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#1 2008-05-27 23:46:13

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Hello all!

I am a new Arch (soon-to-be) user, and I have been using Ubuntu Linux for about 11 months.

I downloaded the 30mb Arch FTP CD, and booted into it.

Everything was working, until I got to Configure System.
When I selected /etc/rc.conf as the first file I wanted to edit, nano opened it up - and it was empty.

Every other file I selected from the Configure Systems menu was empty.
I used hwdetect, and accpeted all of the DEFAULTS - (well, they were what I wanted anyway) - but none of the files had any text in them whatsoever.

So I cd into /etc and I find a (sample?) rc.conf, but it filled out the networking part incorrectly (easy to fix, dhcp issue) and it didn't have any of the modules section filled out (although the daemons section was). I think that this was a different file - doesn't /arch/setup load /mnt/etc/rc.conf or something??

I don't know all of the kernel modules I need though... Is it OK if I leave it as MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes" and forget about it?
I've already formatted my HDD for Arch (I do have backups), but I really don't want to go back to Ubuntu.

Besides rc.conf, my fstab and everything else is completely blank, and I have very little examples or ideas about how to get it working.


All of you guys are Arch users, so I was really hoping that you could tell me how you got your system working. It would be awesome if someone could tell me where I can find examples of the following;

/etc/rc.conf
/boot/grub/menu.lst
/etc/hosts
/etc/fstab
/etc/modprobe.conf
/etc/modules.conf
/etc/resolv.conf
/etc/profile
/etc/rc.local

Hey, thanks so much!!

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#2 2008-05-28 00:14:59

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Well, I've found the beginner's guide (took a minute to do so though) - and I've got some good examples of the files I need.
I only have 3 questions;

1. Can you use resierFS on /?

2. Seriously, why are all of the config files EMPTY? Should I be as worried as I am (I worry a lot)? If this is normal, should I just write all of them out?

3. How do I find out what modules I need in rc.conf?

Thanks again!

Last edited by vsk (2008-05-28 00:15:57)

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#3 2008-05-28 00:31:08

czar
Member
Registered: 2008-03-08
Posts: 115

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

1. sure use which ever you want
2. They should NOT be empty, if these are empty theres a problem. This has happened to me before and recopying the img (i installed with usb, in your case you may need to reburn A cd) fixed my problems.
3. the defaults will be good when you get them :-p
GL

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#4 2008-05-28 01:27:49

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Thank you so much for replying! -

Well, what I plan to do is edit the config files I found under /etc and cp them over to where Arch has the empty config files and see how it goes.

Do you know where I can find a list of available kernel modules and descriptions?

I would just burn another CD - but I'm out.

-- ps Oh and are you sure I can't just leave it as MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"?

Last edited by vsk (2008-05-28 01:29:02)

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#5 2008-05-28 01:32:34

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Waiittt -
In nano when I edit the config files Arch presents me with - the filepath it displays is;

/mnt/etc/rc.conf

instead of what I normally get (/etc/rc.conf)

??

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#6 2008-05-28 01:35:06

LTSmash
Member
From: Aguascalientes - Mexico
Registered: 2008-01-02
Posts: 348
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

IS your CD correctly burned?
Check the image checksum to correspond with the one on the server, it would also help to burn a new CD after that.


Proud Ex-Arch user.
Still an ArchLinux lover though.

Currently on Kubuntu 9.10

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#7 2008-05-28 01:36:39

ozar
Member
From: USA
Registered: 2005-02-18
Posts: 1,686

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Sounds like a bad install, or something else went wrong because those files should not be in /mnt.

If your installation disk is bad, you'll have to get more blanks and create another one.


oz

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#8 2008-05-28 01:55:29

Redroar
Member
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 200

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Yeah, during /arch/setup it'll be /mnt/etc. Because you are running a very, very minimal live CD when you are installing. I mean all that stuff at the beginning is loading the kernel and whatnot into the RAM, to create a complete enough environment that you can install out of. But since you are running everything off of the CD, /etc will be /etc on the CD, not the HDD. /mnt/ is the HDD root /, so it all makes sense.

But as far as the files being empty, that's a bad burn if I ever saw one. I would not trust that install. If the /etc files are missing, who knows what else is yikes

EDIT: I just re-read your post. The FTP install means that you should be getting the packages (all the config files among them) during the install. Did it download and install all the packages properly? This probably means you don't need to reburn the disc, since those files aren't on the FTP disc in the first place.

Last edited by Redroar (2008-05-28 02:00:18)


Stop looking at my signature. It betrays your nature.

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#9 2008-05-28 01:56:46

denisfalqueto
Member
From: ES, Brazil
Registered: 2006-03-24
Posts: 197

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

vsk wrote:

In nano when I edit the config files Arch presents me with - the filepath it displays is;

/mnt/etc/rc.conf

Hi,

This is normal if you are in the proccess of installation. This means that the Arch setup program mounted your root partition under /mnt. This happens because in Unix there is only one root directory and the environment of the installation is a Arch instance. So, you have the / of the installation and your root partition must sit somewhere (in this case, it is under /mnt). But if you are talking about your installed system after the reboot (which I doubt, because it would be impossible to boot such a messed system), you should reinstall it.


