Arch Linux

Lend27

Member

Registered: 2015-09-23

Posts: 18

Quick question on partitioning please

I want to install Arch on one partition of 4 that I have on my SSD.
For the sake of argument, the drive is like this:

/dev/sdc1
/dev/sdc2
/dev/sdc3
/dev/sdc4

I want to install on /dev/sdc4 which is already formatted to ext4. This will be a legacy install, not EUFI. Windows is not installed on any of the partitions.
I do not need to install a bootloader as grub is already installed on another Linux OS on /dev/sdc1. I will update grub on that partition when the Arch install is finished.
I also do not need a swap partition as I have 32gb of physical ram.
I do not need to format the partition as it is already formatted using gparted using ext4.

During the partitioning phase of the install, what is the best way to approach the install?

I want to make sure I don't mess up my disk, yet I also do not want to skip any necessary steps.

Thanks for your help!

p.s.
I have done lots of research but haven't found a guide that deals with my specific needs.

Thanks again!
Len

Last edited by Lend27 (2016-01-16 01:35:04)

graysky

Wiki Maintainer

From: :wq

Registered: 2008-12-01

Posts: 10,696

Website

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

Don't install grub, just edit your existing grub.cfg to point to your new install.

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CPU-optimized Linux-ck packages @ Repo-ck  • AUR packages • Zsh and other configs

michis

Member

Registered: 2015-12-12

Posts: 77

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

I think you should just follow the Installation Guide and skip   

* Partition the disks
* Format the partitions

In the "Mount the partitions" step just mount /dev/sdc4  to /mnt

mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt

install no bootlaoder, configure the existing grub so it can boot the arch installation on sdc4.

... and making a backup of important data is always a good idea.

Last edited by michis (2016-01-16 20:10:19)

Xyne

Administrator/PM

Registered: 2008-08-03

Posts: 6,965

Website

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

You can skip the partitioning and formatting steps. Mount the root partition, remove anything in it, then proceed to the installation. Obviously if you have any other partitions that you want to mount inside the root (e.g. for /var) mount those as well before installing.

During installation just skip any steps that write the MBR to the disk to leave the current one intact. As long as you don't touch that or the other partitions, everything else should be fine.

I may have missed something so wait for a few more replies.

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My Arch Linux Stuff • Forum Etiquette • Community Ethos - Arch is not for everyone

TheSaint

Member

From: my computer

Registered: 2007-08-19

Posts: 1,532

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

I think you'll get it done by

# mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt

and see this
Another chance is to install from the other linux box.

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do it good first, it will be faster than do it twice the saint

Lend27

Member

Registered: 2015-09-23

Posts: 18

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

Thanks so much guys!  I finshed the install and all is well, except one thing. I research and just can't locate the fix.
When I plug in a usb flash drive , it doesn't show in the file manager. I can mount it and access it via the command line but don't want to do that all the time.
I am running xfce4 and I did enable Volume Management in Thunar and also checked off the top 3 in Removal Storage which is:
Mount removable drives when hot-plugged
Mount removable media when inserted
Browse removable media when inserted.

But still nothing mounts or shows in Thunar.

Thanks for your help guys!  Couldn't have done it without you!
Len

Lend27

Member

Registered: 2015-09-23

Posts: 18

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

Nevermind guys!  I figured it out and all is well! 

Thanks again!
Len

tom.ty89

Member

Registered: 2012-11-15

Posts: 897

Re: Quick question on partitioning please

Well you need gvfs for the drives to show up in thunar. Not sure about auto-mounting.