No sound in arch linux.

There is some bug or something with the usb headset/earphones, the card number change in every boot so the asoundrc file must be changed every boot. I have solved this in old installation with a crappy initscript, but this script only work for me.  And in systemd there is no initscripts i think... maybe someone should take care about this...and make a gui to change easy....

fpilee wrote:
//How about posting what desktop environment you are using and also what sound system like either ALSA or PulseAudio and perhaps there does exist a "GUI"?
KDE 4.10. Alsa gstreamer
//Maybe you could read the wiki and write a udev rule?
No, i don't have time to copy and paste the wiki code and forget tomorrow what i have been done.
fpilee,
You are dealing with a community of volunteers in every aspect of this distribution.  Arch is a "do it yourself" distribution and if you can't hack all of it then you politely come to the forums.  The wiki is the primary source of help, I would suggest you go to it.  I'm not bothering anymore with yourself because your attitude just plain stinks.
Bill.

Similar Messages

  • No sound in arch linux (tried all fixes i know of)

    Hey guys im having trouble getting my sound to work in arch. I am using an onboard sound card, ac'97. The motherboard is an asus a8n-sli premium and in modprobe.conf it recognizes it as snd-intel8x0. I know a lot of people seem to have this problem fairly often, however i have followed they're posts and fixes but none seem to work for me. I've unmuted pcm, masterm and master in alsamixer, and im pretty sure its not the headphone jack sense issue because i dont even have that option in my alsamixer. I've also tried running alsaconf and that still doesn't fix the problem. I've also tried adding "options snd-NAME-OF-MODULE ac97_quirk=0" to the end of my modprobe.conf as suggested in the alsa wiki but that didn't work either. I know my soundcard isn't broken because i have a seperate partition with windows on it and the sound works just fine. Also my friend has the exact same mobo as me and is not having any trouble with his arch installation whatsoever. (we both installed off the same disk)
    This is what my modprobe.conf looks like:
    # /etc/modprobe.conf (for v2.6 kernels)
    alias wlan0 ndiswrapper
    # --- BEGIN: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
    # --- ALSACONF version 1.0.15 ---
    alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0
    alias sound-slot-0 snd-intel8x0
    # --- END: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
    options snd-intel8x0 ac97_quirk=0
    The daemons in my rc.conf:
    DAEMONS=(syslog-ng network netfs crond slim alsa)
    And my modules in rc.conf:
    MODULES=(8139cp 8139too forcedeth mii sk98lin skge slhc ac97_bus snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-seq-oss snd-seq-device snd-seq-midi-event snd-seq snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-rawmidi snd-timer snd snd-mpu401-uart snd-mpu401 snd-ac97-codec snd-intel8x0 soundcore)
    Im not sure if you guys would need anymore information to help me if so just ask and i'll provided them asap. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this problem is bugging me to the extremes. Thanks in advance.

    holydhaliwal, If you look at your '/etc/modprobe.conf' file you will see lines that indicate code generated with "ALSACONF," which is the name of the application that is run with the "alsaconf" command.  A little further down on "Mikko777" suggested procedure, he advised to "run alsaconf".  In other words, he thinks that maybe something weird happened during all the audio-fixing you had been trying, and maybe by clearing everything out that "ALSACONF" had saved, you can start from afresh and type in the command he thinks you will have the most success with, which is "/usr/sbin/alsaconf".  So basically, extending from Mikko's brief explanation, delete the following from your '/etc/modprobe.conf' file:
    # --- BEGIN: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
    # --- ALSACONF version 1.0.15 ---
    alias snd-card-0 snd-intel8x0
    alias sound-slot-0 snd-intel8x0
    # --- END: Generated by ALSACONF, do not edit. ---
    options snd-intel8x0 ac97_quirk=0
    In the next step, he suggests allowing udev to load all the sound modules automatically instead of manually telling it to do so.  To do this, open up '/etc/rc.conf' and delete the names of all the sound modules from the "MODULES" line.  Maybe all of these:
    ac97_bus snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-seq-oss snd-seq-device snd-seq-midi-event snd-seq snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-rawmidi snd-timer snd snd-mpu401-uart snd-mpu401 snd-ac97-codec snd-intel8x0 soundcore
    You may have to look up any other modules you are not familiar with in order to deduce which ones are which.  By doing this, you allow udev to attempt to auto-load the deleted modules.
    Next, run "/usr/sbin/alsaconf" like you did before and, after making sure everything is unmuted, run "/usr/sbin/alsactl store" so all your volume settings will be saved when "/etc/rc.d/alsa stop" is performed on shutdown and "/etc/rc.d/alsa start" is performed on boot.
    Also, if your friend has audio working, then try copying all of his relevant configuration files onto your setup.

  • [SOLVED] Installing Windows XP after Arch Linux

    I'm not sure at all where to post this, so I've decided to do it here since I have the problem on a laptop... Please move if it should be somewhere else.
    I installed Arch Linux on my new laptop a month ago or so, and am very pleased to have found the very kind of distro I've been looking for. However, I'm having trouble with my graphics (either wine doesn't support it, or the drivers don't have 2D/3D acceleration), and now I want to install Windows XP next to Arch Linux.
    Using a GParted LiveCD, I've repartitioned the harddrive as such: Unpartitioned Space (27GB), Linux (197GB), SWAP (5GB).
    I've also removed the bootable flag from the Linux partition, just to be sure. However, when I try to install Windows XP, it gets stuck after unpacking a bunch of drivers, giving me a bluescreen that tells me to make sure the hardware isn't broken, check my harddrive with CHKDSK /F, or look for viruses. Ofcourse I know none of these are true, since I'm running Arch Linux just fine.
    A friend suggested that maybe my hardware isn't supported by Windows XP, which sounds like the most reasonable explanation so far, but I can't find a list of supported hardware. The M$ homepage basicly says
    "Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)"
    for CPU, which doesn't help me at all.
    My hardware is:
    Processor: Intel Celeron 2.2 Ghz
    Memory: 2GB DDR2
    Graphics: Intel 4500MHD
    And the laptop is called an "eMachines E525", though that doesn't say much since there are very, very many called this.
    Can anyone give me any hints as to what I might be doing wrong?
    Last edited by Noxic (2010-05-29 18:44:32)

    Sounds like something I'll want to do. Where did you download the drivers? Do I have to follow some guide? Thanks for the tip
    EDIT:
    Indeed I will want to install AHCI drivers, otherwise Arch Linux fails to boot quite badly. There is also a problem preventing me from booting when I'm using AHCI though;
    At boot, Arch Linux checks /dev/sda1 (NTFS) for errors, and expects to check an ext2 filesystem. Obviously, however, /dev/sda1 is an NTFS filesystem.
    Since it tries to read the NTFS partition as an ext2 filesystem, it panics. Arch Linux then prompts me for the root password (or Ctrl+D to reboot), but I've disabled root login and can therefore do nothing at this point.
    I have a GParted livecd and the Arch Linux livecd, so editing files on any of the filesystem isn't a problem at all, but I don't know what to do at this point. Help?
    Last edited by Noxic (2010-05-29 12:40:33)

