Install arch on tow different partitions

Hi every body
I have install arch with kde4, can i install the system again (gnome) on different partition (by editing grub) and have tow working systems?:D

fukawi2 wrote:It would be much simpler to install Gnome on the same system, and just choose between KDE and Gnome using a Login Manager such as gdm or kdm.
I just want to install fresh KDE or Gnome in tow seperate partitions, i dont want to mix kde and gnome in one partition.

Similar Messages

[Solved]Can I install arch without a swap partition ?

I only have one primary partition free to install arch, with 3 primary partition and 1 extend partition, I have no other choice except install without swap partition.
Is there any suggestion? I will try it until I get a U storage to write .img in.
Last edited by sailor (2009-03-17 00:47:31)

Sure, it's perfectly possible to use any linux system without swap. including arch.
There are 2 ways to do disk partitioning in /arch/setup:
1) autoprepare. with this method, you pick a disk (a disk you want to use entirely). you will be asked some questions (including how big swap should be). this method will create the partitions with the sizes you mention (/boot, swap, / and /home) optionally you can add additional fs'es
2) manual. the installer can launch cfdisk for you if you need to alter partitions (if you want this), and after that you can define pretty much your stuff the way you like it (eg no swap) iirc. i'm not 100% sure though.
Frankly I don't understand why you say "I have no choice", if you don't have enough partitions, you can always create additional ones.

Installing Arch on a USB Key Partition

I'm new to Arch Linux, and installed it on a partition on my USB Key to try it out (it's cool!.... so far). One problem though. It's an 8GB drive with two partitions. I installed Arch on the first partition (2.5GB) and the rest is for storage. This is fine on computers that run Linux, but Windows only recognizes the first partition and does not see the storage partition.
Is there a way I could copy my entire Arch filesystem so I could reformat my USB Key with the partitions in the correct order? I was looking into Partimage and CloneZilla. I am also open to other solutions.

Clonezilla worked fine! For anyone else who wants to restore an image of a partition to a different partition, make sure you read this:
http://drbl.org/faq/fine-print.php?path … tition.faq
Last edited by zangderak (2011-09-10 01:19:20)

How to install Arch from hard drive?

Hello
I have an old laptop - Pentium II 266 MHz, 128Mb RAM and I want to install Arch on it.
The problem is that there is no way to boot from this laptop -> floppy is broken, CD drive is not bootable, no available boot options from BIOS to boot from PXE or USB.
So, I found this link useful (but not enough).
I have done everything as described on the upper link, but on the final step 7 I don't know how to proceed.
What I have got is:
Arch installation CD is in the CD drive.
After loading vmlinuz26 and archiso.img (which is RAM Disk or initrd) it shows this message: "waiting 30 seconds for device /dev/disk/by-label/"
And another message: "ERROR: boot device didn't show up after 30 seconds" and after that it put me in the ramfs prompt.
I try this in ramfs prompt, but without success:
1. ln -s /dev/sr0 /dev/archiso
2. exit (and try again)
What I want is to tell the installer that it must proceed with the installation files on my CD drive.
But how to do that?
If it is not possible, then how could I install Arch on this old laptop? Is there any other methods to try?
PS: There is Windows 2000 and Windows 98 installed on this laptop, but I want to install Arch on it. The whole hard drive is one partition.
Last edited by clovenhoof (2011-08-09 06:49:48)

Try either of the following:
* Add archisolabel=LABEL to the kernel line in menu.lst, where LABEL is the filesystem label of the partition where the ISO resides.
* Add archisodevice=/dev/sdaX to the kernel line in menu.lst, where sdaX should be replaced with the partition where the ISO resides.
[Edit]
Hmmm, sorry I think I was wrong. With the above, you need also extract the ISO, put the arch/ directory at the root of the partition.
Alternatively, you can put the ISO to the root of that partition, and add img_dev=/dev/sdaX and img_loop=foo-bar.iso. For details, see:
https://projects.archlinux.org/archiso.git/tree/README
BUT even if it loads, I don't think you will be able to install Arch on the same partition since it's mounted readonly to /bootmnt, (unless, you explicitly add copytoram to the kernel line, in which case, everything is copied to RAM, but since the machine has got only 128MB of RAM, this is not gonna happen). So, you need to put the ISO (or the extracted squashfs images) to a different partition than your target installation partition...
There probably are other things I'm missing... Gotta say this sounds quite challenging.
[Edit2]
Bah! Try archisodevice=/dev/sr0 then!
Last edited by lolilolicon (2011-08-09 07:48:17)