Satisfied users don't rant, so you'll never know how many of us there are.

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#10 2008-05-28 02:30:49

ozar
Member
From: USA
Registered: 2005-02-18
Posts: 1,686

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Sorry if I misread your post.  I thought you were talking about system configuration after the installation was completed.


oz

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#11 2008-05-28 03:01:35

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

I am truly amazed at the level of response I am getting! (You'd have to wait a week or two on other forums *cough* ubuntuforums *cough*.)

Thank-you very much though, this explains what I'm seeing and how I can fix it nicely -

I'll find a new CD tomorrow and try the burn again; and no, at the Install Packages step, I got 30 different errors about duplicate files and bad transactions... But I just shrugged it aside. (hey, it didn't say fatal error or anything...).

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#12 2008-05-28 20:41:48

vsk
Member
Registered: 2008-05-27
Posts: 70

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

I have a fully installed Arch system!
Boot time is a lot better (which makes the switch worthwhile), so thanks a lot guys!

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#13 2008-05-28 21:02:00

Sjoden
Member
From: WA
Registered: 2007-08-16
Posts: 380
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Congratulations, and welcome to Arch!

/edit

And thank you for checking the wiki! If only more people could do that.


-Zack

Last edited by Sjoden (2008-05-28 21:03:18)

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#14 2008-05-30 10:37:30

violagirl23
Member
Registered: 2008-01-24
Posts: 184

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

The same thing happened to me with the FTP install CD. I did 64-bit 2007.08 FTP install CD and it's been giving me quite a time. I couldn't install like seven packages (atl2,ipw3945,madwifi,ndiswrapper,rt2500,tiacx,wlan-ng26) because it was giving me an error that the kernel was too old (?!) and now I go to Configuration, and all the files are empty!!!
@_@
Maybe I should just try the Core Install CD after all......


"You can't just ask to borrow somebody else's lampshade. It's AWKWARD!"

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#15 2008-05-30 11:21:56

thujone
Member
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Registered: 2007-01-01
Posts: 18

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

I experienced the same issue, and can confirm the cause.
Since I was tired of burning cds and pen drives (last 2 days I've been partitioning, moving data, losing the partition table and luckily restoring it), I hanged around in the mounted filesystem and noticed no package was installed. At first I supposed pacman was using a wrong path, tried running

/arch/quickinst cd /mnt /src/core/pkg

and this was the result:

error: error downloading 'kernel26-2.6.24.4.-1-i686.pkg.tar.gz'
warning: failed to retrieve some files from core
eror: failed to commit transtaction (unexpected error)
Errors occured, no packages were upraded.

Package installation complete.

Such errors were hidden by the graphical installer, I wonder: could it be possible to detect them and warn the user?

This is how I went on (don't do it, you better burn a new cd):

rm /tmp/*
cp /src/core/pkg/* /tmp

and got I/O error about kernel26, libarchive and klibc packages; I checked what releases were online, only kernel26 was newer than the one provided with 2008.04-RC but its dependencies were still satisfied; I got them from a mirror and put on a pen drive, then

mount /dev/sdb1 /media/fl
cp /media/fl/*.pkg.tar.gz /tmp
umount /dev/sdb1
chmod +w /tmp/packages.txt

and edited /tmp/packages.txt for the new kernel release.
Then quickinst went fine.

Edit: actually editing /tmp/packages.txt doesn't seem to be strictly needed, but you HAVE to edit /tmp/core.db.tar.gz's entries for packages you replaced (filename, version, md5sums and csize in the desc file); again: this is too tricky, burn a new cd or use an usb image! I went this way because I had no blank media left.

Last edited by thujone (2008-05-30 13:21:41)

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#16 2008-05-30 11:31:47

foxbunny
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2006-10-31
Posts: 759
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

violagirl23 wrote:

The same thing happened to me with the FTP install CD. I did 64-bit 2007.08 FTP install CD and it's been giving me quite a time. I couldn't install like seven packages (atl2,ipw3945,madwifi,ndiswrapper,rt2500,tiacx,wlan-ng26) because it was giving me an error that the kernel was too old (?!) and now I go to Configuration, and all the files are empty!!!
@_@
Maybe I should just try the Core Install CD after all......

Before you try anything, make sure you are using the up-to-date CD. The 2007.08 is so outdated I think it's not even worth a shot.

Ceck out FTP mirrors from this page:

http://www.archlinux.org/download/

The lates on some Austrian mirror is this:

ftp://gd.tuwien.ac.at/opsys/linux/archl … 008.04-rc/

2008.04-rc. It says RC, but I used it successfully on both my desktop and my laptop, and people in my LUG are also reporting success with it. It has many improvements and it's definitely worth it. Plus, it has "space invaders" game you can play off the CD. tongue The only thing you need to be careful about is the "abs" package, which is no longer in the repos (I think it's renamed to "abs2" or something), which will trip your install. So, when selecting packages, _deselect_ "abs" and install it later when your system is up.