  • System encryption using LUKS and GPG encrypted keys for arch linux

    Update: As of 2012-03-28, arch changed from gnupg 1.4 to 2.x which uses pinentry for the password dialog. The "etwo" hook described here doesn't work with gnupg 2. Either use the openssl hook below or use a statically compiled version of gnupg 1.4.
    Update: As of 2012-12-19, the mkinitcpio is not called during boot, unless the "install" file for the hook contains "add_runscript". This resulted in an unbootable system for me. Also, the method name was changed from install () to build ().
    Update: 2013-01-13: Updated the hook files using the corrections by Deth.
    Note: This guide is a bit dated now, in particular the arch installation might be different now. But essentially, the approach stays the same. Please also take a look at the posts further down, specifically the alternative hooks that use openssl.
    I always wanted to set up a fully encrypted arch linux server that uses gpg encrypted keyfiles on an external usb stick and luks for root filesystem encryption. I already did it once in gentoo using this guide. For arch, I had to play alot with initcpio hooks and after one day of experimentation, I finally got it working. I wrote a little guide for myself which I'm going to share here for anyone that might be interested. There might be better or easier ways, like I said this is just how I did it. I hope it might help someone else. Constructive feedback is always welcome
    Intro
    Using arch linux mkinitcpio's encrypt hook, one can easily use encrypted root partitions with LUKS. It's also possible to use key files stored on an external drive, like an usb stick. However, if someone steals your usb stick, he can just copy the key and potentially access the system. I wanted to have a little extra security by additionally encrypting the key file with gpg using a symmetric cipher and a passphrase.
    Since the encrypt hook doesn't support this scenario, I created a modifed hook called “etwo” (silly name I know, it was the first thing that came to my mind). It will simply look if the key file has the extension .gpg and, if yes, use gpg to decrypt it, then pipe the result into cryptsetup.
    Conventions
    In this short guide, I use the following disk/partition names:
    /dev/sda: is the hard disk that will contain an encrypted swap (/dev/sda1), /var (/dev/sda2) and root (/dev/sda3) partition.
    /dev/sdb is the usb stick that will contain the gpg encrypted luks keys, the kernel and grub. It will have one partition /dev/sdb1 formatted with ext2.
    /dev/mapper/root, /dev/mapper/swap and /dev/mapper/var will be the encrypted devices.
    Credits
    Thanks to the authors of SECURITY_System_Encryption_DM-Crypt_with_LUKS (gentoo wiki), System Encryption with LUKS (arch wiki), mkinitcpio (arch wiki) and Early Userspace in Arch Linux (/dev/brain0 blog)!
    Guide
    1. Boot the arch live cd
    I had to use a newer testing version, because the 2010.05 cd came with a broken gpg. You can download one here: http://releng.archlinux.org/isos/. I chose the “core“ version. Go ahead and boot the live cd, but don't start the setup yet.
    2. Set keymap
    Use km to set your keymap. This is important for non-qwerty keyboards to avoid suprises with passphrases...
    3. Wipe your discs
    ATTENTION: this will DELETE everything on /dev/sda and /dev/sdb forever! Do not blame me for any lost data!
    Before encrypting the hard disc, it has to be completely wiped and overwritten with random data. I used shred for this. Others use badblocks or dd with /dev/urandom. Either way, this will take a long time, depending on the size of your disc. I also wiped my usb stick just to be sure.
    shred -v /dev/sda
    shred -v /dev/sdb
    4. Partitioning
    Fire up fdisk and create the following partitions:
    /dev/sda1, type linux swap.
    /dev/sda2: type linux
    /dev/sda3: type linux
    /dev/sdb1, type linux
    Of course you can choose a different layout, this is just how I did it. Keep in mind that only the root filesystem will be decrypted by the initcpio. The rest will be decypted during normal init boot using /etc/crypttab, the keys being somewhere on the root filesystem.
    5. Format  and mount the usb stick
    Create an ext2 filesystem on /dev/sdb1:
    mkfs.ext2 /dev/sdb1
    mkdir /root/usb
    mount /dev/sdb1 /root/usb
    cd /root/usb # this will be our working directory for now.
    Do not mount anything to /mnt, because the arch installer will use that directory later to mount the encrypted root filesystem.
    6. Configure the network (if not already done automatically)
    ifconfig eth0 192.168.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0
    route add default gw 192.168.0.1
    echo "nameserver 192.168.0.1" >> /etc/resolv.conf
    (this is just an example, your mileage may vary)
    7. Install gnupg
    pacman -Sy
    pacman -S gnupg
    Verify that gnupg works by launching gpg.
    8. Create the keys
    Just to be sure, make sure swap is off:
    cat /proc/swaps
    should return no entries.
    Create gpg encrypted keys (remember, we're still in our working dir /root/usb):
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > root.gpg
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > var.gpg
    Choose a strong password!!
    Don't do this in two steps, e.g don't do dd to a file and then gpg on that file. The key should never be stored in plain text on an unencrypted device, except if that device is wiped on system restart (ramfs)!
    Note that the default cipher for gpg is cast5, I just chose to use a different one.
    9. Create the encrypted devices with cryptsetup
    Create encrypted swap:
    cryptsetup -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool -d /dev/urandom create swap /dev/sda1
    You should see /dev/mapper/swap now. Don't format nor turn it on for now. This will be done by the arch installer.
    Important: From the Cryptsetup 1.1.2 Release notes:
    Cryptsetup can accept passphrase on stdin (standard input). Handling of new line (\n) character is defined by input specification:
        if keyfile is specified as "-" (using --key-file=- or by positional argument in luksFormat and luksAddKey, like cat file | cryptsetup --key-file=- <action> ), input is processed
          as normal binary file and no new line is interpreted.
        if there is no key file specification (with default input from stdin pipe like echo passphrase | cryptsetup <action> ) input is processed as input from terminal, reading will
          stop after new line is detected.
    If I understand this correctly, since the randomly generated key can contain a newline early on, piping the key into cryptsetup without specifying --key-file=- could result in a big part of the key to be ignored by cryptsetup. Example: if the random key was "foo\nandsomemorebaratheendofthekey", piping it directly into cryptsetup without --key-file=- would result in cryptsetup using only "foo" as key which would have big security implications. We should therefor ALWAYS pipe the key into cryptsetup using --key-file=- which ignores newlines.
    gpg -q -d root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v -–key-file=- -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool luksFormat /dev/sda3
    gpg -q -d var.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool -v luksFormat /dev/sda2
    Check for any errors.
    10. Open the luks devices
    gpg -d root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda3 root
    gpg -d var.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v –-key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda2 var
    If you see /dev/mapper/root and /dev/mapper/var now, everything is ok.
    11. Start the installer /arch/setup
    Follow steps 1 to 3.
    At step 4 (Prepare hard drive(s), select “3 – Manually Configure block devices, filesystems and mountpoints. Choose /dev/sdb1 (the usb stick) as /boot, /dev/mapper/swap for swap, /dev/mapper/root for / and /dev/mapper/var for /var.
    Format all drives (choose “yes” when asked “do you want to have this filesystem (re)created”) EXCEPT for /dev/sdb1, choose “no”. Choose the correct filesystem for /dev/sdb1, ext2 in my case. Use swap for /dev/mapper/swap. For the rest, I chose ext4.
    Select DONE to start formatting.
    At step 5 (Select packages), select grub as boot loader. Select the base group. Add mkinitcpio.
    Start step 6 (Install packages).
    Go to step 7 (Configure System).
    By sure to set the correct KEYMAP, LOCALE and TIMEZONE in /etc/rc.conf.
    Edit /etc/fstab:
    /dev/mapper/root / ext4 defaults 0 1
    /dev/mapper/swap swap swap defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/var /var ext4 defaults 0 1
    # /dev/sdb1 /boot ext2 defaults 0 1
    Configure the rest normally. When you're done, setup will launch mkinitcpio. We'll manually launch this again later.
    Go to step 8 (install boot loader).
    Be sure to change the kernel line in menu.lst:
    kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/mapper/root cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:root cryptkey=/dev/sdb1:ext2:/root.gpg
    Don't forget the :root suffix in cryptdevice!
    Also, my root line was set to (hd1,0). Had to change that to
    root (hd0,0)
    Install grub to /dev/sdb (the usb stick).
    Now, we can exit the installer.
    12. Install mkinitcpio with the etwo hook.
    Create /mnt/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo:
    #!/usr/bin/ash
    run_hook() {
    /sbin/modprobe -a -q dm-crypt >/dev/null 2>&1
    if [ -e "/sys/class/misc/device-mapper" ]; then
    if [ ! -e "/dev/mapper/control" ]; then
    /bin/mknod "/dev/mapper/control" c $(cat /sys/class/misc/device-mapper/dev | sed 's|:| |')
    fi
    [ "${quiet}" = "y" ] && CSQUIET=">/dev/null"
    # Get keyfile if specified
    ckeyfile="/crypto_keyfile"
    usegpg="n"
    if [ "x${cryptkey}" != "x" ]; then
    ckdev="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f1)"
    ckarg1="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f2)"
    ckarg2="$(echo "${cryptkey}" | cut -d: -f3)"
    if poll_device "${ckdev}" ${rootdelay}; then
    case ${ckarg1} in
    *[!0-9]*)
    # Use a file on the device
    # ckarg1 is not numeric: ckarg1=filesystem, ckarg2=path
    if [ "${ckarg2#*.}" = "gpg" ]; then
    ckeyfile="${ckeyfile}.gpg"
    usegpg="y"
    fi
    mkdir /ckey
    mount -r -t ${ckarg1} ${ckdev} /ckey
    dd if=/ckey/${ckarg2} of=${ckeyfile} >/dev/null 2>&1
    umount /ckey
    # Read raw data from the block device
    # ckarg1 is numeric: ckarg1=offset, ckarg2=length
    dd if=${ckdev} of=${ckeyfile} bs=1 skip=${ckarg1} count=${ckarg2} >/dev/null 2>&1
    esac
    fi
    [ ! -f ${ckeyfile} ] && echo "Keyfile could not be opened. Reverting to passphrase."
    fi
    if [ -n "${cryptdevice}" ]; then
    DEPRECATED_CRYPT=0
    cryptdev="$(echo "${cryptdevice}" | cut -d: -f1)"
    cryptname="$(echo "${cryptdevice}" | cut -d: -f2)"
    else
    DEPRECATED_CRYPT=1
    cryptdev="${root}"
    cryptname="root"
    fi
    warn_deprecated() {
    echo "The syntax 'root=${root}' where '${root}' is an encrypted volume is deprecated"
    echo "Use 'cryptdevice=${root}:root root=/dev/mapper/root' instead."
    if poll_device "${cryptdev}" ${rootdelay}; then
    if /sbin/cryptsetup isLuks ${cryptdev} >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ] && warn_deprecated
    dopassphrase=1
    # If keyfile exists, try to use that
    if [ -f ${ckeyfile} ]; then
    if [ "${usegpg}" = "y" ]; then
    # gpg tty fixup
    if [ -e /dev/tty ]; then mv /dev/tty /dev/tty.backup; fi
    cp -a /dev/console /dev/tty
    while [ ! -e /dev/mapper/${cryptname} ];
    do
    sleep 2
    /usr/bin/gpg -d "${ckeyfile}" 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup --key-file=- luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}
    dopassphrase=0
    done
    rm /dev/tty
    if [ -e /dev/tty.backup ]; then mv /dev/tty.backup /dev/tty; fi
    else
    if eval /sbin/cryptsetup --key-file ${ckeyfile} luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}; then
    dopassphrase=0
    else
    echo "Invalid keyfile. Reverting to passphrase."
    fi
    fi
    fi
    # Ask for a passphrase
    if [ ${dopassphrase} -gt 0 ]; then
    echo ""
    echo "A password is required to access the ${cryptname} volume:"
    #loop until we get a real password
    while ! eval /sbin/cryptsetup luksOpen ${cryptdev} ${cryptname} ${CSQUIET}; do
    sleep 2;
    done
    fi
    if [ -e "/dev/mapper/${cryptname}" ]; then
    if [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ]; then
    export root="/dev/mapper/root"
    fi
    else
    err "Password succeeded, but ${cryptname} creation failed, aborting..."
    exit 1
    fi
    elif [ -n "${crypto}" ]; then
    [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ] && warn_deprecated
    msg "Non-LUKS encrypted device found..."
    if [ $# -ne 5 ]; then
    err "Verify parameter format: crypto=hash:cipher:keysize:offset:skip"
    err "Non-LUKS decryption not attempted..."
    return 1
    fi
    exe="/sbin/cryptsetup create ${cryptname} ${cryptdev}"
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f1)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --hash \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f2)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --cipher \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f3)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --key-size \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f4)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --offset \"${tmp}\""
    tmp=$(echo "${crypto}" | cut -d: -f5)
    [ -n "${tmp}" ] && exe="${exe} --skip \"${tmp}\""
    if [ -f ${ckeyfile} ]; then
    exe="${exe} --key-file ${ckeyfile}"
    else
    exe="${exe} --verify-passphrase"
    echo ""
    echo "A password is required to access the ${cryptname} volume:"
    fi
    eval "${exe} ${CSQUIET}"
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    err "Non-LUKS device decryption failed. verify format: "
    err " crypto=hash:cipher:keysize:offset:skip"
    exit 1
    fi
    if [ -e "/dev/mapper/${cryptname}" ]; then
    if [ ${DEPRECATED_CRYPT} -eq 1 ]; then
    export root="/dev/mapper/root"
    fi
    else
    err "Password succeeded, but ${cryptname} creation failed, aborting..."
    exit 1
    fi
    else
    err "Failed to open encryption mapping: The device ${cryptdev} is not a LUKS volume and the crypto= paramater was not specified."
    fi
    fi
    rm -f ${ckeyfile}
    fi
    Create /mnt/lib/initcpio/install/etwo:
    #!/bin/bash
    build() {
    local mod
    add_module dm-crypt
    if [[ $CRYPTO_MODULES ]]; then
    for mod in $CRYPTO_MODULES; do
    add_module "$mod"
    done
    else
    add_all_modules '/crypto/'
    fi
    add_dir "/dev/mapper"
    add_binary "cryptsetup"
    add_binary "dmsetup"
    add_binary "/usr/bin/gpg"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/10-dm.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/13-dm-disk.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/95-dm-notify.rules"
    add_file "/usr/lib/initcpio/udev/11-dm-initramfs.rules" "/usr/lib/udev/rules.d/11-dm-initramfs.rules"
    add_runscript
    help ()
    cat<<HELPEOF
    This hook allows for an encrypted root device with support for gpg encrypted key files.
    To use gpg, the key file must have the extension .gpg and you have to install gpg and add /usr/bin/gpg
    to your BINARIES var in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.
    HELPEOF
    Edit /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf (only relevant sections displayed):
    MODULES=”ext2 ext4” # not sure if this is really nessecary.
    BINARIES=”/usr/bin/gpg” # this could probably be done in install/etwo...
    HOOKS=”base udev usbinput keymap autodetect pata scsi sata usb etwo filesystems” # (usbinput is only needed if you have an usb keyboard)
    Copy the initcpio stuff over to the live cd:
    cp /mnt/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo /lib/initcpio/hooks/
    cp /mnt/lib/initcpio/install/etwo /lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /mnt/etc/mkinitcpio.conf /etc/
    Verify your LOCALE, KEYMAP and TIMEZONE in /etc/rc.conf!
    Now reinstall the initcpio:
    mkinitcpio -g /mnt/boot/kernel26.img
    Make sure there were no errors and that all hooks were included.
    13. Decrypt the "var" key to the encrypted root
    mkdir /mnt/keys
    chmod 500 /mnt/keys
    gpg –output /mnt/keys/var -d /mnt/boot/var.gpg
    chmod 400 /mnt/keys/var
    14. Setup crypttab
    Edit /mnt/etc/crypttab:
    swap /dev/sda1 SWAP -c aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 -s 256 -h whirlpool
    var /dev/sda2 /keys/var
    15. Reboot
    We're done, you may reboot. Make sure you select the usb stick as the boot device in your bios and hope for the best. . If it didn't work, play with grub's settings or boot from the live cd, mount your encrypted devices and check all settings. You might also have less trouble by using uuid's instead of device names.  I chose device names to keep things as simple as possible, even though it's not the optimal way to do it.
    Make backups of your data and your usb stick and do not forget your password(s)! Or you can say goodbye to your data forever...
    Last edited by fabriceb (2013-01-15 22:36:23)

