Gentoo AMD64 Handbook
The following sections are completed discussions previously found on the Handbook Talk:AMD64/Full/Installation/Archive page. They have been moved here for archival purposes.
When moving discussions here, try to keep these discussions in chronological order. The date of a discussion's creation can usually be found in the first signature.
5.4 Viewing Documentation During Install
The documentation recommends creating a new user account and logging in on a separate virtual tty to load links with the install docs, then switching back and forth between a command tty and the docs tty. This will work but it's clumsy, slow, and aggravating. A better solution is to use "screen" which is already included on the minimal install CD. The docs can be viewed side-by-side with one or more command shells on the same terminal with the following commands:
- screen links Gentoo.org
- ^A ^C
- ^A | (for vertical split) or ^A S (for horizontal split)
Each "screen" can be split further into more windows. I would suggest including these instructions in the install docs in addition to or instead of the virtual terminal switching method.
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by Handle2001 (talk • contribs) 21 July 2016
- I can make mention of this as an option and add a link to our article on Screen, although I would not summarize logging in on multiple tty's "clumsy, slow, and aggravating". It is the simplest way of proceeding. Screen takes knowledge that many newcomers many not immediately possess. Seasoned system admins will probably think of using screen without it being mentioned. --Maffblaster (talk) 22:08, 26 January 2017 (UTC)
- It is now mentioned as a possibility for seasoned Linux enthusiasts (who know how to use it). Closing discussion. --Maffblaster (talk) 22:59, 26 January 2017 (UTC)
Choosing the right profile
While not a recommendation, this section suggests using "no-multilib" for a pure 64-bit environment. I think this should be followed by the disclaimer on the AMD64 FAQ:
Switching from a no-multilib to a multilib-enabled profile is currently not supported (conversion hints), so think over your decision twice before you use the no-multilib profile.
--Astronome (talk) 23:29, 6 February 2016 (UTC)
- I added a small section noting the caveats of no-multilib. Should be better now. --Maffblaster (talk) 18:20, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Optional: Selecting mirrors
If you use >=sys-apps/portage-2.2.16, you not have to use
root #mirrorselect -i -r -o >> /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/make.confAs, the SYNC variable in make.conf is deprecated and no longer used by portage.
You will should use
root #mkdir /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/repos.confroot #cp /usr/share/portage/config/repos.conf /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/repos.conf/gentoo.confIf you want to be updated from other mirror, you can run
root #mirrorselect -i -r -oselect mirror and paste received URI here /mnt/gentoo/etc/portage/repos.conf/gentoo.conf in variable "sync-uri"
example:
sync-uri = rsync://rsync.ru.gentoo.org/gentoo-portage
More info Project:Portage/Sync
P.S. Sorry my bad english.
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by Geronek (talk • contribs) 26 April 2015
- The repos.conf method is now explained in the Handbook. --Maffblaster (talk) 18:22, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Unpacking the stage tarball
Is "--xattrs" required on some versions of tar to keep the extended attributes when extracting the archive or is this a mistake and as the manpage says, is only used to "save the user/root xattrs to the archive" (while when extracting, one would have to specify "--no-xattrs" to bypass them). — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Lepaperwan (talk • contribs) 1 November 2015
- Where do you see that in the GNU tar man page? Seems like bad information to me. I tested your theory using tar v1.29 and verified the
--xattrsoption must be added both for compression and extraction in order for tar handle extended attributes properly. See this link for someone else who tested. --Maffblaster (talk) 06:27, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
Setting the date and time
Is there a reason Handbook doesn't suggest "ntpdate pool.ntp.org" instead of typing date manually? — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Vkuzkokov (talk • contribs) 7 March 2015
- It is less thinking and more accurate to use ntpd. --Maffblaster (talk) 18:23, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Typo "there are e a"
There's an apparent typo on a whole series of these wiki pages. I created and validated wiki account for myself, but alas, it doesn't (yet) give me the option to edit the pages - so apparently I can't correct it.
