Gentoo x86 quick install

This handbook contains the installation instructions for an Internet-based installation and some additional sections for working with Gentoo's native software tools such as the OpenRC init system and the Portage package manager. This page is based on a document formerly found on our main website gentoo. Normandin Jr. If you edit the wiki article, please do not add yourself here; your contributions are recorded on each article's associated history page.

A handbook dedicated to installing and configuring the x86 architecture. Other languages:. About the installation. Choosing the media. Configuring the network.

Preparing the disks. Warning This document is intended for experienced users only. It is not a replacement for the Gentoo Handbook and will not help you install Gentoo any faster. Do not expect to receive any kind of support when following this checklist.

Installing according to the Handbook is fully supported however. Note Spaces are not allowed between groups. Note vi installation is optional, you can use nano as it is a default editor in stage3. Mostly older Apple hardware use this. Now go to File Systems and select support for the filesystems that will be used by the system.

Do not compile the file system that is used for the root filesystem as module, otherwise the system may not be able to mount the partition. The two compression options won't harm but are not definitely needed, neither does the PPP over Ethernet option, that might only be used by ppp when configured to do kernel mode PPPoE. With the configuration now done, it is time to compile and install the kernel.

Exit the configuration and start the compilation process:. This is handled by the make install command:. In certain cases it is necessary to build an initramfs - an initial ram-based file system. With an initramfs, these partitions can be mounted using the tools available inside the initramfs.

Without an initramfs, there is a huge risk that the system will not boot up properly as the tools that are responsible for mounting the file systems need information that resides on those file systems. An initramfs will pull in the necessary files into an archive which is used right after the kernel boots, but before the control is handed over to the init tool.

Scripts on the initramfs will then make sure that the partitions are properly mounted before the system continues booting. See genkernel --help for more information. The resulting file can be found by simply listing the files starting with initramfs :.

If a manual configuration looks too daunting, then consider using genkernel. It will configure and build the kernel automatically. This means that when genkernel is used to build the kernel, the system will generally detect hardware it was built for support with at boot-time, just like the installation CD does.

Note that genkernel does not automatically generate a custom kernel configuration the hardware on which it is being run. Now, let's see how to use genkernel. This would make the entry in the file look like so:. Now, compile the kernel sources by running genkernel all.

Be aware though, as genkernel compiles a kernel that supports almost all hardware, this compilation will take quite a while to finish!

Once genkernel completes, a kernel, full set of modules and initial ram disk initramfs will be created. We will use the kernel and initrd when configuring a boot loader later in this document. Write down the names of the kernel and initrd as this information is used when the boot loader configuration file is edited. The initrd will be started immediately after booting to perform hardware autodetection just like on the installation CD before the "real" system starts up.

Distribution Kernels are ebuilds that cover the complete process of unpacking, configuring, compiling, and installing the kernel. The primary advantage of this method is that the kernels are upgraded to new versions as part of world upgrade without a need for manual action. There are other methods available to customize the kernel config such as config snippets. Before using the distribution kernels, please verify that the correct installkernel package for the system is installed.

When using systemd-boot formerly gummiboot , install:. If in doubt:. System administrators who want to avoid compiling the kernel sources locally can instead use precompiled kernel images:. Once the kernel is installed, the package manager will automatically upgrade it to newer versions. The previous versions will be kept until the package manager is requested to clean up stale packages. Please remember to periodically run:.