After install tweking and customizing problems

ArchDoru · 2020-05-07 05:54:19

Greetings and salutations.

I've been using Linux for about 10 years now, as my one and only OS, but I ONLY used the ".deb" and "sudo apt-get" Debian based distros, mainly Linux Mint.

Also, since 2012, I have been using just MATE as my Desktop Environment (DE).
Thus, I have very little to no experience with any other DE or non-debian based distro.
While I cannot claim to be an advanced Linux user, I think I do have some upper-basic to medium skills.

After a few failed attempts, I managed to install Arch Linux in a VirtualBox Machine, in the Legacy Boot Mode, and I'm "taking it for a spin", to decide if I should take the next step, namely to do a physical install to Hard Drive, and to gradually migrate from a Debian based to an Arch based Linux OS.
I know there are lots of GUI based Arch derivatives and alternatives out there, such as Manjaro, ArcoLinux, etc, but I just wanted to experience the satisfaction and safety of knowing that I have an OS built from scratch, by myself, and I know exactly what's in it and how it got there.

I like to be honest, so I will admit that besides the Arch Wiki, I have been using other sources to guide me in this new and challenging endeavor, called Arch Linux.
That is basically what I'm doing here right now as well...

My problems (for now) are:

1 - I could not find a good, comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to install and/or enable the much praised AUR repositories and packages, so if someone can be so kind as to help me with that, please do.

2 - I have installed the MATE Desktop Environment, but it is very plain and lacking lots of things and features I was enjoying in Linux Mint.
First of all, my user directory only has a Desktop icon (sub-directory).
I have never seen a user directory with no sub-directories (folders) for Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos ????
Very weird and unheard of...
Did I do something wrong during the install process, or do those need to be made from scratch as well in Arch?

3 - I could not yet figure out how to enable the "Open as Administrator" right click feature, something I use very often in Linux Mint, see pic bellow...
In Mint Debian (LMDE4), I was able to enable that by simply running in a Terminal:

sudo apt-get install caja-admin

In Arch, I tried to no avail all of the following:

sudo pacman -S caja-admin
sudo pacman -S install caja-admin
sudo install caja-admin

Install as root user, with

sudo su

followed by

install caja-admin
pacman -S caja-admin
pacman -S install caja-admin

Nothing worked so far.

According to the MATE website, this is the way they recommend for enabling the "Open as Administrator" right click feature, by simply installing

sudo apt-get install caja-admin

4 - I cannot find an install candidate for Transmission, the Torrent Client...
And that is the only one I ever use, so it's a MUST HAVE.

5 - Is there anything in Arch that would be similar to the and Linux Mint Desktop Settings Manager???
I really, really need that, to be able to get rid of all the icons on my desktop (Computer, Home Folder, Mounted Volumes, Trash Bin, etc)
What about something similar to the Linux Mint Software Manager, Linux Mint Update Manager?
And what about Synaptic, can that be installed in Arch?

6 - Every time I reboot the system, the sound is muted, and I have to manually enable it (drag the cursor).
Also, I cannot access the TEST SPEAKERS feature in the Hardware Tab on my Sound Preference, it just does not show that option at all...

I guess that's it for now.
Anxious for your replies.
Thanks for putting up with me...

Last edited by ArchDoru (2020-05-07 05:58:24)

jasonwryan · 2020-05-07 06:11:03

Please read https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … ow_to_post and take note of the point about one topic per thread.

I'll answer some anyway.

1. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Aur
2. Arch doesn't fuck with your $HOME: whatever you want there, create it yourself
3. https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/caja-gksu/
4.

