Arch Linux

mirshafie

Member

Registered: 2008-01-09

Posts: 5

Arch install not effective

Hello everyone,
I've been trying to install Arch the last few days. I can start the install process from the cd, and then it looks like arch is installing to the specified drive. For example, I checked with top while mke2fs was supposedly formatting one of my partitions and it looked fine. pacman also looked like it was doing its job while installing packages.

Howver when I reboot the computer NONE of the changes have taken effect. No disks has been formatted, no files installed, no GRUB et.c.

Any ideas?

kraluz

Member

From: Aveiro, Portugal

Registered: 2008-01-01

Posts: 30

Re: Arch install not effective

That is weird. At least, GRUB should be on the MBR after the process... If you run cfdisk and/or mke2fs by hand do you get the same results?

mirshafie

Member

Registered: 2008-01-09

Posts: 5

Re: Arch install not effective

I told GRUB to install to /dev/sda, where my current GRUB resides.
I havn't tried mke2fs or cfdisk by hand from off the Arch CD, didn't think of it
Is there any alternative way I can install Arch? For example by extracting an archive to my soon-to-be Arch drive?

edit: found this. edit: doesn't help...

Last edited by mirshafie (2008-01-09 18:47:19)

kraluz

Member

From: Aveiro, Portugal

Registered: 2008-01-01

Posts: 30

Re: Arch install not effective

There are alternative ways of doing pretty much anything in a Linux system ... anyway, are you sure you can write to that disc?

zenlord

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2006-05-24

Posts: 1,221

Website

Re: Arch install not effective

I guess you're having two problems.

1/ Are you sure you have set the mount points ok and then confirmed this by 'clicking' DONE? Otherwise the install acts like a dummy-install because no mount points are set.

2/ When using XFS as FS, there is a problem with installing GRUB. This problem is fixed with the new iso, to be downloaded in the announcements-section of the forum (2007.11-4)

Zl.

mirshafie

Member

Registered: 2008-01-09

Posts: 5

Re: Arch install not effective

I use ext3 as i mentioned, and an existing swap drive. I've been trying to overwrite working debian and gentoo drives ("fromatting" them with the Arch setup). I have four hdds, and I chose / partition from the list.

When I mount my arch drive in debian no changes what so ever has been made.

Last edited by mirshafie (2008-01-11 11:12:32)

Yonk

Member

Registered: 2007-09-07

Posts: 27

Re: Arch install not effective

had the same problem ... but the problem was that i "ESC" out of the menu where i selected the mountpoints instead of selecting "done" or whatever it says from the list

zenlord

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2006-05-24

Posts: 1,221

Website

Re: Arch install not effective

had the same problem ... but the problem was that i "ESC" out of the menu where i selected the mountpoints instead of selecting "done" or whatever it says from the list

Yep, common mistake and probably causes this problem to.

Secondly: if you use four HD's, are you sure you write GRUB to the right MBR? Try disconnecting the three others to be sure...

Zl.

Last edited by zenlord (2008-01-11 15:50:56)

schivmeister

Developer/TU

From: Singapore

Registered: 2007-05-17

Posts: 971

Website

Re: Arch install not effective

Looks like your steps are not effective

---

I need real, proper pen and paper for this.

mirshafie

Member

Registered: 2008-01-09

Posts: 5

Re: Arch install not effective

I did not exit menus by Esc or similar. I used the Return to main menu or Done options.
Tried again just now, same story.

zenlord: even if the problem was with GRUB being written to the 'wrong' MBR, I have confirmed that no changes were made to my prepared partitions (/dev/sda2 and /dev/sda5 respectively). I mounted them and looked

Last edited by mirshafie (2008-01-11 18:10:13)

mirshafie

Member

Registered: 2008-01-09

Posts: 5

Re: Arch install not effective

As I wrote before, is it possible to install arch manually from a running linux?

jean-paul

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2007-03-26

Posts: 61

Re: Arch install not effective

Take a look in the wiki

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fas … nux_System

Jean-Paul

---

I'm root. if you see me smile, you'd better have a backup!!