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#1 2006-03-09 01:22:45

zachtib
Member
Registered: 2006-03-09
Posts: 20

I'm new here

I'm new to arch linux, just finished pulling it off the torrent

Just a few questions before I get started.

I'm coming from Ubuntu, I've been using it for about a year, but I've been using Linux for several years, and would consider myself a very competent user.  I'm no stranger to the commandline, and I generally prefer to build my own packages from source rather than use precompiled binaries so I can set my own compilation flags.  In this respect, Arch seems like the perfect distro for me. (In fact, people have been recommending Arch to me for a while, now)

Here's what I need to know:

I'm a college student, and Linux is my full-time operating system.  As such, I need a distro that is very stable.  After I get Arch set up, can I expect it to be fairly reliable?

Next, how long should I expect to build my Arch environment?  Spring break is next week, and it looks like I'll be spending it at home, so I was thinking about using the time to install Arch and learn my way around.  Should I be able to put together a usable system in a week?  I know this isn't Gentoo, but it does seem similar in some respects.

I'll post any more questions as they come up.

Thanks,

Zach

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#2 2006-03-09 01:25:56

_Gandalf_
Member
Registered: 2006-01-12
Posts: 735

Re: I'm new here

Hello and welcome To arch,
hmm a week :shock: that seem a bit TOO much, If you don't have some custom hardware (non standard) it will not take more than a day to have a system as you want it, It took like a day till i figured out lot of things, but beleive me once u know what u want it won't take more than an hour
take a look at Install Arch Linux  wink

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#3 2006-03-09 01:30:41

zachtib
Member
Registered: 2006-03-09
Posts: 20

Re: I'm new here

Great, the only reason I asked is that I'd like to build my system from the ground up, and build a lot of stuff from source.
And I'm installing on a Thinkpad R51, which is very linux-friendly as far as hardware goes.

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#4 2006-03-09 01:31:12

paul2lv
Member
From: Vegas
Registered: 2005-11-09
Posts: 116

Re: I'm new here

Hi,
I have a couple things to tell you:
Since you're coming from Ubuntu, prepare to be amazed by the speed. 8)
It takes very little time to set up a working system, because most of the compiling is done for you. However, it is extremely easy to set your own flags and recompile whatever you like. After installing a base system, you simply "pacman -S gnome/kde/ or favorite WM/DE" and you're ready to go.
Good luck and feel free to post any questions you might have.  big_smile

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#5 2006-03-09 01:40:14

_Gandalf_
Member
Registered: 2006-01-12
Posts: 735

Re: I'm new here

zachtib wrote:

Great, the only reason I asked is that I'd like to build my system from the ground up, and build a lot of stuff from source.
And I'm installing on a Thinkpad R51, which is very linux-friendly as far as hardware goes.

Thinkpad R51:
Processor
BIOS type: Flash ROM
Processor (CPU): Intel Pentium M Processor 725
Processor internal clock speed: 1.60MHz

Do you really want to re-compile everything? i don't really see a reason to do such thing, as i wrote above a Pentium M 725 is i686 processor and if u haven't noticed Arch is built *for* i686 processors, I don't really see a reason to compile but if u insist big_smile

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#6 2006-03-09 01:45:21

zachtib
Member
Registered: 2006-03-09
Posts: 20

Re: I'm new here

_Gandalf_ wrote:
zachtib wrote:

Great, the only reason I asked is that I'd like to build my system from the ground up, and build a lot of stuff from source.
And I'm installing on a Thinkpad R51, which is very linux-friendly as far as hardware goes.

Thinkpad R51:
Processor
BIOS type: Flash ROM
Processor (CPU): Intel Pentium M Processor 725
Processor internal clock speed: 1.60MHz

Do you really want to re-compile everything? i don't really see a reason to do such thing, as i wrote above a Pentium M 725 is i686 processor and if u haven't noticed Arch is built *for* i686 processors, I don't really see a reason to compile but if u insist big_smile

not _everything_
by build from the ground up I mean start with the base install, then install X, then Gnome, then OpenOffice, etc.

I'm only going to build stuff from source if I need some extra feature that the precompiled version doesn't offer.  For example, it appears that the version of wpa_supplicant in the repos doesn't support my wireless card, whihc uses the madwifi drivers, so I'll have to build that myself.

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#7 2006-03-09 02:04:58

_Gandalf_
Member
Registered: 2006-01-12
Posts: 735

Re: I'm new here

Oh ok that makes sence, yea well we all start from ground up, Check my guide there if u want a fast and easy walkthrough

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#8 2006-03-09 03:04:18

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: I'm new here

zachtib wrote:

I'm a college student, and Linux is my full-time operating system.  As such, I need a distro that is very stable.  After I get Arch set up, can I expect it to be fairly reliable?

I'm a full-time student and I use Arch as my main system. I'd suggest monitoring the forums and front page. The occassional update comes through that requires some preparation, and its good to schedule those for a time when you aren't nearing a major project deadline.

Dusty

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#9 2006-03-09 03:19:33

zachtib
Member
Registered: 2006-03-09
Posts: 20

Re: I'm new here

Dusty wrote:
zachtib wrote:

I'm a college student, and Linux is my full-time operating system.  As such, I need a distro that is very stable.  After I get Arch set up, can I expect it to be fairly reliable?

I'm a full-time student and I use Arch as my main system. I'd suggest monitoring the forums and front page. The occassional update comes through that requires some preparation, and its good to schedule those for a time when you aren't nearing a major project deadline.