The new FTP CD is also a bit larger, but it does contain a lot of rescue tools, which can come in handy when something gets screwed (not that I needed it, but it sounds like a good idea to have it around).

Good luck.

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#17 2008-05-30 11:37:24

foxbunny
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2006-10-31
Posts: 759
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

thujone wrote:

Such errors were hidden by the graphical installer, I wonder: could it be possible to detect them and warn the user?

Error messages during package install (in the installer) are NOT hidden. A message during install will warn you that the pacman output can be seen on tty5, so Alt+F5 there and check for errors.

As I said above, use the latest ISOs. Most ISOs that devs announce are already tested to an extent, and are usually good to go. The latest is, again, 2008.04-RC. I don't know why Arch team doesn't announce RC install CDs on the home page (at least as a separate list of "development releases").

Guys (and girls, of course) who've been using Arch for a while sometimes check the BBS's Announcements section when they are looking for new ISOs. Or the dev-public mailing list. Arch is a rolling release system, and the huge changes that sometimes occur in repos can break older install ISOs.

Hm, but you must know all of the above, no? Sorry, I didn't see you around before, so I assumed you were new to Arch. tongue

Last edited by foxbunny (2008-05-30 11:38:48)

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#18 2008-05-30 13:04:02

thujone
Member
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Registered: 2007-01-01
Posts: 18

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

foxbunny wrote:

A message during install will warn you that the pacman output can be seen on tty5, so Alt+F5 there and check for errors.

You're right, what I meant is you don't have any feedback on the installer main screen; in my opinion a critical error like this deserves to halt the installation process.

foxbunny wrote:

As I said above, use the latest ISOs.

I did, downloaded and burnt this morning. I trust previous statements, guess the ISO is good, just bad burning fate (thanks Nero).

foxbunny wrote:

I didn't see you around before

I don't post often in the forum, but I'm not that new to Arch any more. smile

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#19 2008-05-30 14:17:53

Mr.Elendig
#archlinux@freenode channel op
From: The intertubes
Registered: 2004-11-07
Posts: 4,092

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

The 2007.08-2 ftp iso are broken due to changes made after it was released. Empty /etc beeing one of the common problems with it. Please use the 2008.03 or 2008.04 RC iso's instead.

There is also a new non-rc iso coming "shortly".


Evil #archlinux@libera.chat channel op and general support dude.
. files on github, Screenshots, Random pics and the rest

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#20 2008-05-30 16:29:03

foxbunny
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2006-10-31
Posts: 759
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

thujone wrote:

You're right, what I meant is you don't have any feedback on the installer main screen; in my opinion a critical error like this deserves to halt the installation process.

Maybe devs will eventually get around to that... or not, but Arch installer is perfectly okay the way it is (it got a bit fat lately, but so did I! tongue) Anyway, users should be more careful. I always monitor tty5 during install to see if it's mounting everything properly, or installing packages. It takes a liiiittle bit of getting used to, but hell, it's not too much to ask from a user. wink

thujone wrote:

I don't post often in the forum, but I'm not that new to Arch any more. smile

Yeah I know. But I was already finishing my post when I noticed. So I added the "sorry" below, because it's still all valid points (as far as I'm concerned).

Mr.Elendig wrote:

Please use the 2008.03

And miss the Space Invaders?! big_smile

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#21 2008-05-30 16:55:45

Mr.Elendig
#archlinux@freenode channel op
From: The intertubes
Registered: 2004-11-07
Posts: 4,092

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

foxbunny wrote:
Mr.Elendig wrote:

Please use the 2008.03

And miss the Space Invaders?! big_smile

Way to go and selective-/miss-quote me >_>

Last edited by Mr.Elendig (2008-05-30 16:56:20)


Evil #archlinux@libera.chat channel op and general support dude.
. files on github, Screenshots, Random pics and the rest

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#22 2008-05-30 22:30:12

foxbunny
Member
From: Serbia
Registered: 2006-10-31
Posts: 759
Website

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Aw, come on, I was just joking! smile

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#23 2009-04-13 11:12:13

cb474
Member
Registered: 2009-04-04
Posts: 469

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

I just had this problem as well, using an ftp Arch64 2009.02 install cd. During the install, when I got to the Configure the System step, all of the configuration files turned up empty. I was using the same cd I'd used before to install Arch on the same computer, without a problem (and I'd checked the md5sum at the time I burned it). So it seemed hard to believe the cd was the problem.

This time though I had selected a different mirror from the one I downloaded the cd .iso from. I got the .iso from cs.vt.edu, but used umoss.org during the install (because it seemed to be more up-to-date). So I just did the install again, but went back to using cs.vt.edu and everything worked fine.

I don't really know what to make of that or why I had the problem.

Last edited by cb474 (2009-04-13 21:11:18)

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#24 2009-04-13 19:12:22

windtalker
Member
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 220

Re: Installation Difficulties: I'm stuck in configure system!

Ftp install always gave me a fit.
For me it ends up being simpler to just download the core and go from there.
Updating may take a little longer but imho, it's worth the extra wait.

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