arch linux intimidating you thoughts

Footy · 2010-05-19 19:26:01

im currently a avid ubuntu user but recently i have been at odds with
lucid on a few things and I wish to switch to arch. I like the rolling release
scheme and the do it your self atmosphere. I must admit tho that I am a
little intimidated to try it do to the installer. I wanted to know how hard it is
for newbs to install. I have a lot of linux know how but im no guru.

Ashren · 2010-05-19 19:31:38

My thoughts:

Try installing arch on Virtual Box a couple of times and see if you like it - then consider moving on to real hardware.

Read the beginners guide: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners%27_Guide

evr · 2010-05-19 19:36:35

Installing arch isn't that hard, as long as you read the proper documentation. The beginner's guide is an invaluable tool to setting up arch for the first time. And as long as you don't mind searching, most of the questions you will have are already answered either in the wiki or the forums.

electricaltape · 2010-05-19 19:37:05

I switched earlier this year from Ubuntu to Arch after UNR. My initial reason was that UNR ran too slowly on my netbook, but I liked Arch so much that I have also switched my big fat laptop over. If you like doing things yourself, Arch is definitely a great distribution.

The installer isn't really that hard, but it does take awhile the first time (at least for me) since you need to configure fstab and other essential files manually. I didn't have a lot of experience outside of Ubuntu before I installed Arch and I managed to get it working, so you will probably be fine.

To install, I recommend getting a hard copy of 'lspci' and a functional computer to invoke the beginner's guide. While the install process will take a while (it took me several hours the first time) it is pretty straight forward with the proper guide available.

ozar · 2010-05-19 19:41:32

Hello and welcome!

Create a system image of your current partitions using either the dd command or one of the cloning tools like Clozezilla, or Part Image, then you can dig in and experiment with Arch all you like without any worries. If you should decide you don't like Arch, you can quickly restore your Ubuntu system from the image that you made earlier and continue right where you left off.

evot · 2010-05-19 20:11:04

It's not that hard to install Arch linux.
I had about six months linux experience before i try to install my first Arch.
Read beginners guide.
Youtube also have few videos about installing.

If you like to use some time to learn Arch and find solutions for your problems you may encounter, then Arch is definitely worth trying.

useradded · 2010-05-19 20:20:08

Hello Footy

As you can see from my post count, I'm pretty new around here too, so it's not so long since I was in your position.

Compared to distros like Ubuntu, Opensuse or Fedora the arch installer can, on first encounter, feel a bit, well, 'bare' and 'harsh' - although it's very possible that you'll eventually come to like it for that same uncomplicated simplicity.

The key, and I know it's been mentioned in this thread already, but it really does bear repeating, is to use the official Install and Beginners guides from the wiki. I found it also helps a lot to combine these with the more specialist wiki entries on things like alsa, xorg and the desktop environment and/or window manager of your choice. Almost any problem that might subsequently arise, from fonts to codecs to configuring a particular application, is probably already covered in the wiki. In fact, the very reason my post-count is so low is because I've pretty much solved every problem that ever came up through reading the wiki or searching the forums.

Overall, you don't need to be a guru, hell I'm not, what you need is the ability, and more importantly the desire, to read the wiki guides and to get to know your system, hardware and software, a little more thoroughly than is required by some of the more newbie friendly distros.

It will take some work and require some learning, but if what you want is a system that is fully under your control and configured exactly as you want, then that effort will be amply rewarded.

Oh yeah, welcome to Arch and the forums.

Edit: I just realised that the other reason my post count is so low is that I only registered on the forums five days ago, HA. Been reading them for so long that I'd forgotten I was previously just a lurker.

Last edited by useradded (2010-05-19 20:24:11)

VoodooSteve · 2010-05-19 23:32:23

As was previously said, just follow along with the Beginner's Guide in the wiki which should cover just about everything.

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners%27_Guide

Last edited by VoodooSteve (2010-05-19 23:32:59)

davidm · 2010-05-20 01:00:23

Don't be intimidated. If you're willing to learn then you can do it. I think it's all about attitude more than anything. The question is more which type of user are you?

a. If I come across a problem I'm going to research and figure out how to fix it and get this done as much as I reasonably can. I'm willing to fully read the documentation so that I can make this as successful as possible.

or

b. I just expect everything to work with the minimal amount of work. If something doesn't work as I expect right away and isn't as easy as possible then that's completely unacceptable. I shouldn't have to read any documentation. I should be able to jump in and everything should be exactly as I expect and fully intuitive.

