Arch Linux

krazybastid

Member

Registered: 2007-03-27

Posts: 67

I'm having trouble installing Arch

Hi I've recently left Fedora because they don't have an i686 version only an i386 and an x64. I'm having trouble installing Arch on my system with my NTFS this is my layout. I used to have 102 MB cut out at beginning of sda before the NTFS for the /boot partition with grub bootloader on it. Since I was used to Fedora. Right now I'm desiding between Yoper and Arch but I'm having trouble with both on my partition layout I placed my / partition on sdb1 at 33 GB and my swap at 2 GB on sdb2. For some reason is it not possible to have a boot partition on sda?, because I did under Fedora.

This is how I would like it:

sda2 : /boot 102 MB
sda1 : NTFS C: 159.9 GB

sdb1 : / 33 GB
sdb2 : swap 2 GB

Is this possible?

lilsirecho

Veteran

Registered: 2003-10-24

Posts: 5,000

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

As far as I know, you need a boot partition on the same drive as the swap and root partition.

Typical is    boot is perhaps 50MB...usually partition 1

Swap         can be whatever you desire....can be partition 2  (you may not require a swap, however so its not          mandatory.....)

Root         the rest of the drive.....this is partition3

I may be unknowledgeable about esoteric arrangements, however.

---

Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit!     X-ray confirms Iam spineless!

tom5760

Member

From: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Registered: 2006-02-05

Posts: 283

Website

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

I see no reason why you cannot use the layout you wrote krazybastid.  If you set up your /etc/fstab and /boot/grub/menu.lst correctly, and install grub in the right spot, you should be good to go.

Were you having a specific problem with the Archlinux installer?  Were you using the 0.8 install cd available here -> ftp://ftp.archlinux.org/other/0.8/i686 ?  Like I said, it should be no problem to use the partition layout you suggested.

fk

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2006-04-29

Posts: 524

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

As far as I know, you need a boot partition on the same drive as the swap and root partition.

Typical is    boot is perhaps 50MB...usually partition 1

Swap         can be whatever you desire....can be partition 2  (you may not require a swap, however so its not          mandatory.....)

Root         the rest of the drive.....this is partition3

I may be unknowledgeable about esoteric arrangements, however.

you need no /boot partition an if you want, also no swap partition(can use a swapfile)

---

Have you tried to turn it off and on again?

Weeks

Member

Registered: 2006-01-26

Posts: 91

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

Yes - you don't need a boot partition. I have no boot partition. I've installed grub to my main disk - either the root partition or the device itself, I forget which I chose. Try both.

lilsirecho

Veteran

Registered: 2003-10-24

Posts: 5,000

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

The arch default install does provide a boot, swap, and root partition automatically on a given HDD.

Any other arrangement is facilitated by step 2 of the install steps with no guarantee it will work on a given machine.

---

Prediction...This year will be a very odd year!
Hard work does not kill people but why risk it: Charlie Mccarthy
A man is not complete until he is married..then..he is finished.
When ALL is lost, what can be found? Even bytes get lonely for a little bit!     X-ray confirms Iam spineless!

krazybastid

Member

Registered: 2007-03-27

Posts: 67

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

The thing is though which I learned the hardway awhile back you don't want want Grub to overwrite your MBR If you got valueable schitt in Windoze there are programs in windows which can set active a partition. If I set active Windows then MBR takes it. If I set /boot partition on beginning of drive the bios can access the dual boot without even touching the MBR. That's why I wanted to know well I guess I'll just have to see if I can seperate the /boot from rest of it / . Like I could in another distro.

tom5760

Member

From: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Registered: 2006-02-05

Posts: 283

Website

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

You know you can access Windows from Grub?  Just add the following:

title Windows XP
rootnoverify (hd0,1)
makeactive
chainloader +1

You can then safely install Grub onto your MBR, and still boot into Windows just fine.

Weeks

Member

Registered: 2006-01-26

Posts: 91

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

If you do over-write your windows MBR installation by accident, insert the windows CD and go to the recovery console. There's two programs , one to reinstall the MBR and one to reinstall the boot record, which recover your windows MBR.

_alexmyself

Member

From: france

Registered: 2005-09-18

Posts: 90

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

you can put everything on sdb (no need separate /boot, my /boot directorie is 13,1mo..), including grub with an entry for windows and tell your bios to boot on sdb.

windows mbr is clean,
linux disc is clean,
you can change your actual sda /boot to ntfs....

krazybastid

Member

Registered: 2007-03-27

Posts: 67

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

I don't think you understand I DON'T WANT TO OVER WRITE THE MBR WITH GRUB. I don't care if I could use my XP cd to fix mbr cause sometimes it doesn't work. I'm checking this one and another distro that's i686. How can I dual boot without overwriting the MBR if I can't seperate /boot and puit it at the begginning od sda?

KerowynM

Member

Registered: 2006-06-04

Posts: 78

Re: I'm having trouble installing Arch

With this you can boot your linux or windows, or whatever really, even if you just 0 out the boot sector.

http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/

Not a clean solution, but I'm not sure why one wouldn't install grub.  Windows boots fine from it.