    I'm trying to run my install script that is based on https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=129885
    Decrypting the gpg key after grub works, but then "Devce root already exists." appears every second.
    any idea ?
    #!/bin/bash
    # This script is designed to be run in conjunction with a UEFI boot using Archboot intall media.
    # prereqs:
    # EFI "BIOS" set to boot *only* from EFI
    # successful EFI boot of Archboot USB
    # mount /dev/sdb1 /src
    set -o nounset
    #set -o errexit
    # Host specific configuration
    # this whole script needs to be customized, particularly disk partitions
    # and configuration, but this section contains global variables that
    # are used during the system configuration phase for convenience
    HOSTNAME=daniel
    USERNAME=user
    # Globals
    # We don't need to set these here but they are used repeatedly throughout
    # so it makes sense to reuse them and allow an easy, one-time change if we
    # need to alter values such as the install target mount point.
    INSTALL_TARGET="/install"
    HR="--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
    PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --config /tmp/pacman.conf"
    TARGET_PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --config /tmp/pacman.conf -r ${INSTALL_TARGET}"
    CHROOT_PACMAN="pacman --noconfirm --cachedir /var/cache/pacman/pkg --config /tmp/pacman.conf -r ${INSTALL_TARGET}"
    FILE_URL="file:///packages/core-$(uname -m)/pkg"
    FTP_URL='ftp://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch'
    HTTP_URL='http://mirrors.kernel.org/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch'
    # Functions
    # I've avoided using functions in this script as they aren't required and
    # I think it's more of a learning tool if you see the step-by-step
    # procedures even with minor duplciations along the way, but I feel that
    # these functions clarify the particular steps of setting values in config
    # files.
    SetValue () {
    # EXAMPLE: SetValue VARIABLENAME '\"Quoted Value\"' /file/path
    VALUENAME="$1" NEWVALUE="$2" FILEPATH="$3"
    sed -i "s+^#\?\(${VALUENAME}\)=.*$+\1=${NEWVALUE}+" "${FILEPATH}"
    CommentOutValue () {
    VALUENAME="$1" FILEPATH="$2"
    sed -i "s/^\(${VALUENAME}.*\)$/#\1/" "${FILEPATH}"
    UncommentValue () {
    VALUENAME="$1" FILEPATH="$2"
    sed -i "s/^#\(${VALUENAME}.*\)$/\1/" "${FILEPATH}"
    # Initialize
    # Warn the user about impending doom, set up the network on eth0, mount
    # the squashfs images (Archboot does this normally, we're just filling in
    # the gaps resulting from the fact that we're doing a simple scripted
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    # to do either *all* local or *all* network but we can't for two reasons.
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    # (currently the case) which results in problems when chrooting
    # into the install mount point to modprobe efivars. So we use the
    # package snapshot on the Archboot media to ensure our kernel is
    # the same as the one we booted with.
    # 2. Ideally we'd source all local then, but some critical items,
    # notably grub2-efi variants, aren't yet on the Archboot media.
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    timer=9
    echo -e "\n\nMAC WARNING: This script is not designed for APPLE MAC installs and will potentially misconfigure boot to your existing OS X installation. STOP NOW IF YOU ARE ON A MAC.\n\n"
    echo -n "GENERAL WARNING: This procedure will completely format /dev/sda. Please cancel with ctrl-c to cancel within $timer seconds..."
    while [[ $timer -gt 0 ]]
    do
    sleep 1
    let timer-=1
    echo -en "$timer seconds..."
    done
    echo "STARTING"
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    echo -n "Waiting for network address.."
    #dhclient eth0
    dhcpcd -p eth0
    echo -n "Network address acquired."
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    umount "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    umount "/packages/core-any"
    rm -rf "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    rm -rf "/packages/core-any"
    mkdir -p "/packages/core-$(uname -m)"
    mkdir -p "/packages/core-any"
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    mount -o ro,loop -t squashfs "/src/packages/archboot_packages_any.squashfs" "/packages/core-any"
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    cat << PACMANEOF > /tmp/pacman.conf
    [options]
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    CacheDir = ${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg
    CacheDir = /packages/core-$(uname -m)/pkg
    CacheDir = /packages/core-any/pkg
    [core]
    Server = ${FILE_URL}
    Server = ${FTP_URL}
    Server = ${HTTP_URL}
    [extra]
    Server = ${FILE_URL}
    Server = ${FTP_URL}
    Server = ${HTTP_URL}
    #Uncomment to enable pacman -Sy yaourt
    [archlinuxfr]
    Server = http://repo.archlinux.fr/\$arch
    PACMANEOF
    # Prepare pacman
    [[ ! -d "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg" ]] && mkdir -m 755 -p "${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/cache/pacman/pkg"
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    ${PACMAN} -Sy
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Sy
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    echo -e "\nInstalling prereqs...\n$HR"
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    # Here we create three partitions:
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    # to be quite clean and simple since we're not doing anything with MBR
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    echo -e "format\n"
    # shred -v /dev/sda
    # disk prep
    sgdisk -Z /dev/sda # zap all on disk
    #sgdisk -Z /dev/mmcb1k0 # zap all on sdcard
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    #sgdisk -a 2048 -o /dev/mmcb1k0
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    sgdisk -n 1:0:+200M /dev/sda # partition 1 (UEFI BOOT), default start block, 200MB
    sgdisk -n 2:0:+4G /dev/sda # partition 2 (SWAP), default start block, 200MB
    sgdisk -n 3:0:0 /dev/sda # partition 3, (LUKS), default start, remaining space
    #sgdisk -n 1:0:1800M /dev/mmcb1k0 # root.gpg
    # set partition types
    sgdisk -t 1:ef00 /dev/sda
    sgdisk -t 2:8200 /dev/sda
    sgdisk -t 3:8300 /dev/sda
    #sgdisk -t 1:0700 /dev/mmcb1k0
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    sgdisk -c 1:"UEFI Boot" /dev/sda
    sgdisk -c 2:"Swap" /dev/sda
    sgdisk -c 3:"LUKS" /dev/sda
    #sgdisk -c 1:"Key" /dev/mmcb1k0
    echo -e "create gpg file\n"
    # create gpg file
    dd if=/dev/urandom bs=512 count=4 | gpg -v --cipher-algo aes256 --digest-algo sha512 -c -a > /root/root.gpg
    echo -e "format LUKS on root\n"
    # format LUKS on root
    gpg -q -d /root/root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v --key-file=- -c aes-xts-plain -s 512 --hash sha512 luksFormat /dev/sda3
    echo -e "open LUKS on root\n"
    gpg -d /root/root.gpg 2>/dev/null | cryptsetup -v --key-file=- luksOpen /dev/sda3 root
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    # NOTE2: actually this isn't required since we're mounting an encrypted root and grub2/initramfs handles this before we even get to rc.conf
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    # following swap related commands not used now that we're encrypting our swap partition
    #mkswap /dev/sda2
    #swapon /dev/sda2
    #mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3 # this is where we'd create an unencrypted root partition, but we're using luks instead
    echo -e "\nCreating Filesystems...\n$HR"
    # make filesystems
    mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/root
    mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/sda1
    #mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/mmcb1k0p1
    echo -e "mount targets\n"
    # mount target
    #mount /dev/sda3 ${INSTALL_TARGET} # this is where we'd mount the unencrypted root partition
    mount /dev/mapper/root ${INSTALL_TARGET}
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    mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}
    # mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}/key
    # mount -t vfat /dev/mmcb1k0p1 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/key
    mkdir ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
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    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/var/lib/pacman
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Sy
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -Su base
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    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S curl
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S libusb-compat gnupg
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -R grub
    rm -rf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/grub
    ${TARGET_PACMAN} -S grub2-efi-x86_64
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    sed -i "s/^\(127\.0\.0\.1.*\)$/\1 ${HOSTNAME}/" ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/hosts
    SetValue CONSOLEFONT Lat2-Terminus16 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/rc.conf
    #following replaced due to netcfg
    #SetValue interface eth0 ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/rc.conf
    # write fstab
    # You can use UUID's or whatever you want here, of course. This is just
    # the simplest approach and as long as your drives aren't changing values
    # randomly it should work fine.
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/fstab <<FSTAB_EOF
    # /etc/fstab: static file system information
    # <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
    tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid 0 0
    /dev/sda1 /boot vfat defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/cryptswap none swap defaults 0 0
    /dev/mapper/root / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1
    FSTAB_EOF
    # write etwo
    mkdir -p /lib/initcpio/hooks/
    mkdir -p /lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /src/etwo_hooks /lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo
    cp /src/etwo_install /lib/initcpio/install/etwo
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/hooks/
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/install/
    cp /src/etwo_hooks ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/hooks/etwo
    cp /src/etwo_install ${INSTALL_TARGET}/lib/initcpio/install/etwo
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    # encrypted swap (random passphrase on boot)
    echo cryptswap /dev/sda2 SWAP "-c aes-xts-plain -h whirlpool -s 512" >> ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/crypttab
