Gentoo-Installation
From Grokdoc
Gentoo Install
The gentoo install is very well documented, so I will not go into it here. In fact, here it is:
However, some salient points spring to mind.
1) Gentoo is thought to be harder to install than many of the commercial distributions.
If you're new to UNIX or Linux it may be better to try Knoppix or a commercial CD set like SuSE, Mandrake, or Lindows Linspire first.
The instructions provided in the Gentoo Handbook are good and clear though.
Please note that the Gentoo documentation is being updated to bring it current and make it more complete (5/2004).
Gentoo is a source based distribution and will take more time to install than the other aforementioned distributions. In order for a user to get this running, they will have to wait for the compilation process of a linux kernel, a bootloader, and a few system applications (for a stage 3 installation).
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2) Editing the configuration of packages on your Gentoo system usually involves editing text files.
While RedHat, SuSE and Mandrake (to name a few) tend to have nice GUI driven configuration editors, Gentoo, in the main, does not. If you don't mind editing a lot of config files by hand and using the command line a great deal, Gentoo is perhaps for you. You will learn an awful lot about the general operation of a GNU/Linux system, and what you learn will be applicable to almost any distribution out there. If however you prefer to, say, add users to the system or configure your network card via a dialog with icons and messages, rather than using command-line tools and text editors, you may be best starting out with one of the more accessible distributions such as Mandrake.
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3) Print out the installation instructions.
Print them, and read them. I for one, found this totally invaluable.
4) For your first install, you might want to do the "Stage three" install.
This installs the system using programs that have already been compiled - changed from something which is understood by the programmer into something which is understood by the computer. It will be tempting to use "stage one" or "stage two". But they do take an awfully long time (even on a quick machine).
5) Before you install new programs update the "package database" and check the dependancies.
emerge rsync (to update list of available programs - max once/day please) (edit: shouldn't people be using 'emerge sync' to remove ambiguity? See 'man emerge'. Functionally the two are the same, though.)
Use the following to see what will be installed:
emerge -pv program_name
the "p" means pretend, so this won´t actually do anything to your system.
This will display a list of all dependencies that will be installed along with the program. Also if the installationprocess is blocked by another installed program this command will show that to you, allowing you to remedy this if you still want to proceed. (It won´t proceed if not remedied!)
6) To install new programs, use the following:
emerge -vak program_name
The "v" means "verbose", i.e. tell you exactly what it is doing.
The "a" means "ask me", i.e. list the programs that would be installed and ask if you really want to do the install.
The "k" means "binary if possible" i.e. Try and use a copy of the program that is already in a form the computer understands. Otherwise get one as written by the programmer and convert it to one that the computer understands.
But exactly what does "emerge do"?
It tells the computer to go to the internet (usually) and get a program, compile, then install it.
7) Update your configuration files
Some packages bring with them new configuration files. Gentoo will not automatically overwrite existing configuration files.
To update these files use:
etc-update dispatch-conf
- Please change that in the documentation and the text that portage/emerge shows
Trivial changes will now be applied automatically. You will recieve a list of all the files that could not be updated automatically.
Be carefull what you do here, carefully check what changes are to be applied as this is the part where it´s easiest to make the system unusable.
The on screen options are pretty obvious just read trhem carefully.
Finally finish up with:
env-update && source /etc/profile
-- Tuxhead. -- Omega_supreme_NL (minor additions)
X configuration
Mandrake, SuSE, RedHat and Knoppix are able to auto-detect the video card and monitor and generate an XF86Config file. The Gentoo Desktop configuration guide tells me to create the file with a command line tool and edit it.
Tip: use the xf86cfg -textmode (or xorgcfg -textmode) command line to quickly generate a configuration file for X. You can also use X -configure to automatically have a config file created for you.
Tip: use mkxf86config. It is the same script, that autogenerates the XF86Config on a Knoppix System. Just do
emerge mkxf86config
and then
mkxf86config.sh
Thats all.
If all else fails
Use the excellent forums at forums.gentoo.org, the people there are generally very helpful. Use the search functionality first, chances are good someone already had the same problem and a solution is already available.