Anyway, the error: "there are e a couple" should apparently be: "there are a couple" on at least these pages:
[[:Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation|Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Stage|Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:Alpha/Full/Installation|Handbook:Alpha/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:Alpha/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:Alpha/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:Alpha/Installation/Stage|Handbook:Alpha/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:HPPA/Full/Installation|Handbook:HPPA/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:HPPA/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:HPPA/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:HPPA/Installation/Stage|Handbook:HPPA/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:IA64/Full/Installation|Handbook:IA64/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:IA64/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:IA64/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:IA64/Installation/Stage|Handbook:IA64/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:MIPS/Full/Installation|Handbook:MIPS/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:MIPS/Installation/Stage|Handbook:MIPS/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:PPC/Full/Installation|Handbook:PPC/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:PPC/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:PPC/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:PPC/Installation/Stage|Handbook:PPC/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:PPC64/Full/Installation|Handbook:PPC64/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:PPC64/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:PPC64/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:PPC64/Installation/Stage|Handbook:PPC64/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:Parts/Full/Installation|Handbook:Parts/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:Parts/Installation/Stage|Handbook:Parts/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:SPARC/Full/Installation|Handbook:SPARC/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:SPARC/Full/Installation/es|Handbook:SPARC/Full/Installation/es]]
[[:Handbook:SPARC/Installation/Stage|Handbook:SPARC/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:X86/Full/Installation|Handbook:X86/Full/Installation]]
[[:Handbook:X86/Installation/Stage|Handbook:X86/Installation/Stage]]
[[:Handbook:X86/Installation/Stage/es|Handbook:X86/Installation/Stage/es]]
(Above posted by Michael Paoli, fixed for wikification)
systemd needed for Banshee Too!
About the optional systemd and Gnome, could you mention that systemd is also required for programs like Banshee that highly depend on Gnome architecture. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gary987 (talk • contribs) 12 May 2015
- It would seem Banshee is no longer available in the main ebuild repository, however I get the point. I have made a note of this in the Handbook's systemd section (Handbook:Parts/Blocks/Systemd). Thanks for the tip! --Maffblaster (talk) 03:32, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
404 link on Introduction
The link to the Gentoo AMD64 project site (https://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/base/amd64/), on the Hardware Requirements section of the Introduction, leads to a 404 error. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Rrzippert (talk • contribs) 3 August 2015
- Link has been long since fixed. Thanks! --Maffblaster (talk) 22:28, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Minor typo & systemd creep
Correct "on a amd64" to "on an amd64" if possible.
I'm here to do a clean openRC installation. Let's keep systemd in check.
The "--make-rslave" operation creeps in without mention of it being optional, if it is, and without yet mention that it is because of systemd.
If these operations are unnecessary without systemd, then please move the "--make-rslave" operations into, and/or under, the note. For example:
Note
The --make-rslave operations are needed for systemd support later in the installation.
root #mount --make-rslave /mnt/gentoo/sys root #mount --make-rslave /mnt/gentoo/dev
- It is in intention to support systemd as an optional init system. systemd is probably, at the time of writing, the most popular system in existence, although the majority of Gentoo users probably are not using it. The
--make-rslaveoption passed to mount does not conflict with any options needed for those choosing either init system (OpenRC or systemd), and therefore is fine either way. Typos are corrected by now. --Maffblaster (talk) 01:34, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
Re: Banshee
Banshee is software that is loaded with commercial interests, namely Amazon.com. If it has dependency issues then those should be dealt with at the Banshee development site, not here.
- Agreed. --Maffblaster (talk) 01:35, 17 January 2017 (UTC)
Configuring the network
The Handbook heavily relies on the assumption that the network interface name is eth0, which is highly unlikely with the new udev naming rules. Recommending the use of
root #ip link show upfrom a Gentoo-based installation medium or
root #udevadm test-builtin net_id /sys/class/net/eth0 2> /dev/nullif coming from a different installation medium would allow users still unfamiliar with Gentoo to avoid errors during setup.