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    mv ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf.orig
    cp /etc/resolv.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/etc/resolv.conf
    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/tmp
    cp /tmp/pacman.conf ${INSTALL_TARGET}/tmp/pacman.conf
    # mount proc, sys, dev in install root
    mount -t proc proc ${INSTALL_TARGET}/proc
    mount -t sysfs sys ${INSTALL_TARGET}/sys
    mount -o bind /dev ${INSTALL_TARGET}/dev
    echo -e "umount boot\n"
    # we have to remount /boot from inside the chroot
    umount ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot
    # Create install_efi script (to be run *after* chroot /install)
    touch ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    chmod a+x ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi <<EFI_EOF
    # functions (these could be a library, but why overcomplicate things
    SetValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" NEWVALUE="\$2" FILEPATH="\$3"; sed -i "s+^#\?\(\${VALUENAME}\)=.*\$+\1=\${NEWVALUE}+" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    CommentOutValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/#\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    UncommentValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^#\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    echo -e "mount boot\n"
    # remount here or grub et al gets confused
    mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /boot
    # mkinitcpio
    # NOTE: intel_agp drm and i915 for intel graphics
    SetValue MODULES '\\"dm_mod dm_crypt aes_x86_64 ext2 ext4 vfat intel_agp drm i915\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    SetValue HOOKS '\\"base udev pata scsi sata usb usbinput keymap consolefont etwo encrypt filesystems\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    SetValue BINARIES '\\"/usr/bin/gpg\\"' /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
    mkinitcpio -p linux
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    modprobe efivars
    modprobe dm-mod
    # locale-gen
    UncommentValue de_AT /etc/locale.gen
    locale-gen
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    # did this above
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -Sy
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -R grub
    #rm -rf /boot/grub
    #${CHROOT_PACMAN} -S grub2-efi-x86_64
    # you can be surprisingly sloppy with the root value you give grub2 as a kernel option and
    # even omit the cryptdevice altogether, though it will wag a finger at you for using
    # a deprecated syntax, so we're using the correct form here
    # NOTE: take out i915.modeset=1 unless you are on intel graphics
    SetValue GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX '\\"cryptdevice=/dev/sda3:root cryptkey=/dev/sda1:vfat:/root.gpg add_efi_memmap i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 pcie_aspm=force quiet\\"' /etc/default/grub
    # set output to graphical
    SetValue GRUB_TERMINAL_OUTPUT gfxterm /etc/default/grub
    SetValue GRUB_GFXMODE 960x600x32,auto /etc/default/grub
    SetValue GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX keep /etc/default/grub # comment out this value if text only mode
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    # the grub directory to /boot/grub during grub-mkconfig operations until grub2 gets patched (see below)
    grub_efi_x86_64-install --bootloader-id=grub --no-floppy --recheck
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    # bug in the HP bios firmware (F.08)
    efibootmgr --create --gpt --disk /dev/sda --part 1 --write-signature --label "ARCH LINUX" --loader "\\\\grub\\\\grub.efi"
    # copy font for grub2
    cp /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 /boot/grub
    # generate config file
    grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
    exit
    EFI_EOF
    # Install EFI using script inside chroot
    chroot ${INSTALL_TARGET} /install_efi
    rm ${INSTALL_TARGET}/install_efi
    # Post install steps
    # anything you want to do post install. run the script automatically or
    # manually
    touch ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install
    chmod a+x ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install
    cat > ${INSTALL_TARGET}/post_install <<POST_EOF
    set -o errexit
    set -o nounset
    # functions (these could be a library, but why overcomplicate things
    SetValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" NEWVALUE="\$2" FILEPATH="\$3"; sed -i "s+^#\?\(\${VALUENAME}\)=.*\$+\1=\${NEWVALUE}+" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    CommentOutValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/#\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    UncommentValue () { VALUENAME="\$1" FILEPATH="\$2"; sed -i "s/^#\(\${VALUENAME}.*\)\$/\1/" "\${FILEPATH}"; }
    # root password
    echo -e "${HR}\\nNew root user password\\n${HR}"
    passwd
    # add user
    echo -e "${HR}\\nNew non-root user password (username:${USERNAME})\\n${HR}"
    groupadd sudo
    useradd -m -g users -G audio,lp,optical,storage,video,games,power,scanner,network,sudo,wheel -s /bin/bash ${USERNAME}
    passwd ${USERNAME}
    # mirror ranking
    echo -e "${HR}\\nRanking Mirrors (this will take a while)\\n${HR}"
    cp /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.orig
    mv /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all
    sed -i "s/#S/S/" /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all
    rankmirrors -n 5 /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist.all > /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    # temporary fix for locale.sh update conflict
    mv /etc/profile.d/locale.sh /etc/profile.d/locale.sh.preupdate || true
    # yaourt repo (add to target pacman, not tmp pacman.conf, for ongoing use)
    echo -e "\\n[archlinuxfr]\\nServer = http://repo.archlinux.fr/\\\$arch" >> /etc/pacman.conf
    echo -e "\\n[haskell]\\nServer = http://www.kiwilight.com/\\\$repo/\\\$arch" >> /etc/pacman.conf
    # additional groups and utilities
    pacman --noconfirm -Syu
    pacman --noconfirm -S base-devel
    pacman --noconfirm -S yaourt
    # sudo
    pacman --noconfirm -S sudo
    cp /etc/sudoers /tmp/sudoers.edit
    sed -i "s/#\s*\(%wheel\s*ALL=(ALL)\s*ALL.*$\)/\1/" /tmp/sudoers.edit
    sed -i "s/#\s*\(%sudo\s*ALL=(ALL)\s*ALL.*$\)/\1/" /tmp/sudoers.edit
    visudo -qcsf /tmp/sudoers.edit && cat /tmp/sudoers.edit > /etc/sudoers
    # power
    pacman --noconfirm -S acpi acpid acpitool cpufrequtils
    yaourt --noconfirm -S powertop2
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/)/ @acpid)/" /etc/rc.conf
    sed -i "/^MODULES/ s/)/ acpi-cpufreq cpufreq_ondemand cpufreq_powersave coretemp)/" /etc/rc.conf
    # following requires my acpi handler script
    echo "/etc/acpi/handler.sh boot" > /etc/rc.local
    # time
    pacman --noconfirm -S ntp
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/hwclock /!hwclock @ntpd /" /etc/rc.conf
    # wireless (wpa supplicant should already be installed)
    pacman --noconfirm -S iw wpa_supplicant rfkill
    pacman --noconfirm -S netcfg wpa_actiond ifplugd
    mv /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf.orig
    echo -e "ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=network\nupdate_config=1" > /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
    # make sure to copy /etc/network.d/examples/wireless-wpa-config to /etc/network.d/home and edit
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/)/ @net-auto-wireless @net-auto-wired)/" /etc/rc.conf
    sed -i "/^DAEMONS/ s/ network / /" /etc/rc.conf
    echo -e "\nWIRELESS_INTERFACE=wlan0" >> /etc/rc.conf
    echo -e "WIRED_INTERFACE=eth0" >> /etc/rc.conf
    echo "options iwlagn led_mode=2" > /etc/modprobe.d/iwlagn.conf
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    pacman --noconfirm -S alsa-utils alsa-plugins
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    #if alsamixer isn't working, try alsamixer -Dhw and speaker-test -Dhw -c 2
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    pacman --noconfirm -S base-devel mesa mesa-demos
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    #pacman --noconfirm -S xorg xorg-xinit xorg-utils xorg-server-utils xdotool xorg-xlsfonts
    #yaourt --noconfirm -S xf86-input-wacom-git # NOT NEEDED? input-wacom-git
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    #pacman --noconfirm -S xfce4 compiz ccsm
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    #yaourt --noconfirm -S physlock unclutter
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    yaourt --noconfirm -S freetype2-git-infinality
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    #pacman --noconfirm -S scrot mypaint bc
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    # Post install in chroot
    #echo "chroot and run /post_install"
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    mkdir -p ${INSTALL_TARGET}/boot/EFI/BOOT/
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    Ranguvar wrote:Is it that you can't use VBox, or you must use VMware? There are still other virtual machine apps.
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    My thoughts exactly but how can be an hardware problem if VirtualBox works just fine? How can it be a virtual machine problem if Gentoo works fine on VMware?
    fumbles wrote:Sounds like a problem with VMware (or maybe Vista?) not Arch. Try reinstalling VMware, make sure it is at the lastest version (maybe try even roll back to the previous version), make sure Vista is updated. When you say crash, do you mean BSoD? Or does it just freeze? If it is a BSoD then what is the specific error?
    It just freezes, not a BSOD. It is not a problem with Vista because it also happens on XP. Like I said on my first post, I did a clean install of XP, update all drivers and did all Windows updates, installed latest VMware version and the same thing still happened.
    Joe_Arch wrote:How much ram are you allocating to Arch? Counterintuitively, you might want to try lowering it. If you allocate too much your host OS freaks out.
    I have 2Gb (2x1024Mb) installed on my laptop and I'm using just 256Mb for Arch.
    jacko wrote:someone else was having this issue the other day on irc. the fact is a guest OS should NEVER even come close to crashing the host OS. So more then likely this is a bug in VMware and not arch. What arch packages that is causing the conflict with VMware is unapparent, but it's not likely a bug arch can fix.
    That was me... I'm not saying it's a bug on Arch, but it's weird that Gentoo doesn't have a problem and Arch does. They must differ somehow, one must use some package where the other doesn't or some global system configuration is different from one to the other, there must be some difference, otherwise, they both would freeze or they both would work...

