[SOLVED] offline install

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-08 08:42:17

Hey fellow Archers.
I am attempting to install Archlinux onto my lappy so i can move that away from Xubuntu

point 1:
The reason for me doing this 'offline' is that i ONLY have a 3G connection to the internet & want to keep my bandwidth usage down to a total minimum so as to avoid astronomic bill (I live in South Afric & my provider is MTN = big bandwidth costs)

So i have a snapshot of my pacman cache from my Desktop which i have copied to my usb thumb drive.

I originally attempted this using the old media (CORE 2011.08.19) once i got that installed i faced some issue's with the initial update (using my cache), i followed the wikki & still faced problems so i jumped into the IRC channel requesting some small advice re the filesystem & glibc issue's & was promptly told to get the new iso & read the wikki!!!!!!!! (did they not see the background i gave & that i stated i had read the wikki & still had issue's)

So now i have the latest media (downloaded in a quick 8 hours!!!) i am booted into it & now i am trying t use my pac cache (mounted as /mnt2)
my target for this install is
/dev/sdb8 mounted at /mnt

the commands i have tried so far:
[initially i wanted to do it the arch way & first mounted my usb stick to /mnt/var/cache/pacman/pkg]
pacstrap /mnt base <<<<this began to download so i had to cancel (see point 1)

[remounted usb drive as /mnt2]
pacman --root /mnt --cachedir /mnt/var/cache/pacman/pkg --dbpath /mnt/var/lib/pacman --logfile /mnt/var/log/pacman.log -U *
this gave the following error:
error:'/mnt2/pkg/accountsservice-0.6.18-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.xz': duplicate target

how can I move forward with this?
i have tried to use pacserve but that just redirects to my desktop mirror list thus downloading what i already have!

I did ask this question on IRC but was not given much advice & was mainly told the channel was created by someone who hated arch & that the IRC channel is not helpful as it is full of n00bs!
however one guy did respond nicley & pointed me in the right direction but alas i still face the above issue

thanks in advance for any & all responses

Last edited by t0m5k1 (2012-08-08 10:30:42)

ngoonee · 2012-08-08 08:52:20

Use arch-chroot as mentioned in the wiki. Before that, mount your root to /mnt or wherever and then mount your cache to /mnt/var/cache/pacman/pkg.

EDIT: if you have terrible and expensive Internet you should probably not use Arch....

Last edited by ngoonee (2012-08-08 08:53:01)

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-08 09:03:22

ngoonee wrote:

Use arch-chroot as mentioned in the wiki. Before that, mount your root to /mnt or wherever and then mount your cache to /mnt/var/cache/pacman/pkg.
EDIT: if you have terrible and expensive Internet you should probably not use Arch....

i tried to

arch-chroot /mnt
mount: mountpoint /mnt/etc/resolv.conf does not exist
chroot: failed to run command /bin/sh: no such file or directory
umount: /mnt/etc/resolv.conf: not found

I gathered this was due to me not having a base install (which is contained in my package cache)

I already use Arch on my Desktop, i just do not see the point in re-downloading something which I already have as it is a pure waste of my pricey bandwidth.

---

Thought:
I have noticed that I am being told from multiple people (forum/IRC) that perhaps Arch is not for me!!!!
WHY I love this distro, I have tried so many before which have never come close to what i want which is what I find in Arch but I guess some do not want this to get popular & to think I was considering making a donation why should I if I am being told to go away!

Last edited by t0m5k1 (2012-08-08 09:05:02)

progandy · 2012-08-08 09:20:31

pacstrap looks for files only in /var/cache/pacman/pkg, not in /mnt/... So mount the cache to /var/cache/pacman/pkg, run pacstrap and wait for the download of the database from the server to finish. Now you should use the packages from the cache.
databse must be downloaded in all cases. Run pacstrap and wait for the download of the database from the server to finish. Now you should use the packages from the cache.

