Inside the ISO

1. Load Keyboard Layout (Default: usa)

TIP

If your keyboard layout is different from the default (USA), use the loadkeys command to switch to your preferred layout.

For example, use loadkeys us for a US English keyboard.

US Keyboard

loadkeys us

Custom Keyboard

loadkeys "Your Keyboard Layout"

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2. List Your Drives

TIP

Use the following command to identify all connected block devices (like hard drives or USB drives).
This is essential to ensure you're working on the correct drive.

lsblk

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3. Wipe the Drive You Plan to Install On

CAUTION

This step will erase all data on the specified drive. Ensure you’ve backed up any important information before proceeding.

NVMe Drive

gdisk /dev/nvme0n1

SATA Drive

gdisk /dev/sda1

Use your prefer drive

• Press "x" for expert mode.
• Press "z" to wipe the drive and confirm with "y".

TIP

Double-check your drive identifier (nvme0n1 or sda) using the lsblk command before proceeding to avoid data loss on the wrong drive.

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4. Create Partitions on the Drive

NOTE

Use the cfdisk command for a user-friendly partition editor. Use arrow keys to navigate and Enter to create a new partition.

NVMe Drive

cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1

SATA Drive

cfdisk /dev/sda

Create the following partitions:

• Boot Partition: EFI (1GiB)
• Swap Partition: 4GiB
• System Partition: Remaining space

Your partitions should look like this:

p1 = 1GiB, EFI
p2 = 4GiB, Linux Swap
p3 = ENTER, Linux Filesystem

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5. Create Filesystems on These Partitions

INFO

Formatting partitions is essential to prepare them for the operating system.

• Format the Boot Partition as FAT32:

NVMe Drive

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/nvme0n1p1

SATA Drive

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda1

• Set Up the Swap Partition:

NVMe Drive

mkswap /dev/nvme0n1p2
swapon /dev/nvme0n1p2

SATA Drive

mkswap /dev/sda2
swapon /dev/sda2

TIP

The mkswap command prepares the swap space, and swapon activates it for immediate use.

• Format the System Partition as EXT4:

NVMe Drive

mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p3

SATA Drive

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

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6. Mount Your Partitions

• Mount the System Partition:

NVMe Drive

mount /dev/nvme0n1p3 /mnt

SATA Drive

mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

• Mount the Boot Partition:

NVMe Drive

mount --mkdir /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot

SATA Drive

mount --mkdir /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

NOTE

The --mkdir option creates the /mnt/boot directory if it doesn’t already exist.

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7. Install Arch Linux

INFO

This command installs the essential packages for a minimal Arch Linux system, including the kernel, firmware, and essential utilities.

pacstrap -K /mnt base base-devel linux-zen linux-zen-headers linux-firmware sof-firmware nano networkmanager grub efibootmgr intel-ucode bash-completion

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8. Generate the fstab File

NOTE

The fstab file tells the system which partitions to mount at boot.

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

TIP

The >> operator appends the output to the file. Avoid using > unless you want to overwrite the file.

• Explanation:

  • genfstab: Generates fstab entries based on mounted partitions.
  • -U: Uses UUIDs to ensure consistency.
  • /mnt: Specifies the mount point of your installed system.
  • >> /mnt/etc/fstab: Appends entries to the fstab file. Using > will overwrite it.

• How It Works: The /mnt/etc/fstab file will contain partition info, ensuring correct mounting during boot.

• Verification: Check the fstab file with:

cat /mnt/etc/fstab

• When to Re-run?

Re-run if partitioning or mount points change.

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9. Enter Your New System Environment

INFO

The arch-chroot command changes your root directory to the new installation, allowing you to configure it further.

arch-chroot /mnt