  • Arch Linux Rocks! A Follow Up

    A week and a half ago, I took the plunge and installed Arch 0.7.1 (Noodle). I posted a thread here on that day called "And the Odyssey Begins - First Impressions of Arch Linux".
    It is a week and a half later, and I am a confirmed believer. I have retired my previous distro (SuSE 9.3) and use Arch exclusively. Noodle is amazing. It is the FASTEST linux distribution I have ever used: fast in terms of boot time from grub prompt to full desktop and fast in terms of the speed with which applications launch and run. Everything is significantly, noticably faster than it was under SuSE on the same hardware. Truly amazing.
    But that is not all. By and large, everything I have tried on Noodle JUST WORKS! All my physical devices JUST WORK, including the usually troublesome ones like my webcam. I have had almost no issues getting everything up and running. I had a brief issue with sound (my fault - didn't add my non root user to group "audio"), but that was it.
    ...and multimedia - it all JUST WORKS. I can't tell you how much trouble I had to go to in order to get other distros to do basic stuff like play MP3s or MPGs. In Noodle, I installed XMMS, MPlayer and gxine, and all my media JUST WORKS. Again, amazing.
    ...and then there is package management. Why can't everyone have a package manager that is as simple, fast and effective as pacman? pacman is a real winner! ...not to mention the impressive selection of packages that are available. I have been able to find almost everything I normally use in the repository. The few I haven't been able to find I have been able to build from source easily, without all the usual fussing about.
    Arch is the linux I have been looking for. It is fast, stable, capable and supported by a great bunch of folks here in the forums. My hat is off to those who created and maintain this great distro, and to everyone here in the forums. I have found a new home.