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by Lepaperwan (talk • contribs) 1 November 2015
- Agreed...I solved this by simply running
root #touch /etc/udev/rules.d/80-net-name-slot.rules- Likely works for 95% of all users with a single network card that doesn't change slots
- For the purposes of the Handbook, it shouldn't matter what the network interface is named. It's just a handle created by udev. The Handbook does mention the ip command now. I'm not sure what the point of using udevadm would get the readers? If you still feel like there's more to this discussion then re-open it. Seems like we covered all the bases. --Maffblaster (talk) 06:36, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
Installing the sources
root #emerge --ask sys-kernel/gentoo-sourcesThis command execution recommends to control its status in another terminal by doing:
root #tail -f /var/log/emerge-fetch.logBut we have previously chrooted into /mnt/gentoo/. So I suggest to specify that if we log into another terminal we should tail the file inside the mounted folder by doing:
root #tail -f /mnt/gentoo/var/log/emerge-fetch.log- Hi, I don't think instructions on how to tail the emerge-fetch.log file needs to be mentioned in the Handbook. Hopefully the reader will be able to figure this out on their own by reading the message from the gentoo-sources ebuild. If you'd like to re-open and write up a mock wording for me to copy/paste into the Handbook I will consider it! Kind regards, --Maffblaster (talk) 06:40, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
Kernel config for USB support
This section is out of date:
'"`UNIQ--pre-00000003-QINU`"'
I believe the relevant options have been moved to:
'"`UNIQ--pre-00000006-QINU`"'
--Astronome (talk) 19:35, 20 July 2016 (UTC)
- Hi Astronome , Thanks for the tip, and you are correct the example used in the Handbooks is certainly out of date! I have updated it! Thank you kindly for the productive feedback. Cheers, --Maffblaster (talk) 04:31, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
Kernel config for efi stub
Please edit configuration of kernel for efi support, else kernel not load a root file system.
Processor type and features --->
[*] Built-in kernel command line
(root=/dev/sda2 rw)
- The Handbook team is trying to move away from supporting the UEFI stub kernel functionality as it is less flexible than using a bootloader to load the kernel into memory. That kind of of stuff can be left out of the Handbook and be included in other kernel related articles around the wiki. --Maffblaster (talk) 21:13, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Link to "other arches" on download page
In the "Download the media" section which discusses the "minimal installation CDs", the link to "the downloads page (recommended)" is to the "Advanced Choices and other Architectures" section of that page. Shouldn't it be to the top of the page (no section anchor) where links to download the "normal" amd64 Minimal Installation CD, LiveDVD, and Stage 3 files are to be found? - dcljr (talk) 18:32, 13 April 2016 (UTC)
- The link has been updated. --Maffblaster (talk) 21:14, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
Remove Parted
Remove Parted from handbook! fdisk have support GPT layout, and part of coreutils (default)
- I need to revise the disk section. I'll add this as a possibility to review. After reworking the disk section it parted may or may not be used. That's all I can say for now. Thanks! --Maffblaster (talk) 18:28, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
- I don't see why parted should be removed if it *works great*. --Vieri (talk) 12:12, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
improve suggested partitions and use of grub-install
In my opinion, the handbook (amd64) is a bit confusing regarding partitioning.
First of all, I think it should try to keep the "parted" and "fdisk" examples as coherent as possible. Furthermore, it would be preferable (more complete) to explain how to install Gentoo to a device that can then be booted both with UEFI and Legacy BIOS. Emphasis should be put on GPT, letting go MBR.
So here are my suggestions.
1) the "fdisk alternative" described at Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Alternative:_Using_fdisk_to_partition_the_disk warns that fdisk might still have bugs when supporting GPT (-t gpt). However, it does use an example partitioning scheme with bios boot and boot (see below).
2) the "fdisk alternative" starts with this partitioning scheme:
/dev/sda1 BIOS boot partition /dev/sda2 Boot partition
and then ends telling the user to mark partition 1 (BIOS boot) for UEFI and create partition 2 as "boot".
The end results is:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 1 3 5198+ ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32) [boot/grub] /dev/sda2 * 3 14 105808+ 83 Linux [swap] /dev/sda3 15 81 506520 82 Linux swap [root] /dev/sda4 82 3876 28690200 83 Linux
3) in this section (Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Applying_a_filesystem_to_a_partition) the handbook suggests to format partition 2 as ext2:
# mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda2
4) in this other section (Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Using_UEFI) the handbook *suggests* to do the following:
# mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda2
This suggestion is incoherent with point 2. It also doesn't guide the user to a UEFI installation.
