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Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: May 6, Make sure that you have superuser privileges on your Ubuntu box; and an Internet connection - preferably a fast one. An intermediate knowledge of Ubuntu and Linux in general is also preferable.
You need to install chroot on Ubuntu. You can achieve this through Synaptic by installing the dchroot and debootstrap packages; or the command line by typing sudo apt-get install dchroot debootstrap. This program allows Linux to temporarily pretend that its root directory is one different from normal.
Either repartition existing partitions, or create a new partition from free Hard Disk space. Be careful! You don't want to lose any data. Most websites recommend that, essentially, the more partitions, the better. Swaps need to be formatted as swap partitions. Check that your date is correct type date. Open a web browsing program of your choice, and navigate to here. Download the corresponding md5 file.
This makes sure that the tarball downloaded properly without being corrupted. If it doesn't report as OK, then you'll have to re-download it. Compare the output of these commands with the value registered in the.
The values need to match, otherwise the downloaded file might be corrupt or the digests file is. Just like with the ISO file, it is also possible to verify the cryptographic signature of the.
The fingerprints of the OpenPGP keys used for signing release media can be found on the release media signatures page of the Gentoo webserver. Now unpack the downloaded stage onto the system. Use the tar utility to proceed:. The x stands for e x tract, the p for p reserve permissions and the f to denote that we want to extract a f ile not standard input.
Finally, --numeric-owner is used to ensure that the user and group IDs of the files being extracted from the tarball will remain the same as Gentoo's release engineering team intended even if adventurous users are not using official Gentoo live environments. Now that the stage file is unpacked, proceed with Configuring the compile options. To optimize the system, it is possible to set variables which impact the behavior of Portage, Gentoo's officially supported package manager.
All those variables can be set as environment variables using export but setting via export is not permanent. Portage reads in the make. Fire up an editor in this guide we use nano to alter the optimization variables we will discuss hereafter. From the make. Several of those variables are discussed in the next section. Although those are defined generally here, for maximum performance one would need to optimize these flags for each program separately.
The reason for this is because every program is different. However, this is not manageable, hence the definition of these flags in the make. In make. Don't place experimental settings in this variable; too much optimization can make programs misbehave crash, or even worse, malfunction.
We will not explain all possible optimization options. To understand them all, read the GNU Online Manual s or the gcc info page info gcc - only works on a working Linux system.
The make. Possible options are described in the make. A commonly used value is native as that tells the compiler to select the target architecture of the current system the one users are installing Gentoo on. A second one is the -O flag that is a capital O, not a zero , which specifies the gcc optimization class flag.
Possible classes are s for size-optimized , 0 zero - for no optimizations , 1, 2 or even 3 for more speed-optimization flags every class has the same flags as the one before, plus some extras. Another popular optimization flag is -pipe use pipes rather than temporary files for communication between the various stages of compilation.
It has no impact on the generated code, but uses more memory. On systems with low memory, gcc might get killed. In that case, do not use this flag. Using -fomit-frame-pointer which doesn't keep the frame pointer in a register for functions that don't need one might have serious repercussions on the debugging of applications. The default values contained in the stage3 archive that is unpacked should be good enough.
The following one is just an example:. Then continue with Installing the Gentoo base system. In order to download source code quickly it is recommended to select a fast mirror.
Portage will look in the make. It is possible to surf to the Gentoo mirror list and search for a mirror or mirrors that is close to the system's physical location as those are most frequently the fastest ones. However, we provide a nice tool called mirrorselect which provides users with a nice interface to select the mirrors needed.
Just navigate to the mirrors of choice and press Spacebar to select one or more mirrors. This file contains the sync information needed to update the package repository the collection of ebuilds and related files containing all the information Portage needs to download and install software packages. Configuring the repository can be done in a few simple steps. First, if it does not exist, create the repos. Next, copy the Gentoo repository configuration file provided by Portage to the newly created repos.