    Can you expand on that? What does qpkg do?
    I had one bad experience with AUR and haven't gotten back to it yet. I followed the instructions I found somewhere (Wiki, forum, somewhere - don't remember any more), dowloaded the package, and attempted to build. My screen flooded with compile errors and I just gave up - I figured that if I had to fight with compile errors, I might as well do it with the good 'ol
    ./configure, make, make install
    route, rather than adding the complexity of a (to me) unknown build system on top of it. So far, I haven't needed to go back. Arch is *so* good (i.e. follows normal standards, everything is where it should be) that pretty much everything I have tried to build from source the usual way has worked like a champ.
    I think it was qamix that I was trying to build this way, by the way. Eventually I built it myself from source via the ./configure, make, make install route. There were *lots* of compile errors this way too, but I fixed them all and got it to build. Perhaps the version in AUR was suffering from the same problems.
    If qpkg is in AUR, and it sounds interesting, perhaps I will give this a whirl again.
    Meantime, to get back on topic for a moment, it is a few weeks later now since my Arch install, and I remain incredibly impressed with it. The best part is the speed. I feel like I've gotten a new CPU that is twice as fast. Arch not only ROCKS, it RACES!

  • Arch Linux 0.7.1 - my feedback

    please read the post before vote
    Well, I've used Arch linux for many months in late 2004 / early 2005 and then I've switched to Ubuntu...
    some days ago I've installed version 0.7.1 and updated it with pacman -Syu
    I've seen a lot of improvement since the last time I used it and I was near to think "ok let's switch back to Arch" until I found I that thing I really hate  :!: is still here..
    You can't install old versions of some packages. For example, kernel.. or.. php (ok there is one in Aur that is maybe "too" old) and mysql..
    in the php/mysql example it's true that version 5 is the latest one but they (at least php) still develope the 4.x version for security and many server still have it and also many scripts supports only php4 and 5.
    also, as I am a php developer, I need to test scripts with old versions.
    but as I said this is just an example. I think that while you can't think to have a big repository of binaries it would be great to be able to install old versions via source.
    and recompiling software by hand using old PKGBUILDS is a problem case you don't have a tool that tells you wich packaged were "aligned" with wich.. I mean.. the new php works only with the mysql5 extension so even if you build mysql by yourself it won't work with php.. and so on for apache..
    anyway.. if a user is able to block a package and prevent the automatic update he should also be able to use the non-latest version of it.
    I know that arch is a bleeding edge distro but this shouldn't mean that you have only the bleeding things. (see gentoo for example)
    Another thing that will help a lot in my opinion is to have in the wiki 2 lists:
    - one very detailed with available daemons and their use.. for example.. ok.. fam is the file alteration monitor.. but why you need it and wich are the main programs that takes advantage from it and what happens if you doesn't run it? and so on for hal, etc. ..
    - one list with all available standard groups that tells user to wich group subscribe in order to be able to performe a specific action
    imho this 2 lists will help the (new) user understand better what is doing and why The arch philosophy of "do it yourself  and learn doing it" is great but have to be encouraged, and in fact there already is a very good documentation.
    Just my 2 cents. And sorry if some one else already said this before; in this case take my post as an underline mark btw.. I'll attach a poll to it.
    bye,
    Giovanni.

    iphitus wrote:To me this thread looks more like "i dont want to make a second package for myself, so let's get the devs to do it".
    hmm.. this sounds a bit offenisve to me. Cause I don't actually need that packages as I'm not using Arch as main distro. This post was meant to give a feedback..
    iphitus wrote:Especially as there isnt a huge demand for such a package, and you are most likely to be one of a very small minority to use that duplicate package.
    ok I agree with this. but from my point of view it is because users that needed it too already switched to another distro..
    and this leads us to this:
    tomk wrote:I voted "No, there is no need", because I think this is simply an indication that Arch is not the right distro for you - it doesn't meet your requirements.
    Imho, the point is that Arch have a lot of great features. The one I'd like to have is a feature that I think will just increase the number of great features Arch already have and will make Arch the right distro for more users. So users that switch to another distro will lose a lot of features that they like to get one or two that they need..
    tomk wrote:This "thing that you really hate" is still there because firstly the Arch devs, and secondly Arch users, have not needed to change it. If you want to work "from within" to change that, with polls like this, feature requests, etc, I wish you the best of luck, but I think your poll result so far should tell you something about the support you can expect.
    the poll was mainly for myself to get an idea of the users opinion not to change the things. And as I said it is not a change from my point of view, but just a new feature. About Arch devs I agree but about users I don't.. how you can say it if you say to me that I should change distro? In this way people that thinks like me will always remain a minority in arch community. And I don't think that having a old version of a "core" package would be against the Arch philosophy.
    tomk wrote:Finally a general point, and this applies to wiki entries as well - you will get a better response if you do something, and then ask "what do you think?" instead of asking "Why doesn't Arch do this?"
    I did it for the software thing with the poll and anyway also for the wiki I didn't wrote it but I thought it was clear.. For the wiki I posted my idea and there was no need for the question "what do you think" cause is a discussion forum Also please keep in mind that I wrote the original post in late night and that I'm italian so my english isn't so good  :oops:
    anyway.. thanks for the tip about subit a feature request and for your answers.
    bye,
    Giovanni.

  • Arch Linux running on Asus Transformer T100/T100TA... sort of.

    I'm not really asking for help here (can't find an appropriate place to put this post), but more to show off my accomplishment with this tablet.
    As the thread title says, I've gotten Arch Linux to run on the Asus T100TA which is a quite annoying little thing. I haven't documented the steps myself, however, I remember exactly what I have done, and in order to get the live image to at least run on this tablet, here are the steps I did:
    (you'll maybe need 2 USB drives, seems to be the easiest way)
    1. Create an ISO using the archiso set as you normally would (except you won't really need the ISO itself) OR if you can figure it out yourself, install the base image to the USB drive (either architecture will do, but I recommend i686 since the processor is 32 bit as well)
    https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Archiso
    This step will be unnecessary as of May, as the live images onwards on the main download site will already contain the 3.14 or newer kernels.
    2. After the image building successfully finishes, copy all the contents from (PROFILE)/work/iso/ (except root-image squashfs files) to a FAT32 formatted USB drive (1). This is to simply create a bootloader drive that will allow us for later swapping the USB drives.
    3. Download an ia32 version of grub. Any will do as long as it can boot up on the tablet.
    http://www.supergrubdisk.org/category/download/supergrub2diskdownload/
    This one works, download the standalone IA-32/i386 EFI and paste it in (USB Drive (1))/EFI/boot/bootia32.efi .
    (use latest versions, no matter if it's unstable)
    4. Now you need to make a grub.cfg. The one I made looks like this
    menuentry 'Arch Linux i686'{
    echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
    linux /arch/boot/i686/vmlinuz noefi nomodeset archisobasedir=arch archisolabel=ARCH_201404
    echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd /arch/boot/i686/archiso.img
    menuentry 'Arch Linux x86_64'{
    echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
    linux /arch/boot/x86_64/vmlinuz noefi nomodeset archisobasedir=arch archisolabel=ARCH_201404
    echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd /arch/boot/x86_64/archiso.img
    NOTE: If you're using a later live image build, I advise to change the date accordingly. It's not necessary to do so, since the mount by label doesn't work, however, I like to keep everything intact.
    noefi flag seems unnecessary as well, though I have added it to prevent some kernel panics from happening, for just in case. It works without it, still, however you need the nomodeset flag or else you'll get a black screen!
    I'm not entirely sure where the grub.cfg goes, but I've put it in USB Drive(1)/boot/grub/ , /EFI/grub/ and in /EFI/boot/grub/ just to make it sure that it works.
    5. Create an ext2/3/4 (recommended ext2 for flash drives, not to wear it out) USB drive (2) and copy the arch folder to the root of the USB drive (2)
    ---- BOOT PROCESS ----
    Before this step, ensure that Secure Boot is set to OFF in the Aptio setup. Otherwise it will throw up an error in a red box crying it's not signed.
    6. Plug in the USB drive (1) into a USB port and while powering on the tablet, tilt the escape key to pop up a boot menu.
    7. Select UEFI: (your USB drive (1))
    8. GRUB 2 will pop up. If you're running the SuperGrubDisk version, you're gonna have to go to Everything and then scroll down until it says something like
    (hd0, msdos1)/boot/grub/grub.cfg
    and click on it to open the configuration data manually created.
    9. Simply select your desired version of Arch Linux live distro to boot.
    10. VOILAaa, not really... It'll pop up with a mount error saying it's a wrong FS to mount. This is where you plug in your USB drive (2) in place of the first one.
    11. Type in:
    # mount /dev/sda1 /run/archiso/bootmnt
    # exit
    12. Congratulations, you're running Arch Linux on your ASUS Transformer T100TA tablet!
    This is as far as I have went into running it. Installing it on a HDD would require mounting the mmcblk partitions, which I haven't looked into yet. For a start, I'd just recommend installing it on a USB drive, though you'd have to own one of the USB OTG converters or a USB hub. The screen is spammed with the mmcblk0rpmb timeout errors though and that is annoying. It stops after a while when it stops trying. Reboot doesn't work either, seems like acpi is broken.
    You could do it with a single usb drive, though it requires some knowledge of this tablet's EFI because it disallowed me from running a kernel on another partition other than FAT32. Grub pops up with an error:
    can't unload EFI services
    or something like that.
    I've also tried putting the USB Drive (2) in during grub and it pops up with an error with invalid sector sizes. That was to be expected.
    btw I know it's my first post, I'm just here to share this with you. I never had the need to ask for help but when absolutely necessary.
    PICS OF IT RUNNING
    Some USB devices aren't visible, like the camera.
    A custom partition layout without the recovery partitions. Yours may differ.
    Last edited by xan1242 (2014-04-13 22:54:46)