┌─[Shiv ~]
└─╼ pkgsearch transmission                                                                                                                                    
Not in repos, searching AUR...
• python-transmissionrpc
• python2-transmissionrpc
• transmission-utils
• ros-indigo-transmission-interface
• ros-jade-transmission-interface
• transmission-remote-cli-git
• transmission-daemon-openrc
• ros-lunar-transmission-interface
• transmission-cli-ipv6
• ros-kinetic-transmission-interface
• transmission-csd-git
• transmission-i2p-git
• gnome-shell-extension-transmission-daemon-git
• transmission-cli-git
• transmission-remote-gnome-git
• transmission-sequential-cli
• transmission-sequential-gtk
• transmission-sequential-qt
• transmission-remote-gui-bin
• transmission-remote-gui-gtk2
• ros-melodic-transmission-interface
• transmission-rss
• transmission-cmake-cli
• transmission-cmake-gtk
• transmission-cmake-qt
• libtransmission
• transmission-remote-gtk-git
• prometheus-transmission-exporter
• transmission-remote-gui
• transmission-qt-git
• transmission-gtk-git

Or, even better, read the wiki page https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Transmission
5. Pacman is your package manager: learn how to use it before you start relying on crappy wrappers
6. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PulseAudio

Last edited by jasonwryan (2020-05-07 06:13:59)

ArchDoru · 2020-05-07 07:07:28

@jasonwryan

While I appreciate the fact that you took the time to answer my questions, I can't say the same about the manner in which you did it, but thanks anyways.

I hope not everybody is so mean in this forum.
Don't get me wrong, but I was under the impression that a forum is meant to help people and attract new members, as well as encourage new users, not chase them away...

I don't mean to offend you in any way, and for that matter, I don't want to offend anybody, but this is a bit discouraging, to say the least.
I am a member of other forums, Linux Mint being one of them, but I have never been treated with such hostility from the get-go.

Back to my questions...
So, basically you have to more or less build everything from scratch in Arch? Interesting...
As far as those "crappy wrappers" you mention in point 5, I mainly use the Mint Software Manager to get information and details about a package, as well as its correct name, but I almost always install in Terminal.
More or less, same goes for the Update Manager and Synaptic...
Besides, there are lots of times when you simply cannot afford to waste 2 hours, when a simple click can get everything up to speed in a few minutes, but that's just a choice for some, a fact for others, I guess.

Going by numbers here...

1 - I did read the content of the ArchWiki about AUR, at the link you posted, even before asking for help here.
And I tried to follow the instructions, but was so far unable to obtain a positive result, that is precisely why I'm asking...

2 - OK, I have no problem creating those user folders myself, I just thought that it's unusual not to have them already there by default.
In all distros I used until now they are present, and have some connections to other applications.
Like for example, Firefox defaults your downloads to the Downloads folder, 4K Video Downloader defaults to a directory created inside the Videos folder, so there is some relation to those basic user folders.

3 - At least now I know it's possible, and once I will be able to use AUR, I will most likely be able to tweak that as well.

Again, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, and I hope you may find a way to be just a little bit more tolerant.
Have a great day.

jasonwryan wrote:

Please read https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Co … ow_to_post and take note of the point about one topic per thread.
I'll answer some anyway.
1. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Aur
2. Arch doesn't fuck with your $HOME: whatever you want there, create it yourself
3. https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/caja-gksu/
4.
┌─[Shiv ~]
└─╼ pkgsearch transmission                                                                                                                                    
Not in repos, searching AUR...
• python-transmissionrpc
• python2-transmissionrpc
• transmission-utils
• ros-indigo-transmission-interface
• ros-jade-transmission-interface
• transmission-remote-cli-git
• transmission-daemon-openrc
• ros-lunar-transmission-interface
• transmission-cli-ipv6
• ros-kinetic-transmission-interface
• transmission-csd-git
• transmission-i2p-git
• gnome-shell-extension-transmission-daemon-git
• transmission-cli-git
• transmission-remote-gnome-git
• transmission-sequential-cli
• transmission-sequential-gtk
• transmission-sequential-qt
• transmission-remote-gui-bin
• transmission-remote-gui-gtk2
• ros-melodic-transmission-interface
• transmission-rss
• transmission-cmake-cli
• transmission-cmake-gtk
• transmission-cmake-qt
• libtransmission
• transmission-remote-gtk-git
• prometheus-transmission-exporter
• transmission-remote-gui
• transmission-qt-git
• transmission-gtk-git
Or, even better, read the wiki page https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Transmission
5. Pacman is your package manager: learn how to use it before you start relying on crappy wrappers
6. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/PulseAudio

