Arch install issues...

gumbald

gumbald

gumbald

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Right, I'm trying Arch out as a current Ubuntu user and failing.

Got the base install all sorted, enabled some servers/repositories and now I'm trying to install xorg, but I'm getting errors saying that it's not in the db.

Any Arch users out there to give me a hand? :)
 
Code: 
# pacman -Sy xorg-server xf86-input-mouse xf86-input-keyboard xf86-video-vesa

then
Code: 
# X -configure

this will generate a default xorg.conf in /root - copy across and startx :)
 
I include /etc/pacman.d/core,extra,community

And in those files I have multiple servers enabled...
 
kk first things first - do you have an active internet connection on that box?

if yes, check out pacman.conf to see if the core and extra repos are configured.

an excerpt from mine.

Code: 
[core]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/core

[extra]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/extra

[community]
# Add your preferred servers here, they will be used first
Include = /etc/pacman.d/community

I've never bothered adding any third party servers as I'm happy to compile if it's not in these.

"/etc/pacman.d/core" should contain a long list of mirrors for the core repo - want to have a look in there to make sure that you have some enabled? i.e. not commented out.

I choose ftp.heanet.ie as my primary source (first uncommented core mirror)
 
Yeah, I have plenty enabled in all of those.

pacman.log just lists lots of "synchronising package lists"

EDIT: It's possibly trying to install to the wrong partition, I'll get back to you ASAP :)
 
Last edited:
yeah - it's not installing to the wrong partition unless you're "chroot"ing to another partition as it's a binary package with a pre-configured install script. I would try what mattgaunt has suggested... and make sure that you
Code: 
# pacman -Syu
before trying ;)
 
Yeah, I did that... It decided to change the order of my partitions for some reason. Done a reinstall after working out what was what and appear to be making more progress. Still not got a GUI yet, nvidia drivers to sort next.
 
Right, I now have a working system again! :)

Got compiz installed and working, but the first problem I've come across is horrid fonts in Firefox. They look like something out of a M$ Word promotional leaflet. I want my normal OcUK fonts back, any suggestions?

The box is ticked saying to allow sites to choose their own, so I'm confused. Can I turn on sub-pixel smoothing somewhere like in Ubuntu?
 
gumbald said:
first problem I've come across is horrid fonts in Firefox. They look like something out of a M$ Word promotional leaflet. I want my normal OcUK fonts back, any suggestions?

The box is ticked saying to allow sites to choose their own, so I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Not sure what you mean by that... Arch doesn't ship with the MS fonts because they're proprietary - you can install them however and it does improve the browsing experience (you can set firefox to use fonts from websites... but if you don't have them installed - you can't display them!). Incidentally - as most pc owners have an MS OS; most websites are designed with MS fonts...
Code: 
# pacman -Syu ttf-ms-fonts dejavu bitstream-vera artwiz-fonts
Only the first is needed - but adding more fonts can't hurt!

Can I turn on sub-pixel smoothing somewhere like in Ubuntu?
Click to expand...

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg_Font_Configuration
 
I've never had to install MS fonts on Ubuntu and things look fine. I'll get a screenshot next time I boot it up :)

Ta for the link, I'll have a look through some of the stuff on there to see if I can fix it...
 
gumbald said:
I've never had to install MS fonts on Ubuntu and things look fine
Click to expand...

Yes, but the Arch way is very different to the Ubuntu way.

Arch is designed around being as minimal a distro as you want - no bells or whistles to start (i.e. if you use the base install cd, you'll end up with an operating system which is about 150 mb), whereas Ubuntu tries to be as easy as possible so that everything "just works" straight out of the box.

To get Ubuntu with only the bits I want would take a lot more effort than Just installing Arch in the first place.
 
Maybe I phrased it wrongly. Ubuntu doesn't come with MS fonts, and I've never installed them myself. At least I don't think it does :p
 
Heh... no, it won't (because of the proprietary nature of the MS core fonts) - not by default anyway... but it will have a lot more fonts in the default install than Arch does ;)
 
=walls= said:
you'll end up with an operating system which is about 150 mb
Click to expand...
Did you prune stuff?

After an all base + iptables install, I see around 322 MB in use. ( du -h = 322MB , df -h = 345MB, ext3, Archlinux-i686-2007.08-2.core.iso )

A bit bloated, if you ask me. :D
 
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