Dusty

thanks, will do

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#10 2006-03-09 03:53:29

Cerebral
Forum Fellow
From: Waterloo, ON, CA
Registered: 2005-04-08
Posts: 3,108
Website

Re: I'm new here

Dusty wrote:

I'm a full-time student and I use Arch as my main system. I'd suggest monitoring the forums and front page. The occassional update comes through that requires some preparation, and its good to schedule those for a time when you aren't nearing a major project deadline.

Dusty

I couldn't have said it better than Dusty just did.  I'm also full-time student, and I run Arch as (practically) my only OS.  It's one helluva distro, IMO, though I have little basis for comparison given my relatively short Linux history.

As for your madwifi drivers, keep a lookout on the official repos, I've heard madwifi-ng is working its way into [extra], if it isn't there already. 

.... yes, I'm too lazy to go check.  I _said_ I was a student, didn't I? tongue

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#11 2006-03-09 04:31:15

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: I'm new here

Cerebral wrote:

I couldn't have said it better than Dusty just did.

Typical response to my handle on the English language. Thanks. :-)

I'm also full-time student,

in Waterloo. You in Toronto often?

Dusty

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#12 2006-03-09 04:39:29

Cerebral
Forum Fellow
From: Waterloo, ON, CA
Registered: 2005-04-08
Posts: 3,108
Website

Re: I'm new here

Dusty wrote:

in Waterloo. You in Toronto often?

Not really... I don't often have any reason to go.  I worked in Markham for a couple of consecutive co-op work terms though - nice place.  Prefer it greatly to downtown TO... heh

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#13 2006-03-09 05:40:09

ralvy
Member
From: Santa Monica, California
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 275

Re: I'm new here

zachtib wrote:

I'm a college student, and Linux is my full-time operating system.  As such, I need a distro that is very stable. 

Should I be able to put together a usable system in a week?  I know this isn't Gentoo, but it does seem similar in some respects.

Though I consider Arch my favorite distro, I don't consider it stable. It's a bleeding edge distro. Occasionally an upgrade can cause major breakage. I wouldn't use it in the office. I use it at home only.

As far as putting together a usable system, you should be able to do that in a few hours, not days.

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#14 2006-03-09 09:01:19

postlogic
Member
Registered: 2005-02-24
Posts: 410
Website

Re: I'm new here

There's always the little tinkering that comes after installing and having most set up, but yes, it usually doesn't take much more than a few hours to set up your system..

Personally, I consider Arch to be very stable. If you see critical packages flagged to be updated when you run pacman -Syu, it's just a matter of checking the forums and news to see if there are any issues with it.

For my part, going  from devfs to udev went fine, initrd went fine, xorg7 had a few quirks, but it runs great, and all minor updates are a breeze.

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#15 2006-03-09 09:43:36

syntax
Member
From: Saint-Truiden
Registered: 2006-03-04
Posts: 19
Website

Re: I'm new here

I did the switch from Debian some time ago and the speed truly amazed me, I got my system complete up and running and customized to my needs in about 2 a 3 days including stuff like printers scanners, tv kards , desktop environments, sshd and al that kind of stuff.

dont worry about time, it is fast enough ;-)


-kupo-

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#16 2006-03-09 18:05:44

zachtib
Member
Registered: 2006-03-09
Posts: 20

Re: I'm new here

Can't wait to get started with arch

as I've gotten some varying responses on stability, allow me to clarify.

What I mean is, once I get everything working, if I don't do any upgrades and don't keep my system bleeding-edge, will it continue to work and  be stable.  Obviously, constantly upgrading could introduce problems, but I plan on setting up my system once and leaving it alone for a while, as this is my primary school computer.

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#17 2006-03-09 21:47:57

ralvy
Member
From: Santa Monica, California
Registered: 2004-12-06
Posts: 275

Re: I'm new here

zachtib wrote:

Can't wait to get started with arch

as I've gotten some varying responses on stability, allow me to clarify.

What I mean is, once I get everything working, if I don't do any upgrades and don't keep my system bleeding-edge, will it continue to work and  be stable.  Obviously, constantly upgrading could introduce problems, but I plan on setting up my system once and leaving it alone for a while, as this is my primary school computer.

If that's what you mean, you'll like Arch very very much. Forget my previous post about its stability, then.

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#18 2006-03-09 22:19:22

Dusty
Schwag Merchant
From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
Registered: 2004-01-18
Posts: 5,986
Website

Re: I'm new here

Yep. once its working its working until you upgrade. Even then, its usually hassle-free, but the big updates tend to get the community in an uproar because they expect it to continue being hassle-free and they wonder very vocally "why not this time?" :-)

Dusty

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#19 2006-03-10 16:15:04

codemac
Member
From: Cliche Tech Place
Registered: 2005-05-13
Posts: 794
Website

Re: I'm new here

Welcome to Arch  8)

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#20 2006-03-11 01:20:47

DeusExLinux
Member
Registered: 2005-03-18
Posts: 98

Re: I'm new here

Madwifi works great.  The packages in extra, obviously, will only work for the stock kernel, so keep in mind if you compile your own (like I do, I perfer my cputhrotteling to be compiled <i>into</i> the kernel), you can compile your own madwifi drivers....  But, the wonders of the aur and packagebuilds, there's a great one in the aur, for both madwifi-ng and the older "standard" madwifi drivers.

I've used Arch for about a year, and the minuted I installed, literally, I stopped wanting to try other distros (at least use them all the time).

You build it yourslf, and if you want to compile something, it's really easy to make a package.

Welcome, hope you have as much fun as I have.

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