    I haven't tried much other than getting this live image to run on this machine. I'll attempt to install the base image using my desktop computer with the appropriate drivers and see how that goes. (or just install the wifi driver)
    That guy really made it to work much better than I imagined it to work at all! I'll see what can be done using the same drivers, though running Ubuntu seems tempting as well. He even got the touchscreen to work, which is really awesome. It seems that he also merged the drivers into the kernel image, which is going to be a challenge in Arch.
    Since he's using the 64 bit build of Ubuntu, I'll try it with x86_64 Arch as well to try and use his guide to make the drivers to work.
    EDIT: I have successully installed the base to an external drive and booted it on the tablet, however since the base was installed externally on another machine, I need to regenerate initrd. It boots on the fallback ramdisk, but still no wifi and the screen is spammed even more with the timeout errors. I've seen topics on Raspberry Pi having a similar issue and that it was repaired using some kernel flags, but I am not sure if those will work with the tablet. Also, using the bootflags jfwells used on Ubuntu work here as well, and gives full resolution output now. Wifi doesn't work. ip link doesn't give any signs of a wifi card present.
    EDIT2: Got Arch up and running relatively nicely on the tablet now. Though it is in the same state as the last edit in terms of functionality, it works I'd say well enough to be considered usable. I couldn't make the wireless card to work, for some strange reason, so I got a RT73 USB card (Edimax EW-7318USg to be precise, had to use 2 USB ports) and installed stuff on to the tablet. I ran X without a desktop manager, and the X apps worked fine, even with the touch screen (emulating a mouse, no right click) and I ran XFCE4 on it without a problem (with compositing).
    It simply needs more developed drivers on it, that's mostly it. The state is exactly the same as Ubuntu 14.04 that jfwells made to work (minus the wifi). I haven't played with the sound, either, due to the warning he posted, but I believe it works as it does in Ubuntu.
    The steps I made are as follows:
    1. Simply made another live ISO with the archiso set
    2. dd'd the image to a USB drive
    3. On the second USB drive I created two GPT partitions (200 - 300 MB for ESP, everything else ext2)
    4. Booted the live archiso USB drive
    5. Installed the base to the second USB drive while being mounted like this: ext2 partition -> /mnt and ESP -> /mnt/boot
    6. Installed GRUB x86_64-efi to simply generate a configuration
    7. Installed wireless utilities as well as everything else needed to make it to work
    8. To ensure bootability on the tablet, again, I put the IA32 GRUB to the ESP in /EFI/boot/bootia32.efi
    9. I have edited the grub.cfg, can't exactly remember with what, but this is what it looks like
    ### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
    menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux core repo kernel' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-core repo kernel-true-(hd0,gpt2)' {
    set gfxpayload=keep
    insmod gzio
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='hd0,gpt1'
    echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
    linux /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda2 video=VGA-1:1368x768e reboot=pci,force sdhci.debug_quirks=0x8000 rw quiet
    echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd /initramfs-linux.img
    menuentry 'Arch Linux, with Linux core repo kernel (Fallback initramfs)' --class arch --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-core repo kernel-fallback-(hd0,gpt2)' {
    set gfxpayload=keep
    insmod gzio
    insmod part_msdos
    insmod ext2
    set root='hd0,gpt1'
    echo 'Loading Linux core repo kernel ...'
    linux /vmlinuz-linux root=/dev/sda2 video=VGA-1:1368x768e reboot=pci,force sdhci.debug_quirks=0x8000 rw quiet
    echo 'Loading initial ramdisk ...'
    initrd /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
    ### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
    I simply added the kernel flags jfwells added. It needs that root flag, or else it will not boot. I can't figure out the UUIDs though. It will reboot, but it will not shut down.
    10. Boot up your second USB drive on the tablet and... IMPORTANT - Boot with the fallback ramdisk - or else you're going to experience non functional input
    11. After booting it, you'll get the annoying mmcblk timeout spamming the screen. I haven't figured out how to fix it, but to hide it, type in
    # dmesg -n 1
    12. Generate another ramdisk (forgot the command, but search function should serve you)
    13. Reboot with the normal ramdisk now.
    14. After setting up the wireless connection, rock on with the pacman!
    At this point I installed a bunch of stuff, like Intel GPU drivers, xorg, xfce4, ntfs-3g, gparted,  and among other stuff I personally test stuff with.
    I couldn't mount the mmcblk partitions to at least somehow be able to edit data on the Windows partitions or the disk as a whole.
    Anybody willing to help getting Arch to run on this tablet is welcome.
    EDIT3: Internal WiFi working! Simply added "sdhci.debug_quirks=0x8000" flag.
    Last edited by xan1242 (2014-04-13 23:35:26)

  • [Solved] Arch Linux in a Solaris branded Zone

    Hello,
    After having read this article at the Genunix WiKi, I 'd very much like to install Arch Linux (http://204.152.191.100/wiki/index.php/I … anded_zone) in a Solaris branded Zone.  However, the Arch Linux file to download is about two years old now, so I 'd like to roll one with a bit more recent kernel.
    I just wonder what might be the procedure to do so.
    a) Is it just unpacking the ISO inside the zone and let it enroll whilst booting?, or
    b) is it advisable to install the old package and upgrade from there?
    I am quite curious to learn how this works.
    TIA, Algey
    Last edited by algernonz (2011-11-28 18:42:31)

    Hi,
    it does indeed sound like an interesting little project. You should, however, revert to your procedure (a) and use one of the recent ISO images the Arch team has updated this year.
    Using that old tar will give you numerous headaches when trying to upgrade. Doing a simple upgrade from that old file will most probably break the system, thats why they took the effort to provide the new ones.
    Good luck.