If you're more "a" than "b", you probably won't have any problems becoming an Arch user. But if "b" more describes you, in my opinion there's a good chance Arch isn't for you.

Last edited by davidm (2010-05-20 01:02:02)

ngoonee · 2010-05-20 01:07:12

I think Arch SHOULD intimidate you. If it doesn't then you probably have the wrong expectations of it. Of course, I'm generalizing based on where you're coming from (Ubuntu).

Don't let that stop you though, but don't expect an easy ride either.

Runiq · 2010-05-20 08:09:35

ngoonee wrote:

I think Arch SHOULD intimidate you. If it doesn't then you probably have the wrong expectations of it. Of course, I'm generalizing based on where you're coming from (Ubuntu).
Don't let that stop you though, but don't expect an easy ride either.

This. If you read up on it, you can learn a lot while installing.

Of course, that knowledge doesn't have to be useful in any way at all…

ngoonee · 2010-05-20 11:46:07

Runiq wrote:

ngoonee wrote:
I think Arch SHOULD intimidate you. If it doesn't then you probably have the wrong expectations of it. Of course, I'm generalizing based on where you're coming from (Ubuntu).
Don't let that stop you though, but don't expect an easy ride either.
This. If you read up on it, you can learn a lot while installing.
Of course, that knowledge doesn't have to be useful in any way at all…

Ssshhh, don't spill the secret!

pablokal · 2010-05-20 11:53:35

You could also choose the easy way by installing Archbang that provides a live cd with a kind of basic openbox install using the solid installer ncurses.
2.00 Release candidate 2 may have less problems than 2010.5.

My install with ArchBang version 2.00 RC1 went reasonable smooth.

byzkarl · 2010-05-20 14:29:32

The Beginner's guide takes you all the way through. If you have any difficulties, you will probably find that you didn't follow all the steps in the guide. At least, that's what I found. I thought, "I'm having problems; Arch sucks!" and then shortly after reading the guide again, said, "Arch Linux is great!"

while · 2010-05-20 14:33:13

I'm new to Arch as well and I must say the installation was really smooth. I came from Gentoo though so I'm used to a more low level installation... If you only used Ubuntu before you might need to learn a bit as you go along but as everyone else said it's documented quite well. In my opinion the knowledge you gain about how your system works is amazing and you will definitely treasure it later.

I hope you go through with the switch. You wont regret it!

Last edited by while (2010-05-20 17:44:58)

axel668 · 2010-05-20 14:43:52

pablokal wrote:

You could also choose the easy way by installing Archbang that provides a live cd with a kind of basic openbox install using the solid installer ncurses.
2.00 Release candidate 2 may have less problems than 2010.5.
My install with ArchBang version 2.00 RC1 went reasonable smooth.

Same here, Archbang is really smooth (at least in RC1), and doesn't add too much overhead.
However, nothing beats the feeling of installing plain Arch and seeing X (with whatever DE you choose) start up for the 1st time ... so why spoil all your fun ?

It's not THAT hard, especially if you can put a working PC next to you while installing, for reading beginners guide and Arch Wiki.

Last edited by axel668 (2010-05-20 14:45:38)

charlieapples · 2010-05-20 22:20:53

It can't be said often enough
Read the Beginners Guide and follow it religiously, and you'll be fine - there be not dragons here!

Arch Linux

#1 2010-05-19 19:26:01

arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#2 2010-05-19 19:31:38

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#3 2010-05-19 19:36:35

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#4 2010-05-19 19:37:05

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#5 2010-05-19 19:41:32

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#6 2010-05-19 20:11:04

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#7 2010-05-19 20:20:08

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#8 2010-05-19 23:32:23

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#9 2010-05-20 01:00:23

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#10 2010-05-20 01:07:12

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#11 2010-05-20 08:09:35

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#12 2010-05-20 11:46:07

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#13 2010-05-20 11:53:35

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#14 2010-05-20 14:29:32

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#15 2010-05-20 14:33:13

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#16 2010-05-20 14:43:52

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

#17 2010-05-20 22:20:53

Re: arch linux intimidating you thoughts

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