12 --save /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
# pacstrap /mnt base base-devel bash-completion linux linux-firmware vim rfkill
# pacstrap /mnt networkmanager ;use nmtui to configure wifi!!!
# genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab
# vi /mnt/etc/fstab ;double check everything!
# arch-chroot /mnt
# vi /etc/locale.gen ;uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8
# locale-gen
# echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf
# ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/{Zone}/{SubZone} /etc/localtime
# timedatectl set-timezone Canada/Eastern
# timedatectl status ;validate time and date are correct
# hwclock --systohc --utc
# echo {hostname} > /etc/hostname ;replace {hostname} with your preference
# vi /etc/hosts ;insert lines listed below:
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
127.0.1.1 {hostname}
# systemctl enable NetworkManager.service ; if required
# passwd
# pacman -S grub efibootmgr
# mkdir /boot/efi
# mount /dev/sdxX /boot/efi
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --bootloader-id=GRUB --efi-directory=/boot/efi
# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
# vi /etc/pacman.conf ;uncomment multilib repository!
# useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash rick
# passwd rick
# visudo ;uncomment 'wheel' group line!
# exit
# reboot
Once rebooted, install nice things. Run all these commands with:
sudo pacman -S {package}
first, update repositories:
sudo pacman -Sy
PACKAGES:
---------
xorg
xorg-server
xorg-server-utils
xorg-apps
xorg-xinit
xorg-twm
xterm
xorg-xlogo
xorg-xclock
xorg-xload
xorg-xeyes
xorg-fonts-100dpi
xorg-fonts-75dpi
xfe ;file manager
xv ;for displaying wallpaper in TWM
xarchiver ;for opening .zip and .7z files (etc)
xcalc ;calculator
xbindkeys ;map keys like volume and brightness
xscreensaver
terminus-font ;nice font for the console!
;create; /etc/vconsole.conf with the line:
;FONT=ter-p24n
nvidia-340xx (optional for 3D accelerated graphics)
alsa-utils (optional for audio support)
VIRTUALBOX GUEST:
-----------------
pacman -S virtualbox-guest-utils
vi ~/.xinitrc ;add /usr/bin/VBoxClient-all
OTHER PACKAGES:
---------------
yaourt ;aur + pacman wrapper
package-query ;required by yaourt
gkrellm ;system monitor
atom ;source code editor
xephem ;fantastic star/deepsky atlas
stellarium ;night sky simulator
stella ;Atari 2600 emulator
gimp ;image manipulation
firefox ;web browser
freshplayerplugin ;to allow Firefox to play Flash movies
pepper-flash ;required by freshplayerplugin
moc ;music on console!
vlc ;multimedia player
libreoffice ;office suite
clamav ;antivirus
jre7-openjdk ;java runtime
virtualbox ;virtualization
;gpasswd -a {user} vboxusers
x86f-input-synaptics ;laptop touch pad driver (very good!)
HP printing
-----------
cups ;systemctl enable org.cups.cupsd.service
;gpasswd -a {user} lp
hplip ;hp-setup utility
python-pyqt5 ;required by hp-setup
python-gobject ;also required by hp-setup
gtk3-print-backends ;required to print from Firefox
UPDATES:
--------
sudo pacman -Syu
or
yaourt -Syua
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