[SOLVED] Trying to install Arch Linux from harddisk using /dev/sda2

Hi
I'm trying to install Arch using my swap partition, following this wiki entry: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ha … stallation
What I've done:
Downloaded ISO: archlinux-2010.05-netinstall-i686.iso
Command: swapoff /dev/sda2
Command: fdisk /dev/sda and changed the system type to 83 (Linux) on /dev/sda2
Now it looks like:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 250.1 GB, 250059350016 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders, total 488397168 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00017e5b
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 * 1 1060289 530144+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 1060290 3164804 1052257+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 3164805 105579179 51207187+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 105579180 488392064 191406442+ 83 Linux
It complained about device was busy, but it still seemed to have changed the system type, so I did partprobe as it wrote.
WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or resource busy.
The kernel still uses the old table. The new table will be used at
the next reboot or after you run partprobe(8) or kpartx(8)
Syncing disks.
[root@swamp ~]# partprobe
<no output>
Next I did:
[root@swamp ~]# dd if=archlinux-2010.05-netinstall-i686.iso of=/dev/sda2
327680+0 records in
327680+0 records out
167772160 bytes (168 MB) copied, 4.3025 s, 39.0 MB/s
[root@swamp ~]# mkdir /mnt/sda2
[root@swamp ~]# mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/sda2
mount: warning: /mnt/sda2 seems to be mounted read-only.
[root@swamp ~]# ls -al /mnt/sda2
total 150466
dr-xr-xr-x 3 root root 240 May 16 15:54 .
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Nov 5 01:40 ..
dr-xr-xr-x 3 root root 556 May 16 15:52 boot
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 448 May 16 15:54 isomounts
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 8192 May 16 15:54 overlay.sqfs
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 154058752 May 16 15:54 root-image.sqfs
And unmounted it again.
The wiki page says to type: fsck -f /dev/sda2fsck, but I get no such file while trying to open sda2fsck.
[root@swamp ~]# fsck -f /dev/sda2fsck
fsck from util-linux-ng 2.18
e2fsck 1.41.12 (17-May-2010)
fsck.ext2: No such file or directory while trying to open /dev/sda2fsck
The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2
filesystem. If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2
filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
Can I ignore the above and continue modifying grub?
Thanks :-)
Last edited by valvet (2010-11-08 14:49:07)

fsck -f /dev/sda2fsck makes no sense because /dev/sda2fsck is not a deivce. If the wiki says that, then it is wrong. It's only doing a fsck anyway so probably not really needed. If you are just formatting th swap partition then use, mkfs.ext{234}.
edit:
from the wiki
# fsck -f /dev/sda2fsck 1.40.8 (13-Mar-2008)
e2fsck 1.40.8 (13-Mar-2008)
Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes
Pass 2: Checking directory structure
Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity
Pass 3A: Optimizing directories
Pass 4: Checking reference counts
Pass 5: Checking group summary information
/dev/sda2: ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
/dev/sda2: 243/78936 files (8.2% non-contiguous), 310519/314880 blocks
The first like should just be
# fsck -f /dev/sda2
Last edited by sand_man (2010-11-05 06:46:01)

Installing Arch on Macbook

I'm trying to install Arch onto a partition of my internal hard-disk.
I've gone through the installation procedure 6 times now, and each time, I can't seem to re-boot into Arch. I had a friend to the exact same scheme I am trying to do, however things aren't working for me.
Deepest re-vamp of my system so far:
I've erased my entire hard-disk, repartitioned it from the OS X DVD, installed OS X, then tried to install Arch. I've partitioned the Arch portion in OS Extended, and FAT, and neither appear to work. Everything during the install sequence works fine, GRUB installs correctly the first time (every time), however when I re-boot to try and enter Arch, I can never see the disk (neither using rEFIt, or holding down option). I end up going into OS X, and that can't even mount the disk, however it believes that it is an OS Extended formatted drive each time. I'm fairly sure I'm doing everything right, because I've checked things over with my friend's installation, which worked properly... however if there's something special that could be the problem, please do reply!!!
Thanks.

so now, after re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-installing Arch, I now get a "Windows" partition on my internal drive however when I try and boot into that using rEFIt or by holding down the option key, I get "Non-system disk \n Press any key to reboot \n _"

Install Arch in an USB Flash drive from an existing image

I want to minimize the amount of writes to the flash drive by avoiding directly installing Arch into it.
I would like to know if it would be possible to install arch into an small partition, configure it, and then make an image of it and dump it at the USB drive(like when creating the USB install).
Does it worth the while doing so?
Thanks!
Last edited by cristian.rosa (2009-03-05 14:41:11)

Sure. You could do that, then just rsync or cp -ax it onto the Flash drive and set up GRUB.