Take a peek with a text editor or by using the cat command. The inside of the file should be in. The default sync-uri variable value listed above will determine a mirror location based on a rotation. This will aid in easing bandwidth stress on Gentoo's infrastructure and will provide a fail-safe in case a specific mirror is offline. It is recommended the default URI is retained unless a local, private Portage mirror will be used.
This needs to be done to ensure that networking still works even after entering the new environment. To copy this information, it is recommended to pass the --dereference option to the cp command. Otherwise in the new environment the symbolic link would point to a non-existing file as the link's target is most likely not available inside the new environment.
In a few moments, the Linux root will be changed towards the new location. To make sure that the new environment works properly, certain filesystems need to be made available there as well. Now that all partitions are initialized and the base environment installed, it is time to enter the new installation environment by chrooting into it.
This means that the session will change its root most top-level location that can be accessed from the current installation environment installation CD or other installation medium to the installation system namely the initialized partitions. Hence the name, change root or chroot. From this point, all actions performed are immediately on the new Gentoo Linux environment. Of course it is far from finished, which is why the installation still has some sections left!
Now that the new environment has been entered, it is necessary to mount the boot partition. This will be important when it is time to compile the kernel and install the bootloader:. Next step is to install a snapshot of the Gentoo ebuild repository. This snapshot contains a collection of files that informs Portage about available software titles for installation , which profiles the system administrator can select, package or profile specific news items, etc.
Readers who have no network or bandwidth restrictions can happily skip down to the next section. This will fetch the latest snapshot which is released on a daily basis from one of Gentoo's mirrors and install it onto the system:. From this point onward, Portage might mention that certain updates are recommended to be executed.
This is because system packages installed through the stage file might have newer versions available; Portage is now aware of new packages because of the repository snapshot. Package updates can be safely ignored for now; updates can be delayed until after the Gentoo installation has finished. It is possible to update the Gentoo ebuild repository to the latest version.
The previous emerge-webrsync command will have installed a very recent snapshot usually recent up to 24h so this step is definitely optional. Suppose there is a need for the last package updates up to 1 hour , then use emerge --sync.
This command will use the rsync protocol to update the Gentoo ebuild repository which was fetched earlier on through emerge-webrsync to the latest state.
On slow terminals, like some framebuffers or serial consoles, it is recommended to use the --quiet option to speed up the process:.
When the Gentoo ebuild repository is synchronized, Portage may output informational messages similar to the following:. News items were created to provide a communication medium to push critical messages to users via the Gentoo ebuild repository. To manage them, use eselect news. The eselect application is a Gentoo-specific utility that allows for a common management interface for system administration.
In this case, eselect is asked to use its news module. A profile is a building block for any Gentoo system. These settings are all maintained by Gentoo's Portage developers. You can see what profile the system is currently using with eselect , now using the profile module:. After viewing the available profiles for the amd64 architecture, users can select a different profile for the system:. In order to select a pure bit environment, with no bit applications or libraries, use a no-multilib profile:.
At this point, it is wise to update the system's world set so that a base can be established. This following step is necessary so the system can apply any updates or USE flag changes which have appeared since the stage3 was built and from any profile selection:. USE is one of the most powerful variables Gentoo provides to its users. Several programs can be compiled with or without optional support for certain items.
Others can be compiled with or without SSL support. Some programs can even be compiled with framebuffer support svgalib instead of X11 support X-server. Most distributions compile their packages with support for as much as possible, increasing the size of the programs and startup time, not to mention an enormous amount of dependencies. With Gentoo users can define what options a package should be compiled with.
This is where USE comes into play. In the USE variable users define keywords which are mapped onto compile-options. For instance, ssl will compile SSL support in the programs that support it. The default USE settings are placed in the make. Gentoo uses a complex inheritance system for its profiles, which we will not dive into at this stage.