Last edited by progandy (2012-08-08 09:23:38)

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-08 09:23:00

progandy wrote:

pacstrap looks for files only in /var/cache/pacman/pkg, not in /mnt/... So mount the cache to /var/cache/pacman/pkg, run pacstrap and wait for the download of the database from the server to finish. Now you should use the packages from the cache.

aha
thanks Progandy
will try & report back with results (fingers crossed)

remounted to /var/cache/pacman/pkg
pacstrap still wants to download

Last edited by t0m5k1 (2012-08-08 09:28:36)

progandy · 2012-08-08 09:25:29

Sorry, I forgot that I had used the hostcache flag (-c ). So in default config it does use the cache in mnt, but the cache only contains the packages and not the database.

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-08 09:30:38

progandy wrote:

Sorry, I forgot that I had used the hostcache flag (-c ). So in default config it does use the cache in mnt, but the cache only contains the packages and not the database.

BINGO
-c did the trick

thank you sooo much progandy

once i have fully installed i shall mark this thread a [SOLVED]

Awebb · 2012-08-08 09:53:40

You could set up a custom repository (might break things) or a mirror.

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-08 10:30:19

Awebb wrote:

You could set up a custom repository (might break things) or a mirror.

i think i would rather go with mounting it locally because as you say "might break things"

Any way all is good & i have a working install & it is upto date with XFCE too yaaay

now to remove Xubuntu from lappy

Jasa · 2012-08-09 06:01:07

Well i can't say having cache that gets old in at other drive is cheaper solution than that of using the 3G dongle to complete an online installation.
Assuming you know how to use wvdial and its config file for your connection, you could add after booting netinstall-cd "wvdial, wvstreams and xplc" or likewise with "pacman -U pkg_name".
Done netinstall myself with Hauppauge dongle and only issue with newest netinstall cd is that you need to shutdown after boot "network" service in order to have dns working .

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-09 08:34:59

the cache was very up to date as it came from my desktop pc & basically i wanted pretty much the same software on my lappy so why flippantly waste bandwidth to download what i already have!
Seriously if you knew how much i pay for bandwidth in South Africa you would understand this, & anyway i learned through the process.

my 3g dongle is also not directly connected to my laptop or desktop it is connected to my pfsense gateway (cf card+LinITX box) so as soon as i booted my lappy it got an IP via dhcp BUT this whole exercise was about conserving bandwidth & using what i got already to get what i want.

Some of you are spoilt with cheap broadband lol

progandy · 2012-08-09 08:47:34

t0m5k1 wrote:

the cache was very up to date as it came from my desktop pc & basically i wanted pretty much the same software on my lappy so why flippantly waste bandwidth to download what i already have!
Seriously if you knew how much i pay for bandwidth in South Africa you would understand this, & anyway i learned through the process.
my 3g dongle is also not directly connected to my laptop or desktop it is connected to my pfsense gateway (cf card+LinITX box) so as soon as i booted my lappy it got an IP via dhcp BUT this whole exercise was about conserving bandwidth & using what i got already to get what i want.
Some of you are spoilt with cheap broadband lol

Since you are in a local network, you could set up pacserve or use an NFS share for the package cache. Then you won't have to copy everything on your USB storage.

Last edited by progandy (2012-08-09 08:48:17)

t0m5k1 · 2012-08-09 16:14:49

progandy wrote:

Since you are in a local network, you could set up pacserve or use an NFS share for the package cache. Then you won't have to copy everything on your USB storage.

i tried pacserve but it just redirected to the mirror list, i guess it needs to build it's own cache (will research further on that) but for now i am using a nfs share to my local server.
thanks for the advice earlier in the topic

Arch Linux

#1 2012-08-08 08:42:17

[SOLVED] offline install

#2 2012-08-08 08:52:20

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#3 2012-08-08 09:03:22

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#4 2012-08-08 09:20:31

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#5 2012-08-08 09:23:00

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#6 2012-08-08 09:25:29

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#7 2012-08-08 09:30:38

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#8 2012-08-08 09:53:40

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#9 2012-08-08 10:30:19

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#10 2012-08-09 06:01:07

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#11 2012-08-09 08:34:59

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#12 2012-08-09 08:47:34

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

#13 2012-08-09 16:14:49

Re: [SOLVED] offline install

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