5) There's one thing the user should be aware of and is not clearly stated in the handbook. For a UEFI installation, the live install system (or the liveCD) must boot via UEFI, not Legacy BIOS. In fact, it can happen that the BIOS will silently fail to boot a UEFI device and switch to booting via Legacy BIOS. Also, it should be clear to the reader that the current Gentoo Minimal CD is UNABLE to boot with UEFI (work in progress). Either use the LiveDVD or another system such as SystemRescueCD. In any case, the handbook should suggest to check for the existance of /sys/firmware/efi as soon as the live system has booted. The user cannot install to a UEFI-bootable HDD if the live medium hasn't been booted with UEFI. In particular, the user will fail to grub-install with EFI, as suggested in the handbook.
6) The default partitioning scheme described at Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Default_partitioning_scheme differs with point 2 because:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 (bootloader) 2M BIOS boot partition [boot/grub or UEFI] /dev/sda2 ext2 (or fat32 if UEFI is being used) 128M Boot/EFI system partition
7) The parted instructions at Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Default:_Using_parted_to_partition_the_disk suggest to install BIOS boot on partition 1 and boot on partition 2. In case the user wants to boot with UEFI, the handbook suggests to set UEFI on partition 2 (boot). This is incoherent with point 2.
8) Finally, I think it would be better if the handbook could explain how to install to a UEFI&BIOS-aware device.
There should be two scenarios:
a) user wants to boot with ONLY UEFI or ONLY Legacy BIOS:
in this case, use:
a1) if Legacy BIOS:
- boot with BIOS (not UEFI)
- check /sys/firmware/efi does not exist
- partitions:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 [boot/grub] /dev/sda2 (ext2)
- filesystem:
# mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda2 # mount /dev/sda2 /boot
- install bootloader:
# grub-install /dev/sda
a2) if UEFI:
- boot with UEFI (not BIOS)
- check /sys/firmware/efi exists
- partitions:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 [UEFI] /dev/sda2 (fat32)
- filesystem:
# mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda2 # mount /dev/sda2 /boot
- install bootloader:
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot /dev/sda
(actually, grub-install /dev/sda should be enough)
b) user wants to boot with BOTH UEFI AND Legacy BIOS:
b1) grub and efi on different partitions:
- boot with UEFI (not BIOS)
- check /sys/firmware/efi exists
- partitions:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 [UEFI] /dev/sda2 (fat32) [boot/grub] /dev/sda3 (ext2)
- filesystem:
# mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda2 # mkfs.ext2 /dev/sda3 # mount /dev/sda3 /boot # mkdir /boot/efi # mount /dev/sda2 /boot/efi
- install bootloader:
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi /dev/sda
( actually, grub-install --efi-directory=/boot/efi /dev/sda should be enough)
# grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sda
b2) grub and efi on same partition:
- boot with UEFI (not BIOS)
- check /sys/firmware/efi exists
- partitions:
[BIOS boot] /dev/sda1 [UEFI/boot/grub] /dev/sda2 (fat32)
- filesystem:
# mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda2 # mount /dev/sda2 /boot
- install bootloader:
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot /dev/sda
( actually, grub-install /dev/sda should be enough)
# grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sda
--Vieri (talk) 11:17, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
- We have moved away from supporting Hybrid MBR/GPT configuration within the handbook, due to this configuration being unnecessary, niche, and cumbersome to explain. There are other places on the wiki that may detail this setup and instructions can be enhanced there if necessary (feel free to add something if it's missing).
- Installing GRUB to more than one disk is also beyond the cases covered in the handbook. We only detail a single drive installation - again, there is guidance and information other places on the wiki and within the GRUB manual. Thank you! --Maffblaster (talk) 12:24, 14 February 2024 (UTC)
EFI partition mount
I see the Handbook mentions that Grub2 can't be used, and efibootmgr should be used instead. However, using grub2 is a suitable option.