The easiest way to check the currently active USE settings is to run emerge --info and select the line that starts with USE:. USE flags can be globally removed by adding a - minus sign in front of the value in the the list. For example, to disable support for X graphical environments, -X can be set:. All of the Gentoo packages are tagged with the license s the package falls under.
This allows users to select software by specific licenses or groups of licenses prior to installing it. The license groups defined in the Gentoo repository, managed by the Gentoo Licenses project , are:. The default value will only accept licenses that are explicitly approved by the Free Software Foundation, the Open Source Initiative, or that follow the Free Software Definition:.
If systemd is desired, please consult the systemd article. It contains instructions equivalent to the instructions in the following sections of this Handbook. Specifically, it will walk the reader through various init system commands systemctl and systemd-specific services such as timedatectl , hostnamectl , etc. Select the timezone for the system. Later, when systemd is running, the timezone and related settings can be configured with the timedatectl command.
Locales specify not only the language that the user should use to interact with the system, but also the rules for sorting strings, displaying dates and times, etc. Locales are case sensitive and must be represented exactly as described. The next step is to run the locale-gen command.
To verify that the selected locales are now available, run locale -a. Once done, it is now time to set the system-wide locale settings. Again we use eselect for this, now with the locale module. With eselect locale list , the available targets are displayed:.
Setting the locale will avoid warnings and errors during kernel and software compilations later in the installation. A full Localization guide to provide additional guidance through the locale selection process.
Before getting to configuring kernel sections, it is beneficial to be aware that some devices require additional firmware to be installed on the system before they will operate correctly. This is often the case for network interfaces, especially wireless network interfaces commonly used in both desktop and laptop computers.
Modern video chips from vendors like AMD, Nvidia, and Intel, often need external firmware files to be fully functional. On systems using graphics cards from these vendors, it is wise to emerge this firmware package in order to have it available before configuring and compiling the kernel.
In addition to discrete graphics hardware and network interfaces, CPUs also can require firmware updates. Typically this kind of firmware is referred to as microcode. Newer revisions of microcode are sometimes necessary to patch instability, security concerns, or other bugs in CPU hardware.
See the Microcode article for more information on how to apply microcode updates. Manual configuration is explained as the default choice since it is the best way to optimize an environment. The core around which all distributions are built is the Linux kernel. It is the layer between the user programs and the system hardware. Gentoo provides its users several possible kernel sources. A full listing with description is available at the Kernel overview page.
Choose an appropriate kernel source and install it using emerge :. However, this symbolic link will not be created by default. An easy way to create the symbolic link is to utilize eselect's kernel module. In order to create a symbolic link called linux , use:. Manually configuring a kernel is often seen as the most difficult procedure a Linux user ever has to perform.
Nothing is less true - after configuring a couple of kernels no one remembers that it was difficult! However, one thing is true: it is vital to know the system when a kernel is configured manually. Another source of system information is to run lsmod to see what kernel modules the installation CD uses as it might provide a nice hint on what to enable. Now go to the kernel source directory and execute make menuconfig.
This will fire up menu-driven configuration screen. The Linux kernel configuration has many, many sections. Let's first list some options that must be activated otherwise Gentoo will not function, or not function properly without additional tweaks.
We also have a Gentoo kernel configuration guide on the Gentoo wiki that might help out further. These ensure that a minimum of kernel features required for proper functioning is available:. Naturally the choice in the last two lines depends on the selected init system OpenRC vs. It does not hurt to have support for both init systems enabled. Enabling support is possible, but goes beyond the scope of the handbook.
Make sure that every driver that is vital to the booting of the system such as SCSI controller, etc. Next select the exact processor type. It is also recommended to enable MCE features if available so that users are able to be notified of any hardware problems. 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:. Distribution kernels are now capable of rebuilding kernel modules installed by other packages. To view all available modules, run the following find command. For instance, to automatically load the 3c59x.
