Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

hbarnwheeler · 2009-01-01 22:53:30

Hello,

I used to be an arch user, but gave up when I ran into a problem that I couldn't solve. I was hoping that Arch would be a bit more polished now and I've decided to give it another spin, but so far things are not going well at all... I'm down 2 cd's and suspect I may need to burn yet another to get things going.

I tried to install from the latest ISO, but kept getting dumped to a grub prompt which threw up errors no matter what commands I entered. Someone on the forum suggested to a user with a similar problem that they try an earlier release that uses ISOLINUX instead of grub (Why newer hardware should require an earlier release, I still don't understand). So, I booted into 2008.3 just fine, and I am trying to get an FTP install going, and no matter which mirror I try, I get an error stating that the installer could not find packages.txt. I combed through the mirrors with an ftp client, hoping that the path had simply changed, but I cannot find packages.txt anywhere.

What do I do now? Do I have to burn a core 2008.3 ISO and install from CD, then update post-install? If so, why? I don't have an odd hardware configuration here (Intel P43, SATA drives) and I suspect that many many people are thus affected by the problem with booting the latest iso.

Anyways, thanks for any help you can give me.

Last edited by hbarnwheeler (2009-01-01 23:02:01)

wonder · 2009-01-01 23:11:03

pacman 3.2 doesn't support anymore that format of list. you should use a newer iso

hbarnwheeler · 2009-01-02 00:24:42

I can't use a newer ISO. It only boots to a grub prompt.

tigrmesh · 2009-01-02 01:55:17

Use the core ISO. Then manually download the latest pacman and pacman-mirrorlist and -U them.

hbarnwheeler · 2009-01-02 04:25:58

Use the core ISO. Then manually download the latest pacman and pacman-mirrorlist and -U them.

I knew I would be able to boot the 2008.3 core ISO and install + upgrade, but like SyXbiT in this thread (http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=51348), I'd really like to know what is going on here. Is it a grub (+AHCI? +SATA?)issue that prevents booting to 2008.6? If so, why use grub in the latest install image? Like I said, I'm not using an odd hardware configuration here, so I'd just like some info from anyone who knows what's going on here. It would be nice if I, and others who read this thread, could help those who run into this issue. Also, maybe there should be something in the wiki about it, so people don't go downloading an older ISO only to find out that pacman's behaviour has changed and they can't do an FTP install. As it stands, it took me a great deal of time and 3 burned cd's to even get a base install going.

huntxu · 2009-01-02 04:36:49

there is a packages.txt in this repos: http://schlunix.org/archlinux/core

Last edited by huntxu (2009-01-02 04:38:37)

bangkok_manouel · 2009-01-02 05:12:32

you may try those:
http://downloads.archlinux.de/iso/archboot/2008.12/

noen · 2009-08-21 14:05:17

Here is a small workaround if you have an old install iso.

Do all the steps required for formatting and mounting root directory and swap.
Now, use "links ftp://ftp.archlinux.org/other/archlinux-installer/archlinux-installer-2009.01.tar.gz" and fetch a new installer, save it to /tmp/installer/ (which should be mounted now).

Run the new installer, and you should be able to install Archlinux.

Last edited by noen (2009-08-21 14:06:42)

AskApache · 2010-02-14 04:05:09

Thanks for that tip noen, worked great! I think whoever at archlinux is in charge of this is retarded or just plain lazy for not making the older ftp installation disks compatible.. there have been situations where that's the only iso available for me as well.

Anyway I have an older ftp installation because I used unetbootin program to install the archlinux ftp iso on my amazingly fast usb flash card that I got from the FSF (free software foundation) in charge of GNU when I became a member last year... Once I install to a superold laptop that I use for non-cpu intensive servers like named for DNS, I convert part of the flash drive to swap and the other part is dedicated to /tmp and to expand the size of my /dev/shm .. so cool!

Allan · 2010-02-14 04:14:50

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/For … Bumping.27

Among other things...
Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-01-01 22:53:30

Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#2 2009-01-01 23:11:03

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#3 2009-01-02 00:24:42

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#4 2009-01-02 01:55:17

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#5 2009-01-02 04:25:58

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#6 2009-01-02 04:36:49

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#7 2009-01-02 05:12:32

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#8 2009-08-21 14:05:17

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#9 2010-02-14 04:05:09

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

#10 2010-02-14 04:14:50

Re: Where is packages.txt? (Can't Install from FTP)

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