Install Arch alongside windowsXP

I have install arch before but i did auto-install
Now I want to install Arch over my Xubuntu partition,
I want to avoid this problem that others have encountered: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=95606
and http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=95141
of windows not being able to boot.
I checked the wiki of course but its not clear.
WHen I boot the Arch CD it says 'install' but it doesnt ask which partition to install to.
When I choose to install it says 'parsing hooks' but doesnt actually write anything to the hard drive.
Last edited by slenkar (2010-05-19 13:17:42)

Please, follow the Begginer's Guide

Installing arch on extended partition/logical drive

hi there. i am a newbie to linux and about to install arch as my first linux installation.
i am using vaio AR laptop already running xp and would like to keep it and have double boot without reinstalling xp.
have 200gb hdd with recovery primary partition, system primary partition (where xp installed) and extended partition with one logical drive (D: ) of 100gb.
i was considering deleting the logical drive (and the extended partition if necessary), which if i understand correctly should give me 100gb of unallocated space.
i would then like to install arch on the 100gb of unallocated space.
i would like to know if the way i am planning to go about it is possible, and whether i can install arch completely on one extended partition devided into logical drives.
any comments or sugestions would be much appreciated...
Last edited by o12357 (2009-09-04 12:45:18)

I believe that is correct. Grub has to have a reference to the md0 raid for booting.
Please see
http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=79306
This solution to the boot problem with md0 should be helpful for your case since grub must be modified to accomodate the raid.
I am not sure the data in your raid0 is appropo for your use in booting archlinux, however. If I understand correctly, it is windows related data and not applicable to linux.
If your raid0 is partitioned, it would be possible to establish a boot for each system using grub partition references differing for linux and windows systems.
Thus, you would have grub entries complete for linux and another set complete for windows.
I think AFAICT windows has to be first in the usual dual booting but am not an expert on that, not having used dual boot. It may be somewhat different when using raid for booting dual systems.
I suggest you read the wiki on dual boots.
Perhaps you will get advice from others on the subject also.
EDIT: Your asumption that all OS'es will recognize the raid0 devices as a single drive does not apply to archlinux which does not autodetect raid arrays but must have initramfs populated with the raid data established by mdadm and initiated into initramfs by mkinitcpio. Then during boot sequences , the array is assembled and enabled as a single drive,i.e., md0. The boot sequence assembles all drives having identical UUID's in the raid array.
Last edited by lilsirecho (2009-09-05 18:23:36)

[SOLVED] Just got my Arch! Can /home be moved to different partition?

Hello everybody, after three days of work I've finally got my Arch running correctly, and I'm very thrilled about moving on and use it on a regular basis.
Now I have a doubt: during installation I selected to install home in the same partition as file sistem, because I have a home partition for Ubuntu and Fedora and was unsure if setting it would simply create a new folder for Arch, or it would be automatically formatted, which would have meant the destuction of all my data. That means all Arch data is inside the same partition.
So, question is, is there any way to move to that home partition now?
Last edited by Daerun (2011-02-08 22:33:24)

I don't know how many times I have seen this problem - and the solution is oh so easy ...
Forget about /home as such - make it just part of the root filesystem and don't put any data in there.
Instead - mount /myhome (or whatever you want to call it) on a partition on its own and have all of your users (ie all the usernames you use) rwx-access to it - use it as your 'real' home.
This way, you don't have the clutter of dot-files/directories if you should have more than one distro. To use a common /home for more than one distro is a big fallacy (at least in _my_ eyes) unless you make sure that uid and gid is the same (which is seldom the case if you're a newbie - old hands know better!)
Even if you have the same uid/gid - the dot-files may not be completely compatible and you're heading for troubles.
Another advantage - you can replace a distro with some other distro without thinking twice about it - your 'real' home is safe.
Oh - and while I'm at it.
Why all the different partitions for each distro? (/var, /usr, /home etc). That is OK if you only use one distro - the second you try to install another one you will be heading for troubles.
Just use the root filesystem and give it 20 gigs - 20 gigs for each distro and you will not have any problems - ever (almost). Hey - in these days of terabyte disks for $50, what's the problem?
Then - a final /myhome as a common home partition for all distros.
Another 'mistake' I often see is playing around with different filesystems, trying to wring the last ounce of effort out of a poor diskdrive. Make a /testing partition and experiment to your heart's content with all kind of weird and wonderful filesystem, but keep the root filesystem and your /myhome safe. ext3 and/or reiserfs are excellent filesystems and have been so for years - they are as safe as the bank. ext4 is getting there.
Just my 2c worth ...
Last edited by perbh (2011-02-08 17:38:51)

Install Arch into already partitioned HardDrive

Right now I have a separate partition for /home directory.
How can I install Arch so that it will not do any chances to /home partition and just format the / partition.

hi, i'm in a similar situation
i already have a /home/cngn partition/directory with my media files on it (from different linux installation)
after installing arch should I use the -m option while adding a user cngn or not?
Last edited by cngn (2010-03-20 10:23:46)

Install Arch on USB flash drive (partitioning and UEFI)?

