Arch Linux Installation Notes

NOTE

These are the base notes displayed at the top of the documentation.

Only refer to them if you missed something in the earlier guide.

Avoid following these legacy notes directly.

Preparation in the ISO Environment

1. Set Keymap
   loadkeys us

2. List Existing Partitions
   lsblk

3. Partition Disk (Erase All)
   Use gdisk to prepare the disk:
   gdisk /dev/nvme0n1 or gdisk /dev/sda

   • Enter x to open expert mode
   • Enter z to delete all partitions

4. Reboot System
   reboot

5. Set Keymap Again
   loadkeys us

6. List Partitions Again
   lsblk

7. Create Partitions with cfdisk
   cfdisk /dev/nvme0n1 or cfdisk /dev/sda

UEFI

   - Partition 1: `1G`, EFI  
   - Partition 2: `4G`, Linux swap  
   - Partition 3: Remaining space, Linux filesystem

MBR BIOS (legacy boot)

   - Bios Boot Partition: BIOS (1MiB)
   - Swap Partition: 4GiB
   - System Partition: Remaining space

8. Format Partitions

   • mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/nvme0n1p* or mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda* [ Only For UEFI System]
   • mkswap /dev/nvme0n1p* or mkswap /dev/sda*
   • swapon /dev/nvme0n1p* or swapon /dev/sda*
   • mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p* or mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda*

9. Mount Partitions

   • mount /dev/nvme0n1p* /mnt or mount /dev/sda* /mnt
   • mount --mkdir /dev/nvme0n1p* /mnt/boot or mount --mkdir /dev/sda* /mnt/boot [ Only For UEFI System]
   • mount --mkdir /dev/sda* /mnt/media or mount --mkdir /dev/sda* /mnt/media [ IDK ]

10. Install Base System

UEFI

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

MBR BIOS (legacy boot)

pacstrap -k /mnt base base-devel linux-zen linux-zen-headers linux-firmware sof-firmware nano networkmanager grub wget git intel-ucode bash-completion

11. Generate fstab
    genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

12. Chroot into New System
    arch-chroot /mnt

---

Configuration in the New System

1. Enable NetworkManager
   sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager

2. Configure pacman [OPTIONAL]

   • nano /etc/pacman.conf
     • Enable ILoveCandy, ParallelDownloads, and Multilib
   • Update Package Database
     pacman -Syy

3. Set Timezone
   ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Kathmandu /etc/localtime [Change Asia/Kathmandu to your timezone]

4. Synchronize Hardware Clock
   hwclock --systohc

5. Configure Locale

   • Edit locale file: nano /etc/locale.gen
     • Uncomment en_US.UTF-8 [Change en_US.UTF-8 to your locale]
   • Generate locale: locale-gen
   • Set locale: echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf [Change en_US.UTF-8 to your locale]

6. Set Hostname
   echo "arch" > /etc/hostname

7. Set Keymap
   echo "KEYMAP=us" > /etc/vconsole.conf [Change us to your keymap]

8. Create User
   useradd -m -g wheel,power,storage,video,audio -s /bin/bash yourusername

9. Set User Password
   passwd yourusername

10. Edit sudoers File
    EDITOR=nano visudo

    • Uncomment %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

---

Additional Installations

Nvidia Drivers

1. Install Drivers
   pacman -S nvidia-dkms libglvnd nvidia-utils opencl-nvidia nvidia-settings

2. Configure mkinitcpio

   • Edit configuration: nano /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
     • Add nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm to MODULES

3. Update Grub Configuration

   • Edit grub settings: nano /etc/default/grub
     • Add nvidia_drm.modeset=1 to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT
   • Rebuild initramfs: mkinitcpio -P

4. Reboot System

GRUB Bootloader

1. Install GRUB

UEFI

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=grub --removable

MBR BIOS (legacy boot)

grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdX

2. Generate GRUB Configuration
   grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

3. Exit Umount and Reboot
   exit

   umount -R /mnt

   reboot

---

PipeWire (Audio Server)

1. Install PipeWire
   sudo pacman -S lib32-pipewire pipewire pipewire-alsa pipewire-audio pipewire-jack pipewire-pulse gst-plugin-pipewire wireplumber rtkit

2. Add User to rtkit Group
   sudo usermod -a -G rtkit $USER

3. Enable PipeWire Services
   systemctl --user enable pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber

---

Installing Desktop Environments (DE)

GNOME

1. Install GNOME and GDM
   sudo pacman -S gnome gnome-tweaks gdm gst-libav

2. Set Keymap
   sudo localectl set-keymap de-latin1

3. Enable GDM
   sudo systemctl enable gdm

4. Reboot System
   reboot

i3wm

1. Clone Dotfiles Repo
   git clone https://github.com/justus0405/i3wm-dotfiles.git

2. Navigate to Script Directory
   cd i3wm-dotfiles/src/

3. Make Script Executable
   chmod +x install.sh

4. Run Install Script
   ./install.sh

DWM

1. Clone DWM Repo
   git clone https://github.com/harilvfs/dwm

2. Install DWM
   cd dwm
sudo make clean install

Hyprland

1. Recommended Setup
   Use one of these repositories for a seamless setup:

   • Prasanth Rangan's Hyprdots
   • ml4w's Hyprland Dotfiles

   These repositories provide a ready-to-use Hyprland environment.