The EFI partition should be mounted to /boot/efi:
# mkdir /mnt/gentoo/boot/efi # mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/gentoo/boot/efi
- Hi ILMostro , I saw your message in IRC. We are still very much active in monitoring and updating the wiki, although we're not always able to immediately respond on IRC. I agree, GRUB2 is a suitable option for EFI on Gentoo. I use it myself. With that being said we have to be careful with how much we try to support in the various handbooks. The purpose of it is to help users get Gentoo installed; not to walk them through all the configuration options (Gentoo is far too flexible for that!). :)
- I don't remember the Handbook ever saying GRUB2 can't be used for EFI on amd64 systems, but I will take a look and fix anything that doesn't seem right. Kind regards, --Maffblaster (talk) 02:05, 21 June 2016 (UTC)
GPT or MBR
It's definitely possible to dual-boot with Windows using GPT on a BIOS-based system. I'm able to do so with the following GRUB entry:
/etc/grub.d/40_customDual-boot with Windows'"`UNIQ--pre-0000000B-QINU`"'
--Astronome (talk) 03:17, 21 January 2017 (UTC)
- Hi Astronome, if you're serious about having your discussions looked after please remember to use the {{Talk}} template. We can't really track what work is left for us to do without them.
- With that being said, to confirm: does the disk have a GPT partition table, or is it an MSDOS table? Also, is your copy of Windows installed in MSDOS mode? Kind regards, --Maffblaster (talk) 06:47, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
- Revisiting here... Closing discussion due to no reply from author. --Maffblaster (talk) 08:50, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
Mounting the necessary filesystems
I've always found this part confusing. Should this
root #mount -t proc proc /mnt/gentoo/procbe changed to this?
root #mount -t proc /proc /mnt/gentoo/procOtherwise, if you're following the instructions exactly, your PWD will be /mnt/gentoo and you'll be mounting /mnt/gentoo/proc to itself. --Astronome (talk) 19:55, 21 January 2017 (UTC)
- Yes, it's a good point. We should have the / on the second mention of proc. I'll update this. --Maffblaster (talk) 06:47, 24 January 2017 (UTC)
- This assertion is wrong (but doesn't hurt). man mount:
- The proc filesystem is not associated with a special device, and when mounting it, an arbitrary keyword, such as proc can be used instead of a device specification. (The customary choice none is less fortunate: the error message `none busy' from umount can be confusing.).
- It was probably "proc" due to it being suggested to use that in the man page as that arbitrary keyword (but you can use "asdf" or whatever, pretty much anything except for "none'). That argument is the first one - that of the device node to use, -t proc doesn't have one, so it's ignored (unless special "none" is encountered). In "mount -t proc proc /mnt/gentoo/proc" the first "proc" is the type given with -t, "proc" is the device node and /mnt/gentoo/proc is the path - there is no proc path and no way this would have mounted itself (device node != directory). --Leio (talk) 15:26, 26 January 2017 (UTC)
- So it doesn't really matter. It could be
procor it could be/proc. mount doesn't care. If there's nothing left to do here please close this discussion. --Maffblaster (talk) 21:52, 26 January 2017 (UTC)
- So it doesn't really matter. It could be
GPG verification when behind a firewall
If the default gpg port cannot be opened in the firewall then you might want to use something like:
root #gpg --keyserver hkp://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net:80 --recv-keys 0xBB572E0E2D182910BTW the user can also specify any other keyserver such as: hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80
This may be useful when some servers don't respond.