  • Just some few Arch Linux questions

    Hi, I am new to Arch Linux and am looking for some advice and answers.
    Here are the questions:
    1. Does the update command (I think its called pacman and it updates many things with one command in terminal) update the Arch Linux base, the DE that is installed, the apps that are installed and artwork on Arch Linux?
    2. Is Arch Linux User friendly once installed (When I say user friendly, I mean something like Ubuntu)?
    3. Does the drivers (Wireless card drivers, graphics card drivers, printer drivers and audio card drivers) come pre-installed once Arch Linux is installed like Ubuntu?
    4. What is the stablility and speed of Arch Linux compared to Ubuntu?
    That is all I need to know.
    Cheers,
    molom

    molom wrote:Hi, I am new to Arch Linux and am looking for some advice and answers.
    Here are the questions:
    1. Does the update command (I think its called pacman and it updates many things with one command in terminal) update the Arch Linux base, the DE that is installed, the apps that are installed and artwork on Arch Linux?
    pacman is the package manager for Arch. It will install single package, batches of packages, update the installed packages and several other things. Yes, one command 'pacman -Syu will update all the installed packages to the most recent available in the repositories. It will not update your artwork, ut everything else will be updated if you so desire.
    molom wrote:2. Is Arch Linux User friendly once installed (When I say user friendly, I mean something like Ubuntu)?
    Once you have installed the base systen, updated and then installed whatever desktop environment or window manager you want, whatever programs you want, etc., it will be as user friendly as you have made it.
    molom wrote:3. Does the drivers (Wireless card drivers, graphics card drivers, printer drivers and audio card drivers) come pre-installed once Arch Linux is installed like Ubuntu?
    As others have said, the install process does a fairly good job of detecting your hardware and installing the necessary modules, but it is up to you to install drivers for your nVidia / ATI video card if you want accelerated graphics. You'll have to install your printer (generally via cups, which you must also install). You'll have to install alsa and you may have to configure your sound.
    molom wrote:4. What is the stablility and speed of Arch Linux compared to Ubuntu?
    Arch is what you make it. You can have a rock solid stable system, or you can opt to be bleeding edge and risk the occasional package breaking.
    molom wrote:So when you say 'pkgs', do you also mean the desktop environment as well. For example, I have E17 installed and I use the 'pacman -Syu' command, will it update the version of E17 on my PC to the current version of E17?
    A package is a piece of software. E17 is a package, or perhaps a meta package made up of a bunch of packages. alsa is a package. gnome network-manager is a package. Anything that is installed on your system is managed and updated by pacman.
    molom wrote:Is there something similar to synaptic in Arch Linux?
    pacman is the Arch package manager. It does not need a gui front end, though there are a few third party front ends that have been written. I do not know if they are still active.
    molom wrote:
    I'm really eager into knowing about Arch Linux.
    Cheers,
    molom
    Then I also suggest as other have, that you avail yourself of the wiki, especially the beginner's guide which answers several of the questions you've asked.
    Arch Linux is what you make of it, but you have to do the making. Heck, that's 95% of the fun!

  • [SOLVED] Mount Points In Arch Linux

    When I performed my initial testing install of Arch Linux today, and I was setting up mount points after I finished partitioning with Cfdisk, I was surprised to see that one of the precanned mount points in the Installer was /etc. On OpenBSD, we were warned against having /etc on its own partition, probably because so much important stuff lives there (like the fstab). I was also surprised to see /var wasn't in the precanned list.
    Anyway, my question is, can you really have /etc on it's own partition? And does the exclusion of /var indicate a problem with it being on its own partition?
    Last edited by NerveJessen (2010-04-02 12:50:38)

    NerveJessen wrote:
    It almost sounds like /var was accidently replaced by /etc.
    EDIT: I'll look into the bug reporting procedures.
    http://bugs.archlinux.org/
    There is the FLySpray link, and there is a button at the top right of your screen as well.
    Post back within this thread with your bug report, so other users may vote for the task once it has been assigned to a developer.
    Welcome to Arch!

  • Why not use Arch Linux only?

    Named as an Arch Linux "Linux Addict" (according to my upgraded user profile ), for some times I have asked myself why use other distros than AL, especially RedHat, SuSE and Mandrake. What do they provide what AL doesn't?
    One of the roles of RedHat became clear reading Linux Today, though it may not be for the common users but have to admit its impressive (there are three major advances in the new RHEL3 product line....):
    http://linuxtoday.com/it_management/2003102200926NWRHSW
    PS.
    Does it sound like I am addicted??... it feels natural   :idea: 

    maturity? stable? can't trust?
    let me tell you something i learned by experience ...
    i runed SuSE for long time (from 5.2 to 8.1) and what i know they do wrong is: if you have e.g. 6.0 (the most stable SuSE i know) then you can update your packages over internet, but after some time you will be "forced" to  buy the next release that is totally differently constructed (7.1, because it uses YaST2 instead of the YaST and other stupid inovations that you cannot easily update from internet) ... and after a while again you have to upgrade by buying the next one ...
    sure, you install it in about an hour and everything works, but hey, each package costs some money and this install is each time from quite 0 (because the integrated update often does not work) :-(
    trusting?
    i trust only in systems i configure myself ... and since SuSE 7.2 i lost the overview in where you can configure what and why ... and you are not sure that YaST2 will change your changed settings to default
    archlinux is fully configureable and does not have a tool that changes files behind your back (well, there is one case: when you update init-scripts with packman without setting in pacman.conf to exclude some files you changed ... but also then you can restore the settings by mv'ing the original files to their right name-links :-)
    why using also other distros?
    well since arch 0.5 i removed all other linuces from my machine (to save space) and now have only arch and winXP ... xp is used only for watching tv (because hauppauge usb "usbvision" module cannot be compiled with  a 2.4.x or 2.6.0tx kernel (but 2.5.x) and because of ebanking software that will not install on archlinux but easily on SuSE and WinXP (need the original sun's java vm, but have no time to construct a PKGBUILD for sun's jdk 1.4)
    ... and the needed other software i built packages of and installed on my local repository (and also copied in incoming) ... now i'm quite happy with archlinux as an OS (and i hope with a more advanced 2.6.x TV will come too, and java i will find one day time to build for ebanking)
    -> "use an OS that works, use archlinux"
    ps
    and about "linux addict":
    no, i dont think i'm addict, but i use this forum as a normal member  (to help others switching to an os that works,  to help people with problems i had myself often some time ago, to ask if i find something interessting or funny about something in arch, to inform that i built packages and put them in incoming :-) ... i would be much happier to have "regular user" instead of "linux addict", but that's something i cannot change

  • Wocka 0.5 - checkinstall for Arch Linux

    Last updated: 17th-Feb-2007
    With Wocka you can do:
    ./configure
    make
    su
    wocka
    and you'll get the application installed, and a pacman db entry too.
    Wocka automatically figures out the package name, version and/or subversion revision, and if it can, other metadata too. It determines the build system (make, unsermake, scons, cmake, etc.). It can also create a basic PKGBUILD, with some of the fields (eg name, version) magically filled in. It can also handle upgrades and check AUR for PKGBUILDs.
    Visit the site for a Arch linux package, the source tarball, and detailed usage examples. There's also a feed you can subscribe to at the site if you want to be notified of updates.
    http://methylblue.com/wocka/
    Comments, contributions, etc. most welcome! Thanks.
    ===========
    I have discovered other programs that do a similar thing for Arch. They may be better and you may want to consider them, or at least demand I implement things they do into Wocka If you do use one of the others, I'd like to hear why, if you have the time, thanks!
    bpkg
    creapkg
    pacinstall
    versionpkg
    Last edited by mxcl (2007-02-17 03:24:12)

    Firstly, I'm really sorry I didn't see the above new replies, I subscribed to this thread, but never got the emails... Must have been my spam filter I expect.
    Gullible Jones wrote:Wait a minute, why the heck does this thing require QT? It doesn't have a GUI so why would it use the QT library? :?
    I used Qt as I have 4 years experience with it and develop fast with it. With Qt4 the library is separated into Core (CLI only) and GUI components, so as soon as Arch ships Qt4 and people have it installed en-mass, I'll switch to the CLI only library. I apologise if you think I'm crazy/stupid, you may be right
    You should have talked to Xentac. He already has an app named "Wakka" IIRC.
    Hmm sucks, I may have to rename again. I renamed the first time as pacgen is a name already used by two other projects!
    sud_crow wrote:wasnt pacman's sound waka waka waka?
    heh could be, I'm not a pacman expert. Extralife the webcomic always makes pacman say "Wocka!", but I spose I should have done more research!
    phrakture wrote:Send a PKGBUILD to AUR!
    Yeah I half did this and then couldn't figure out how to work the AUR or something. I'll try again.
    I had 0.3 ready a few weeks ago, then I started using my CRT with my new XBOX 360 and didn't boot to Linux until yesterday Now I have some new TFTs.
    The changes since 0.2:
    · Automatic upgrade/merge for new installs of subversion managed source installations
    · Better versioning detection
    · Easy automatic AUR builds via: wocka --aur appname
    · Metadata is extracted from LSM files
    · --upgrade switch
    The upgrade switch basically merges the old package with what's just installed, so you don't lose any information, I figured this was the safest route. Please correct me if you disagree. Thanks

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    syms wrote:
    skottish wrote:
    syms wrote:Thanks for help. i have one more question - how much ext4 seems faster than ext3? i mean do you feel that ext4 is faster than ext3 in most cases? thanks.
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