I am trying to install Arch on a USB flash drive. However I have few questions... in particular about pratitioning and UEFI.
What partition table should I use? dos or gpt? and from this... what partitioning tool should I use? (cfdisk, parted, gdisk... etc)?
Also... I am going to be using this USB flash drive with a new computer that has a UEFI BIOS. Should I do anything different because of this? (Have a different boot flag?)

I think you need to read up on UEFI. Depending on what partitioner you use the boot flag can mean something entirely different.
MBR(dos) or GPT is a personal preference, so asking that is like asking someone else what your favorite soap should be. There is one exception though. I have heard of some systems that have firmware bugs that won't allow GPT/bios and some that won't allow MBR/UEFI. There are also some machines that won't do a damn thing if they aren't MBR partitioned, but those all tend to not be UEFI.
As far as the tool to use, if you want to use GPT then use gdisk and friends, of you want to use MBR(dos) use fdisk and friends. Or you can learn how to use parted, which can apparently handle both. But, for example gdisk offers a number of different tools that can all achieve the same thing. Again, it is like asking someone else if you should prefer boxers or briefs...

What exactly does Arch do with existing partitions at install time?

Hi there,
I would like ton install linux on a computer which has already ubuntu and Vista.
I'd like to keep ubuntu and erase vista altogether.
My partitions look like this:
/dev/sda1 1 5 40131 de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 * 6 1918 15360000 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda3 1918 12225 82793624+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
/dev/sda4 12225 60802 390191105 5 Extended
/dev/sda5 12225 59676 381146112 83 Linux
/dev/sda6 59676 60802 9043968 82 Linux swap / Solaris
sda2 is also a dell-backup partition of some sort, /sda3 is windows.
The less intrusive for me would be to keep /sda1 and /sda2 without modifications, install arch on /sda3. I would be nice if I could add /sda6 as arch's swap, and get a dual arch/ubuntu boot.
Now the question. When I log into the installer, in manually-configure-block-devices, does not show the types of the partitions, says something like "raw data". I chickened out. How should I proceed to only format /sda3, and keep my precious /sda5?
Thanks!

gabrielvc wrote:
No, it does not work, since cfdisk can not handle my partition table:
FATAL ERROR: Bad primary partition 3: Partition end in the final partial cylind
Press any key to exit cfdisk
You can try to delete partition 3 altogether, then remake it. If that doesn't work things might become more difficult.
edit: that probably wouldn't work if you can't start cfdisk at all. Manually with "fdisk" from another TTY could work, or using parted, but those are less simple than cfdisk..
Last edited by litemotiv (2011-07-24 14:19:46)

How to partition a USB flash-drive to install Arch Linux?

Good afternoon,
Could anyone please guide me in the right direction, how would I go about partitioning my USB flash-drive in order to install Arch Linux onto my Acer Aspire One? I've found guides, but none of them are specific enough - the static assumption being that the OS is already partitioned onto your flash-drive, and that is not the case for me.
Much appreciated,
A Swiftly Tilting Planet

assuming your usb key is /dev/sdz
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdz
//cleans the usb drive
# fdisk /dev/sdz
// press m and read the help, make a partition, make it bootable
// you have to press (double check anyway):
// n, p, 1, <enter>, <enter>, a, 1, t, b, w
# mkfs.vfat /dev/sdz1
// formatting
The first passage can actually replaced to something more modest, like:
# dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdz bs=1024 count=1
Last edited by ezzetabi (2009-01-03 16:37:04)

Installed Arch on second partition, cannot choose which OS to boot in

Hello. I setup Arch on a second partition and installed everything and installed grub on my root partition, but when I rebooted the system, I wasnt given a boot menu.. it Just defaulted to windows. Heres my setup:
/dev/sda1 Windows
/dev/sda2 Swap
/dev/sda3 Root
Now.. I didnt flag Root as bootable and Im thinking thats it.. is it? and there was one other thing.. in my /mnt/boot/grub/menu.lst file.. I edited the windows XP entry as such:
# Windows XP
title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,0)
chainloader +1
there was a line "makeactive" inbetweee rootoverify ad chainloader.. that wasnt part of the wiki so i deleted it.. is there something else im missing?

Did you install GRUB to MBR or a partition? It needs to be in the MBR to work.
Alternatively, you can use winfailure's boot.ini file to specify that you want to chainload from NTLDR to GRUB, which will work, but you'll need to know exactly where you installed GRUB to do that method.
Also, you were wise to remove that "makeactive" - that'd set the winfailure partition to bootable, negating GRUB on futher boots.
Lastly, GRUB doesn't require that disks be made "active" - the GRUB MBR code is "hardwired" with what partition to chainload to, it's a smart little application.
-dav7

Install arch on tow different partitions

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