Tag: Arch Linux

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I Don’t Want to Use Manjaro Anymore

Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472, and today, I am scoping out Arch Linux for install on a daily driver. Let’s get started.

Majaro done did it this time. With every bad update I get, I’m more keen to listen to the people calling out its mistakes. Recently, an update broke around three pieces of software I use – including one I need for an upcoming project. Let’s spend a week or few installing Arch!

Arch Linux: Pre-Install Impressions

Arch is a major Linux distribution heading a branch of other distributions, similar to Debian or Fedora (of the Red Hat branch). Its userbase has an elitist reputation like the ability to install Arch makes them smarter or something, but I’m sure it’s just for the memes. My understanding going into this project is that Arch Linux is less a “Here is an operating system to install” and more “Here are the components, install what you need. If you don’t know what you need, check the wiki [1]. It’s one of the best.” Thus: people who use arch [by the way] have only proved they know how to follow instructions.

Arch Linux has two primary resources: archlinux.org [2] and wiki.archlinux.org [1]. Additionally, I’m following a tutorial by Learn Linux TV on Arch installation [3]. One afternoon on the Arch Wiki, and I can tell this is looking like a longer project. I’ll be lucky to have my installation media and basic install.

The Arch community is smaller than other distributions, and therefore places a heavier emphasis on users contributing back. Given the more technically inclined user base Arch caters to, it’s a more reasonable of an expectation than it sounds like at first glance.

Choices Before Install

As noted above, Arch is a distribution that highly values customizability. Browsing the wiki turns up a slew of names I’ve seen while troubleshooting. Every little part that can go into an operating system one never thinks of until it’s not working properly is on display here. While I intend to go for a complete desktop environment at this time, I could totally spend months building something truly unique if I had the patience to learn each piece – perhaps starting with a window manager as different from what you typically find on phones and desktops as they are from each other, maybe something that doesn’t use the mouse outside a program. I’m not ready for that though.

One major choice made before even download is if you want to install for a BIOS vs UEFI (or on an encrypted drive). BIOS almost needs no introduction – almost. Some version of the Basic Input Output System can be found on most desktop computers made since around 1980 and on into the new millennium. BIOS runs directly on a computer’s motherboard the moment power turns on. Its job is to start the boot loader, and manage system I/O until shutdown. It has become so ubiquitous that even having grown up around computers, I only recently realized the word is a proper name like “Linux” as opposed to describing its purpose per the term “operating system.”

It’s taken fifty-some-odd years, but BIOS replacement UEFI is the de-facto successor that addresses these limitations. UEFI boots drives beyond 2.2 terabytes, with its limitations on the 2022 scale of the Internet in exabytes. Unconfined to 16 bit operations, UEFI can afford things like a nicer interface with mouse support. Like it for its additional utilities or hate it for being closed source and Internet capable, it’s what most people are stuck with going forward.

Takeaway

Installing Arch is a much larger task than I originally gave it credit for. From what I have seen, it is the distribution I would recommend for people looking to learn how to assemble a Linux system once they are familiar with the command line. I expect this project to take my Linux problem solving skills to the next level.

Final Question

What is the deepest you have gone into your favorite operating system?

Works Cited

[1] wiki.archlinux.org, [Online]. Available: https://wiki.archlinux.org/. [Accessed Oct. 17, 2022].

[2] J. Vinet, A. Griffin, and L. Polyák. archlinux.org, 2002-2022. [Online]. Available: https://archlinux.org/. [Accessed Oct. 17, 2022].

[3] Learn Linux TV, “Arch Linux: Full Installation Guide – A complete tutorial/walkthrough in one video!,” youtube.com,March 31, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://youtu.be/DPLnBPM4DhI. [Accessed Oct. 17, 2022].

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New OS Smell: Manjaro Linux

Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472, and today, I’m starting my first expedition into another branch of the Linux family. Let’s get started!

Moving away from Windows involved one of the larger culture shocks I’ve ever experienced without leaving home. The concept of software package managers was something I had only seen on phones. The file system left me wondering where my secondary drive was. And the downright alien sense of open-ended desktop environment customization options almost sent me reeling with decision fatigue. But the mindset surrounding Linux lends itself to self-guided study, an element that is sorely absent from a number of other mainstream operating systems.

The switch to Manjaro has brought back some of that sense of culture shock, but the similarities are already surfacing. Of note, I am also finally trying out this fancy KDE desktop environment, now that I’m on something with a discrete graphics card, so I won’t be totally sure what change comes from where all of the time. The file system has some subtle differences, such as /run/.local, a directory I am otherwise used to finding in ~/.local. Software installation comes from either an official repository, or else code can be downloaded and compiled from AUR (Arch User Repository — similar to Ubuntu’s PPA, but it’s supposed to be safer to use). Furthermore, Arch-based distros have a rolling release schedule for their software, delivering the “bleeding edge” experience.

Installation was typical from what I have come to expect from distros meant for a desktop experience. I downloaded an ISO to “restore” to a thumb drive, and installed the intended install drive. I was sure to physically detach any other drives that I wanted intact before booting to a live session with a few essential programs and an installer application. It did offer a choice between a couple Office suites, which was nice.

Of note, I did have to install some proprietary drivers to get my NVIDIA graphics card to run Minecraft, or at least a custom mod pack. I hear it’s a bit of a gamble with KDE and that there are workarounds that tend to break with updates. I was cautioned to enable SSH before flipping the proverbial switch, but fortunately I was lucky and didn’t have to do some extensive repair.

I gave the system a few days to ease in before getting my father to rustle up my old PCI Wi-Fi card from somewhere in the garage. Long ago, we got this card when the machine was relatively new. I was in a dorm setting, and my wireless printer was particular about having only serving computers connected to the same wireless network. When I upgraded from Windows 7 to 10, was having the hardest time getting the upgrade to take. I even reached out to tech support some scammers who showed me to a network log or something and said, “These errors are what is keeping your computer from –what was it your problem was?– upgrading to Windows 10.” (aside paraphrased, the rest is as close as I remember) My parents were ready to pay these guys a reasonable-sounding fee, but the whole thing smelled off, and I backed out. Our own, internal diagnostics pointed to the Wi-Fi card, and I had to give it up.

My Wi-Fi card has had one of its detachable twin antennas smashed and trashed. In the meantime, I had need for my desktop to go wireless again. We bought a USB3 based antenna that served me well until the day I decided to use it with Linux. Since then, I’ve been using my Raspberry Pi 4 as a reverse Wi-Fi hotspot, and I’m quite proud of it.

Today, I decided to install the old card back into its slot and lo and behold, it worked straight away. I tried to run some speed tests to find if the newer Pi 4 was outpacing the older, more direct PCI card. But it was during peak usage in my area, so I’ll need to run something across my local network. Whatever the case, my father had the idea to stick the double-length antenna from the new Wi-Fi adapter onto the vacant attachment point on the old card.

Final Question: Have you ever reinstated anything you thought was hopelessly obsolete?

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