Arch Install without Internet?

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 10:26:05

Hi guys,
I'm new to Arch Linux. Okay I'll be straightforward and tell you I'm using ArchBang. I honestly thought it was just Arch with an easier install and OpenBox but Arch users have said otherwise. I've been loving using ArchBang. I love Pacman and the AUR and all the other things that go with Arch but I want to use pure Arch. I was wrong to assume that uninstalling OpenBox would make my ArchBang turn into Arch. The problem is that I was able to download the ArchBang ISO to a disk and install it from the disk easily but the Arch installer says it needs internet to install. Can someone please tell me if I'm wrong or point me to a full ISO of full Arch Linux that I can install.
Yes I am a newbie and yes I am currently using ArchBang but I want to make the switch and I need your help to do so.
I need to install Arch and internet during install is NOT an option.
Please don't outcast me for using ArchBang I know some of the more experienced guys hate it.
Thanks guys.

tomk · 2013-12-05 11:03:56

In theory, you can do an offline installation. In practice, and bearing in mind your self-admitted newbie-ness, you can't.

Even if you do get it done, using and maintaining Arch without a net connection will be difficult and frustrating. If you really can't get online, stick with Archbang.

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 11:13:09

I can get online after I do the install just not during.

WorMzy · 2013-12-05 11:14:13

You could create a local repository with the packages you want to install, but if you can't connect to the internet on this machine, you may be better off installing something else. Arch is a rolling release distro, which means updates come thick and fast. Partial updates are not supported, and it is assumed that you are running with up-to-date packages when you request support on the forums (if you're not, the first thing you will probably be told is: update)

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Of … f_Packages

Don't be too eager to assume that ArchBang is hated here. A lot of us disagree with some of their choices, but we respect other distros. We just don't like investing hours into helping someone with a problem, only to find out the user with the problem is actually running ArchBang, and the problem is caused by a default configuration choice by the ArchBang devs. That sometimes leads to animosity.

WorMzy · 2013-12-05 11:16:03

Why can't you get online during the installation? Is there a specific firmware package you need for your network adaptor or something? If that's the case, then you could just install that from a USB stick while booted into the liveCD.

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 11:22:54

I do the installs at home where I do not have a connection. I use the college wifi to update afterwards. The college wifi can't be used for install because it needs a load of weird authentication setup which I am just not capable of doing from the command line. You need to set like 10 different options then log in with a student ID and password to get connected. With ArchBang I did the install from the disk at home then used the GUI that came with it to configure the wifi and update with pacman.

tomk · 2013-12-05 11:37:25

Try this then.

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 12:06:39

This looks very promising...

EscapedNull · 2013-12-05 16:30:40

I'd try what tomk recommended first. A simpler solution may be to install Arch in a virtual machine when you have Internet, then tar the entire filesystem, and copy it to external media. When you are doing the offline installation, follow the instructions normally, but instead of using pacstrap, untar the archive to /mnt. I've never tried it, but it sounds feasible. You may run into some problems regarding attributes, hardlinks, symlinks, and other filesystem oddities, so I'd recommend studying the tar(1) man page in detail before you start.

Please post your results as to what you did and whether it worked. I've been asked the same question a few times, so it would be helpful for future reference.

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 20:13:24

I think I'll just stick with ArchBang until someone makes an offline ISO for Arch. Thanks for everyone's help.

Mr Green · 2013-12-05 20:21:14

I am interested to know why you cannot get online during install (arch-install-media) and I am assuming with ArchBang you can. If ArchBang connects to network it might be possible to figure out what you need to get network running under Arch-install-media.

brianmillar9 · 2013-12-05 20:47:25

Hi Mr Green,
I did not have internet during ArchBang install. ArchBang ISO does not require it. I used some gui wifi tool in openbox to connect to wifi after the install completed.

EscapedNull · 2013-12-05 21:29:04

Mr Green: WPA2 Enterprise networks like those used at universities can be tricky to connect to even with a GUI, let alone without. You would probably need drivers (if your device is not supported out-of-the-box), a wireless manager (such as Netctl), wpa_supplicant, and a PAP/EAP/CHAP/MSCHAPv2 authentication agent, depending on the protocol used by the network. It is possible, but it's not fun. Desktop environments sometimes come with software and GUIs for this purpose, so it's not as difficult after the installation.

brianmillar9: If you're looking for an easy solution, your best bet is to ~~install Windows~~ find a wired connection (preferably with DHCP) to do the installation over (specifically pacstrap). Wired networks, even at universities, normally do not require any authentication. You could try finding a place to hook up and see if you can connect. Alternatively, if you have access to a machine that is connected over WiFi, consider bridging (or "Internet Connection Sharing") to get a wired connection from another machine. You'll likely need a switch or a crossover cable, too. I still don't think the offline bootstrapping methods described above are overly difficult, however.

Mr Green · 2013-12-07 09:39:44

You should be able to set up wifi live (iso) then use pacman to install arch-install-scripts... you could do a proper Arch install but have comfort of using firefox with arch wiki at your disposal.

bleach · 2013-12-07 11:02:02

to be quite frank you need net access even if you can get installed with the basics how are you going to keep updated. I would say it would be more trouble than it is worth. not saying arch is not worth it just that I think what you are looking for is not a rolling release. maybe something that can come on bulk iso/cd/dvds.

The arch install has all the tools for a network install maybe you should pose the issue with why you can not connect like error messeages or the like.

Last edited by bleach (2013-12-07 11:14:29)

dazemc · 2013-12-07 15:15:38

I think what EscapedNull said about installing to a virtual machine is a good idea and it is probably the easiest way...
You can find more here
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mo … al_machine

Last edited by dazemc (2013-12-07 15:16:07)

jahid · 2017-08-20 12:54:31

I think it's pretty straight forward:

Do all the steps from official installation guide except those that require Internet, and when it's time to run the

pacstrap /mnt base

, run an rsync command to rsync the host (live) system over to /mnt:

bash #the following command needs to be interpreted by bash
rsync -aAXv --exclude={"/dev/*","/proc/*","/sys/*","/tmp/*","/run/*","/mnt/*","/media/*","/lost+found","/var/cache/pacman/pkg/*"} / /mnt

Last edited by jahid (2017-08-20 12:59:58)

brianmillar9 · 2017-08-20 13:59:16

Lol thanks for the reply jahid but I moved to Gentoo 3 years ago.

WorMzy · 2017-08-20 14:03:59

jahid, thanks for sharing but please note the age of the topic.

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-12-05 10:26:05

Arch Install without Internet?

#2 2013-12-05 11:03:56

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#3 2013-12-05 11:13:09

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#4 2013-12-05 11:14:13

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#5 2013-12-05 11:16:03

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#6 2013-12-05 11:22:54

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#7 2013-12-05 11:37:25

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#8 2013-12-05 12:06:39

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#9 2013-12-05 16:30:40

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#10 2013-12-05 20:13:24

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#11 2013-12-05 20:21:14

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#12 2013-12-05 20:47:25

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#13 2013-12-05 21:29:04

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#14 2013-12-07 09:39:44

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#15 2013-12-07 11:02:02

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#16 2013-12-07 15:15:38

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#17 2017-08-20 12:54:31

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#18 2017-08-20 13:59:16

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

#19 2017-08-20 14:03:59

Re: Arch Install without Internet?

Board footer