torors · 2020-05-07 07:54:02

One of our most skilled users has answered you in a polite way, and tried to point you in the right direction. As a user of Arch Linux you are supposed to read the wiki and try the solutions before you are asking for help. When something goes wrong, you must tell us exactly what you have tried and post the output of the commands.
Open a new thread about AUR and tell us wich steps you have done, and what was not working. Using Arch is different from using Mint, and you are supposed to invest more time in building your system.

Last edited by torors (2020-05-07 07:54:48)

Ankit Tyagi · 2020-05-07 08:13:51

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ge … irectories

ArchDoru · 2020-05-11 04:10:51

@Ankit Tyagi

Thanks for pointing that out to me, it was very helpful.

Ankit Tyagi wrote:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ge … irectories

Last edited by ArchDoru (2020-05-11 04:25:09)

ArchDoru · 2020-05-11 04:21:25

@torors

Thank you for your reply.
I guess it takes some getting used to the way you guys get things done here, and you are right in saying that it is very different from using Mint.
Still, more straight forward answers, such as run this command, or look for this package or dependency would have been more beneficial for newbies, in my opinion.
To use a math example, you have to first learn and master basic operations like adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing before you can even proceed to solving more complex equations.
I will try my best to fit in, since this is the only choice here...

torors wrote:

One of our most skilled users has answered you in a polite way, and tried to point you in the right direction. As a user of Arch Linux you are supposed to read the wiki and try the solutions before you are asking for help. When something goes wrong, you must tell us exactly what you have tried and post the output of the commands.
Open a new thread about AUR and tell us wich steps you have done, and what was not working. Using Arch is different from using Mint, and you are supposed to invest more time in building your system.

Last edited by ArchDoru (2020-05-11 04:26:28)

Trilby · 2020-05-11 04:27:36

ArchDoru wrote:

1 - I did read the content of the ArchWiki about AUR, at the link you posted, even before asking for help here.
And I tried to follow the instructions, but was so far unable to obtain a positive result, that is precisely why I'm asking...

Then you should have said what you've done and described the actual errors or problems.

Just saying "It Doesn't Work" will get you no where.

That said, the first point was most important: there is no way to have a productive thread talking about 7 or 8 completely unrelated topics. What do you want help with in this thread? Describe in detail what your problem or question is, then describe what you have attempted so far.

We are here to help you, but we do expect that you'll be an active participant in the problem solving. To use a different metaphor: no one here will hand you a fish, but we will teach you to fish if you show you are interested and willing to learn.

Last edited by Trilby (2020-05-11 04:30:16)

Awebb · 2020-05-11 04:47:21

ArchDoru wrote:

@jasonwryan
While I appreciate the fact that you took the time to answer my questions, I can't say the same about the manner in which you did it, but thanks anyways.
I hope not everybody is so mean in this forum.
Don't get me wrong, but I was under the impression that a forum is meant to help people and attract new members, as well as encourage new users, not chase them away...

That was not mean, that was a relatively friendly nudge towards our local rules and etiquette. He could just have reported the post for violating the code of conduct, but instead chose to be helpful.

ArchDoru wrote:

So, basically you have to more or less build everything from scratch in Arch? Interesting...

When I was new, I had about 50 AUR packages. A decade later and it's down to 3. Custom repositories exist, but unless it's a behemoth of a software project, the AUR is easy to use.