The following handbook section could be updated to reflect this:
Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Linux_based_verification
--Vieri (talk) 16 February 2017
- Hi Vieri , I'm rocking gpg version 2.1.19 and it would seem the syntax you used to specify a specific port has been deprecated. I couldn't get it to work by trying your example above. Also, from the man page (man 1 gpg), "The scheme is the type of keyserver: "hkp" for the HTTP (or compatible) keyservers". This indicates to me that HTTP is the default, so there is no need to specify port 80 in the example... Kind regards, --Maffblaster (talk) 03:59, 5 March 2017 (UTC)
- No, hkp uses port 11371 by default. What the OP neglected to mention is that not all keyservers support port 80. The general solution is to use the p80 pool at
hkp://p80.pool.sks-keyservers.net:80. However, I think that it would be more preferable still to use the hkps pool athkps://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net. This has the advantage of using HTTPS on the standard port of 443. Incidentally, portage and gemato are both inflexible in this regard. --kerframil (talk) 02:36, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
- No, hkp uses port 11371 by default. What the OP neglected to mention is that not all keyservers support port 80. The general solution is to use the p80 pool at
DavidC improvements section
As I'm reading through this doco I'm writing a bunch of suggestions, some of which are sure to be misguided, so the only discussion I require is "yes/no/maybe later". Hopefully some of this helps but I know not all of it will be implemented.
Preparing the disk
Prior to "Introduction to block devices" it would be nice if there was a title that said something like preparing the disk, since that is what is referred to above in the document. DavidC (talk) 17:57, 18 November 2017 (UTC)
- This would require a significant amount of work. It would require a lower-level heading than the one used for "Introduction to block devices" and subsequent sections. Since there is none, the headings for all sections on the page would have to be shifted up one level, but that change would automatically get copied to the non-full installation parts of the handbook (e.g. Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Disks).
- The non-full installation parts should get priority since
<translate>
</translate>
takes the user there. Thus, taking no action is the best option here.
- I'm closing this discussion since I don't know whether you will respond. If you do, feel free to reopen it. Glibg10b (talk) 07:39, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
Open more than one chroot terminal
I'd probably get the user to chroot a couple terminals at least because then they would be able to do some reading while something is going on it another window, or easily compare say the output of lspci to what they're inputting in makeconfig, etc. DavidC (talk) 15:13, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
We mention screen for this purpose, but I have also have added a tip to explictly show readers how to switch between the seven available terminals: Special:Diff/1015767/024956. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
This and that
I am lost at Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Introduction_to_block_devices. Looking at "If that is the case, it might be..." I understand what "that" case is, but when it says "In this case, launch..." I do not understand what "this" case is. Perhaps after "using the MBR format." A sentence could be added directing MBR users to "Default partitioning scheme". Someone suggested this be split into 3 sections "bios with mbr, efi with gpt, bios with gpt" DavidC (talk) 19:37, 18 November 2017 (UTC)
I am overwhelmed with mirrors
"links https://www.gentoo.org/downloads/mirrors/" So if you follow the first link for Canadians, you end up going to a LONG list of files and it's not entirely clear what to download (even if you follow it all the way to Gentoo, so it's probably best just to link people straight to https://gentoo.org/downloads/. DavidC (talk) 19:58, 18 November 2017 (UTC)
- If you are referring this section, there are no instructions to download anything from the mirrors directly. It's just giving an example on how to use links to determine what mirror URLs are avaialble. No where in the instruction are you supposed to download anything in this section. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
Variables
"variables which impacts" --> "impact" DavidC (talk) 20:02, 18 November 2017 (UTC)
- Fixed. See Special:Diff/1023606/1024968. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
Path differences for examples
"To keep the settings, Portage reads in the /etc/portage/make.conf file" ok so this line is talking about what is currently /mnt/gentoo/etc/... but the light blue section afterwards refers to /mnt/gentoo/usr/share/... explicitly, as does the black section starting with nano -w, so there should be consistency across all those three things. DavidC (talk) 20:14, 18 November 2017 (UTC)
I seems like you're splitting hairs on ths one. The tip is about Portage. The path is different because you're operating out of an extracted state3 during this section of the handbook. I'll just change it to make.conf to avoid confusion. See Special:Diff/1023606/1024968. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
Custom prompt is reverted
