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Diffstat (limited to 'docs/gnulinux/configuring_parabola.md')
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diff --git a/docs/gnulinux/configuring_parabola.md b/docs/gnulinux/configuring_parabola.md index 052ba5d9..1e525f59 100644 --- a/docs/gnulinux/configuring_parabola.md +++ b/docs/gnulinux/configuring_parabola.md @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Paradoxically, as you get more advanced, Parabola can actually become compared to what most distributions provide. You will find over time that other distributions tend to *get in your way*. -A lot of the steps in this guide will refer to the Arch wiki. Arch is +A lot of the steps in this guide will refer to ArchWiki. Arch is the upstream distribution that Parabola uses. Most of this guide will also tell you to read wiki articles, other pages, manuals, and so on. In general, it tries to cherry-pick the most useful information, but @@ -33,21 +33,21 @@ nonetheless, you are encouraged to learn as much as possible. **NOTE: It might take you a few days to fully install your system how you like, depending on how much you need to read. Patience is key, especially for new users.** -The Arch wiki will sometimes use bad language, such as calling the whole +The ArchWiki will sometimes use bad language, such as calling the whole system Linux, using the term **open-source**/**closed-source**, and it will sometimes recommend the use of proprietary software. -You need to be careful about this when reading anything on the Arch wiki. +You need to be careful about this when reading anything on ArchWiki. Some of these steps require internet access. To get initial access for setting up the system (I'll go into networking later), just connect your system to a router, via an ethernet cable, and run the following command: - # systemctl start dhcpcd.service + # systemctl start dhcpcd.service You can stop it later (if needed), by using systemd's `stop` option: - # systemctl stop dhcpcd.service + # systemctl stop dhcpcd.service For most people, this should be enough, but if you don't have DHCP enabled on your network, then you should setup your network connection first: @@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ For more information related to `pacman`, review the following articles on the A Parabola is kept up-to-date, using `pacman`. When you are updating Parabola, make sure to refresh the package list, *before* installing any new updates: - # pacman -Syy + # pacman -Syy **NOTE: According to the Wiki,** `-Syy` **is better than** `-Sy` **, because it refreshes the package list (even if it appears to be up-to-date), which can be useful @@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ when switching to another mirror.** Then, actually update the system: - # pacman -Syu + # pacman -Syu **NOTE: Before installing packages with** `pacman -S`**, always update first, using the two commands above.** @@ -121,16 +121,16 @@ before. In general, keeping notes (such as what I have done with this page) can be very useful as a reference in the future (e.g, if you wanted to re-install it, or install the distro on another computer). -You should also read the Arch wiki article on [System Maintenance](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/System_maintenance), +You should also read the ArchWiki article on [System Maintenance](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/System_maintenance), before continuing. Also, read their article on [enhancing system stability](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Enhance_system_stability). This is important, so make sure to read them both!* Install `smartmontools`; it can be used to check smart data. HDDs use non-free firmware inside; it's transparent to you, but the smart data comes from it. Therefore, don't rely on it too much), and then read -the Arch wiki [article](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/S.M.A.R.T.) on it, to learn how to use it: +the ArchWiki [article](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/S.M.A.R.T.) on it, to learn how to use it: - # pacman -S smartmontools + # pacman -S smartmontools ### Cleaning the Package Cache *This section provides a brief overview of how to manage the directory that stores @@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ check out the Arch Wiki guide for [Cleaning the Package Cache](https://wiki.arch Here's how to use `pacman`, to clean out all old packages that are cached: - # pacman -Sc + # pacman -Sc The Wiki cautions that this should be used with care. For example, since older packages are deleted from the repository, if you encounter issues @@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ caches available. Only do this ,if you are sure that you won't need it. The Wiki also mentions this method for removing everything