ArchDoru wrote:

As far as those "crappy wrappers" you mention in point 5, I mainly use the Mint Software Manager to get information and details about a package, as well as its correct name, but I almost always install in Terminal.
More or less, same goes for the Update Manager and Synaptic...
Besides, there are lots of times when you simply cannot afford to waste 2 hours, when a simple click can get everything up to speed in a few minutes, but that's just a choice for some, a fact for others, I guess.

Learning how to use pacman is vital in Arch. You will, in fact, notice that using anything but pacman or makepkg and asking for support will lead to being asked to try the pacman/makepkg first, because those are the native methods and everything else isn't supported here. That doesn't mean people with knowledge of whatever obscure wrapper you use can't show up and chime in, but that's rarely the case.

ArchDoru wrote:

1 - I did read the content of the ArchWiki about AUR, at the link you posted, even before asking for help here.
And I tried to follow the instructions, but was so far unable to obtain a positive result, that is precisely why I'm asking...

Please provide specific questions. Error messages. What have you tried and what was the exact result? We don't like to guess what's wrong and we find the wiki to be particularly well worded. One piece of advice: You won't understand the AUR if you don't understand pacman first, so start there.

ArchDoru wrote:

2 - OK, I have no problem creating those user folders myself, I just thought that it's unusual not to have them already there by default.
In all distros I used until now they are present, and have some connections to other applications.

All distros you've used so far probably came with a default desktop, a default bootloader and other things that they think is a good idea. Arch isn't a desktop distribution, Arch is the foundation to build a system based on Linux, systemd and pacman. If you need some specific XD features, you're expected to install them yourself.

merlock · 2020-05-11 12:56:45

ArchDoru wrote:

Still, more straight forward answers, such as run this command, or look for this package or dependency would have been more beneficial for newbies, in my opinion.

With this expectation, I fear that your Arch journey is not going to go too good for you.

Wiki entry

You might be better off looking into an Arch-based distro that will provide you with GUI-goodness (and all the accompanying overhead).

Trilby · 2020-05-11 13:17:06

merlock wrote:

You might be better off looking into an Arch-based distro

I find very few of those worth recommendation. If one is new on their linux journy and has such needs, Linux Mint would be my top recommendation. But there are countless *buntus which could serve this purpose too. Many of the arch based distros are borderline vaporware projects: someone thought it's be "cool" or "l33t" to make their own distro, slapped it together, hyped it up, but then can't support it. Just look at how many of them have shut down.

That said, if one is set on sticking with arch-based newbie-friendly systems, Chakra may be an exception to the above pattern. I've never used it myself, but I've been pleasantly surprised by their documentation / website.

EDIT: I also think it's a bit telling that we get boatloads of moronic posts here from user's of countless arch spin offs, but I don't recall a chakra user ever posting here for help and certainly not being belligerent when told this is the wrong place.

Last edited by Trilby (2020-05-11 13:19:13)

Awebb · 2020-05-11 13:43:56

Trilby wrote:

EDIT: but I don't recall a chakra user ever posting here for help and certainly not being belligerent when told this is the wrong place.

The KDEmod crowd has been nothing but a vital pillar of the Arch KDE community. When I first used KDE with arch, the KDEmod repository made the difference between "upstream my ass" and "KDE is actually nice". The reason for the absence of Chakra users is probably the fact, that they don't advertise their Arch roots and instead note their full split from Arch. They also advise against using Arch packages and the AUR directly, because it probably won't work.

Arch Linux

#1 2020-05-07 05:54:19

After install tweking and customizing problems

#2 2020-05-07 06:11:03

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#3 2020-05-07 07:07:28

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#4 2020-05-07 07:54:02

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#5 2020-05-07 08:13:51

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#6 2020-05-11 04:10:51

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#7 2020-05-11 04:21:25

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#8 2020-05-11 04:27:36

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#9 2020-05-11 04:47:21

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#10 2020-05-11 12:56:45

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#11 2020-05-11 13:17:06

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

#12 2020-05-11 13:43:56

Re: After install tweking and customizing problems

Board footer