The actual file name is insignificant to the loader. Continue the installation with Configuring the system. This file contains the mount points of those partitions where they are seen in the file system structure , how they should be mounted and with what special options automatically or not, whether users can mount them or not, etc. Every line consists of six fields, separated by whitespace space s , tabs or a mixture. Each field has its own meaning:.
Partition labels and partition UUIDs can be used to identify the block device's individual partition s , regardless of what filesystem has been chosen for the partition itself. While not always true for partition labels, using a UUID to identify a partition in fstab provides a guarantee that the bootloader will not be confused when looking for a certain volume, even if the filesystem would be changed in the future. The naming for block device files depends on a number of factors, including how and in what order the disks are attached to the system.
They also could show up in a different order depending on which of the devices are detected by the kernel first during the early boot process. With this being stated, unless one intends to constantly fiddle with the disk ordering, using default block device files is a simple and straightforward approach. This is just an example, and should be modified according to the partitioning decisions made earlier in the installation.
It needs to be checked during boot, so we would write down:. We will not cover these set-ups in this Instructable. To partition the disk, we are going to use a program called fdisk.
This program will give you a prompt. Repeat this until all partitions are deleted. When entering "p" gives an empty list, the disk is clear of all partitions. Now we want to create the first of our three partitions, the boot partition. This partition is where our boot loader, which the BIOS uses to load the operating system, will reside. Create the partition by entering "n", for a new partition. Then "p" for a primary partition. We will not be using extended partitions. Then enter "1".
When asked for the first sector, hit enter to choose the default. What we have just done is created a new partition, numbered 1, that is located at the first open sector on the disk and is of length Mb. Type "a", then enter "1". This will set the "bootable" flag for this partition, which tells the machine which partition to boot. Now we will make the swap partition. The swap partition is used by the Operating System to store temporary files it needs to run properly.
It will also be used when the computer hibernates, or crashes. There is some debate about how large the swap partition should be, but a good rule of thumb is 2x the amount of RAM your system uses. Create another partition by entering "n", then enter "2". Enter "t", then "3". This will set the type of the partition to Linux Swap. Finally, we will create the root partition. This is where the Gentoo system and all of your data will be stored. Create this partition by entering "n", then "3", then hit enter twice.
This will select the default first and last sector, which will, by default, use the remainder of the space on the disk. Enter "p" at the prompt once more, to print out the list of partitions. This should print out a list with three partitions. Double check the sizes, types, and which partition has the bootable flag. When you are sure that everything is good, enter "w" to write these changes to the disk and to exit the fdisk program. Now we need to format the partitions.
Currently, the disk has empty partitions that the system cannot use. By formatting them, we set each partition up so that the Gentoo system will be able to work with them. The boot partition will be formatted with the EXT2 file system. The swap partition will be formatted with a swap file system. The root partition will be formatted with the EXT4 file system.
These are typical choices, but there are more options that you can research. Run the following commands:. Now that the file systems are set-up on the partitons, we want to mount the partitions and begin installing Gentoo onto the disk. To mount them, run:. This is where our boot partition will go, so we mount it there. We are now ready to begin installing Gentoo! Use print to show your disk partition current state and remove any partitions if case using rm partition number command.
Then supply parted with MB or mib size unit, create the first partition with mkpart primary , give it a name and set the boot flag on this partition. After you complete with disk slices use print to see your final partition layout should look like in the image below and quit parted. After selecting the Tarball press [ Enter ] key, select OK , wait for the download to finish and quit links. On the next step, extract Stage 3 Tarball archive using the following command.
Now you have a minimal Gentoo environment installed on your computer but the installation process is far from being finished.
To continue the installation process follow Install Gentoo Linux — Part 2 tutorial. TecMint is the fastest growing and most trusted community site for any kind of Linux Articles, Guides and Books on the web. Millions of people visit TecMint! If you like what you are reading, please consider buying us a coffee or 2 as a token of appreciation. We are thankful for your never ending support.
Step 6. The amount of time and punishment it takes to learn the Linux kernel, File system, Daemons, Partitions etc..
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