After "root #eselect locale set 9", the shell tells the user to run something like . /etc/profile, which results in removing the custom prompt "(chroot)" and it's a little disconcerting. So I think the best option here is to tell the user not to follow the prompting of the shell before giving the set 9 command. Further, afterwards there is a black box that has maybe 3 commands in it separated by & and those commands could easily be given as a series of single lines, which would probably be better. DavidC (talk) 14:53, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
Current USE flags in profile
In the USE flag section, it might be a good idea to suggest something like <profile_file> | grep ^USE >> <make.conf> so that people can see their profile USE flags at the same time that they're putting in their custom values; they would have to comment it out if they did that, though. DavidC (talk) 15:08, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
- I really like the idea of explaining how to view USE flags already set in the profile. I'll implement something like this soon. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
- Completed (Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Optional:_Configuring_the_USE_variable). Closing. Glibg10b (talk) 09:54, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
devtmpfs cannot be unselected
" [*] Maintain a devtmpfs filesystem to mount at /dev" You can not unselect this, therefore this section can be removed safely. DavidC (talk) 15:19, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
- We'll safely leave it. --Maffblaster (talk) 09:28, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
Blank line requested
"Executable file formats / Emulations --->" Put a blank line prior to this to strongly indicate that it's denested. DavidC (talk) 16:04, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
- I no longer see that line in this AMD64/Full/Installation page, so can this be closed DavidC ? Thanks -- Ris (talk) 16:57, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
GRUB install issue
For grub-install with EFI, please include the 2 steps for EFI vars. Otherwise, grub-install will silently fail. From Efibootmgr#Creating_a_boot_entry:
root #mount | grep efivars efivarfs on /sys/firmware/efi/efivars type efivarfs (ro,relatime)
root #mount -o remount,rw -t efivarfs efivarfs /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
— The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dman777 (talk • contribs) 19:27, December 18, 2017
- This should NOT be the case when using official Gentoo installation live images. We do cover that in the GRUB install section, we just don't currently specify the
--typeoption, as your example does. --Maffblaster (talk) 09:39, 20 February 2023 (UTC)
Fix nesting
"Pseudo Filesystems --->" needs to be nested one step inwards. DavidC (talk) 16:10, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
- A fix was provided (Special:Diff/1018950/1023486). --Blacki (talk) 04:44, 14 July 2022 (UTC)
Combine all kernel sections
There seems to be a lot of random traversal of the kernel configuration. It would be beneficial to group all sections together which access similar hierarchies. It would probably also be good to include the hotkeys in this menu so that the user can traverse it more quickly. DavidC (talk) 16:14, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
I do not believe it would suit well to have all kernel sections together in one big block. Regarding hotkeys: we have other articles availabe on the wiki that mention hotkeys (see Kernel articles)... This is not something I think is worth adding to the basic installation requirements for Gentoo. --Maffblaster (talk) 20:35, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
How to read documenation file
"Please read /usr/share/doc/netifrc-*/net.example.bz2 for a list of all available options." The document does not say how to do this. Also in this section, observe: " But don't fear, everything is explained below." This breaks style, but I like it. DavidC (talk) 20:01, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
- A little bit higher in the document, it was already mentionned that net.example.bz2 "can be read using bzless". --Blacki (talk) 10:10, 14 July 2022 (UTC)
CFLAGS Section links
Suggestion: The CFLAGS Section might as well contain additional references to GCC_optimization and CPU_FLAGS_X86? These wiki pages seem more comprehensible for n00bs like me than the referenced gnu manual.
User:atari800 (2019/02/19 11:54am)
- The GCC optimization and Safe CFLAGS articles are now listed in a tip at the bottom of the section. --Maffblaster (talk) 22:52, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
delete: Prior to Windows 7
Suggestion: Delete section to explain how to burn CD on a 10 year old windows system. If someone still runs it, he/she knows how to burn CD's. --Jonas Stein (talk) 01:06, 16 May 2020 (UTC)
- Jonas Stein (Jstein) , thank you for reporting. This was fixed a while back. We now cover Windows 7 and above as a 'catch all' to include Windows 10 and 11. See Handbook:AMD64/Full/Installation#Burning_with_Microsoft_Windows_7_and_above. Thank you! --Maffblaster (talk) 21:08, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
Reiserfs
Reiserfs is included in mainline Linux--Nikitastepanov (talk) 11:26, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
- Duplicate of Handbook Talk:Parts/Installation/Disks#Reiserfs (as this page inherits that article) --Grknight (talk) 13:19, 31 August 2020 (UTC)