Arch Linux

jamtat

Member

Registered: 2008-03-13

Posts: 229

debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

I'm not new to Linux, having been running it full time at home for 5 or 6 years. At the same time, I don't really consider myself a power user: I'm a computer hobbyist and don't work in the computer or tech job sector. I started off with Mandrake, Redhat, and Slack variants, but moved to Debian once I figured out and could appreciate the packaging system. Then, I went with Ubuntu once it came out.

I've looked at Arch over the years and wanted to try it out. One of the reasons it has appealed to me is because it seems better optimized for the hardware I'm using (usually older x86 stuff). Have I understood correctly about Arch being optimized for that sort of hardware? In any case, I will get an older laptop soon and this seems like it might be a great opportunity to give Arch a try.

The laptop is a Toshiba Portege with 300 Mhz Celeron CPU, 6GB HD, and 96 MB RAM. I thought about putting a barebones Ubuntu on it and sort of building up needed software from scratch (I've done the same several times over the years with both Debian and Ubuntu). But I really thing this system's resources are borderline for Ubuntu--even if it's a minimalist installation (lightweight WM, limited # of apps and running services, etc). Anyone disagree that this laptop might be a good target for an Arch installation?

One hitch with installing the OS on this laptop is that it has neither a CD nor a floppy drive. I would get around that in Debian/Ubuntu by simply removing the HD, sticking it in another system that does have a CD, doing a sort of base install, then moving the drive back into the laptop to finish up the installation over the 'net. I presume a similar tack could be taken with an Arch install, correct? Any particular tips given that installation strategy?

I think I'll close out this series of remarks on that note. If I actually go ahead with Arch I'll undoubtedly be posting more in this thread and on your forums. Responses will be appreciated.

Thanks,
James

bgc1954

Member

From: Edmonton, AB, Canada

Registered: 2006-03-14

Posts: 1,160

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

Shouldn't be too much of a problem as I have Arch installed on an old 350 Mhz Intel computer with 6 gb drive but 128mb ram and it's not too bad.  I'm not sure if you'll encounter any problems with a Celeron cpu, see post: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=340875 but should be ok.

---

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ... - Louis Hector Berlioz

jamtat

Member

Registered: 2008-03-13

Posts: 229

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

Hmmm. Not much input. Anyways, thanks for yours bgc1954. I'm gonna presume a Celeron 300 qualifies as i686.

On another note, what about recommendations as to which iso to use? Given my setup, I'm guessing the ftp iso will be best, i.e., the 22 MB mentioned in the installation guide. Input on that, anyone?

Thanks,
James

fwojciec

Member

Registered: 2007-05-20

Posts: 1,411

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

The current ftp iso has been causing problems for some users, from what I've read on the forums (some issue with permission settings on the /tmp folder).  Core ISO is a safe bet -- this is what I normally use.  The only "problem" with the core iso, compared to the ftp iso, is that the ftp iso auto-configures network during installation and these settings are preserved in the installed version; the core iso simply puts some default values in the network configuration section of /etc/rc.conf -- not a big deal.

A general note -- a new set of isos is about to be released, it should be no more than a few days now...  It shouldn't really make a difference, in the end, your system will be brought up to date on the first pacman -Syu in either case.

jamtat

Member

Registered: 2008-03-13

Posts: 229

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

Sounds like using the newer ftp iso could make a difference if they've fixed the permissions issue with the old one. Any news about whether it's been fixed in the upcoming release? In any case, I may not be ready to do this until mid-week next week anyway. How does network detection/setup go with the core iso? issue lspci and modprobe your NIC's module or something, then dhclient eth0 or the like?

Thanks,
James

fwojciec

Member

Registered: 2007-05-20

Posts: 1,411

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

The permissions are banal to fix manually after installation: chmod -R 1777 /tmp.
As for the questions regarding configuration -- wiki is the best source of answers for the majority of questions you're likely have during installation and initial setup.  It's best, if I can make a recommendation, to simply use it as a guide when installing Arch for the first time.

jamtat

Member

Registered: 2008-03-13

Posts: 229

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

I could probably have figured out how to fix the permissions problem but your comment could save me some time. But it seems from your previous remarks that this permissions problem traces to some misconfiguration in the iso, and that it is something that needs to be fixed: did I understand you correctly? If so, will it be fixed in the new release or not? I've looked over the installation guide and will also be making use of the wiki if I go ahead with this installation--thanks for pointing it out. This is actually a third or fourth pass for me in considering an Arch install btw, so I've read some documentation on it in the past as well.

Thanks,
James

fwojciec

Member

Registered: 2007-05-20

Posts: 1,411

Re: debian/ubuntu user: Arch on older laptop?

Frankly, I don't know enough about the /tmp permissions bug, from what I've read, changing the permissions manually was all that was required to fix it.  I haven't seen the new iso so I can't say anything about it either, but I don't see why it wouldn't be fixed.