from the cache, including currently installed packages that are cached: - # pacman -Scc + # pacman -Scc This is inadvisable, since it means re-downloading the package again, if you wanted to quickly re-install it. This should only be used when disk @@ -183,11 +183,11 @@ Read the entire document linked to above, and then continue. Add your user with the `useradd` command (self explanatory): - # useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash *your_user_name* + # useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash *your_user_name* Set a password, using `passwd`: - # passwd *your_user_name* + # passwd *your_user_name* Like with the installation of Parabola, use of the [*diceware method*](http://world.std.com/~reinhold/diceware.html) is recommended, for generating secure passphrases. @@ -195,32 +195,32 @@ for generating secure passphrases. ### Configure sudo Now that we have a normal user account, we'll want to configure `sudo`, so that user is able to run commands as **root** (e.g., installing software); -this will be necessary to flash the ROM later on. Refer to the Arch wiki's [sudo](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sudo) documentation. +this will be necessary to flash the ROM later on. Refer to ArchWiki's [sudo](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sudo) documentation. The first step is to install the `sudo` package: - # pacman -S sudo + # pacman -S sudo After installation, we must configure it. To do so, we must modify **/etc/sudoers**. This file must *always* be modified with the `visudo` command. `visudo` can be difficult for beginners to use, so we'll want to edit the file with `nano`, but the trick is that we just can't do this: - # nano /etc/sudoers + # nano /etc/sudoers Because, this will cause us to edit the file directly, which is not the way it was designed to be edited, and could lead to problems with the system. Instead, to temporarily allow us to use `nano` to edit the file, we need to type this into the terminal: - # EDITOR=nano visudo + # EDITOR=nano visudo This will open the **/etc/sudoers** file in `nano`, and we can now safely make changes to it. To give the user we created earlier to ability to use `sudo`, we need to navigate to the end of the file, and add this line on the end: - your_username ALL=(ALL) ALL + your_username ALL=(ALL) ALL Obviously, type in the name of the user you created, instead of **your_username**. Save the file, and exit `nano`; your user now has the ability to use `sudo`. @@ -237,12 +237,12 @@ a sound manager (to make sure you can hear sound through speakers or headphones) or DHCP (which allows you to get an IP address, to connect to the internet). These are just a few examples; there are countless others. -`systemd` is a controversial init system; [here](https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1149530#p1149530) -is an explanation behind the Arch development team's decision to use it. +`systemd` is a controversial init system; A [forum post](https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1149530#p1149530) +has an explanation behind the Arch development team's decision to use it. The **manpage** should also help: - # man systemd + # man systemd The section on **unit types** is especially useful. @@ -254,15 +254,15 @@ I will reduce the total size of the journal to 50MiB (that's what the wiki recom Open **/etc/systemd/journald.conf**, and find this line: - #SystemMaxUse= + #SystemMaxUse= Change it to this: - SystemMaxUse=50M + SystemMaxUse=50M Restart `journald`: - # systemctl restart systemd-journald + # systemctl restart systemd-journald The wiki recommends that if the journal gets too large, you can also simply delete (`rm -Rf`) everything inside **/var/log/journald**, but @@ -273,14 +273,14 @@ to delete older records, when the journal size reaches it's limit (according to Finally, the wiki mentions **temporary files**, and the utility for managing them. - # man systemd-tmpfiles + # man systemd-tmpfiles To delete the temporary files, you can use the `clean` option: - # systemd-tmpfiles --clean + # systemd-tmpfiles --clean According to the **manpage**, this *"cleans all files and directories with -an age parameter"*. According to the Arch wiki, this reads information +an age parameter"*. According to ArchWiki, this reads information in **/etc/tmpfiles.d** and **/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d**, to know what actions to perform. Therefore, it is a good idea to read what's stored in these locations, to get a better understanding. @@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ I looked in **/etc/tmpfiles.d/** and found that it was empty on my system. However, **/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d** contained some files. The first one was **etc.conf**, containing information and a reference to this **manpage**: - # man tmpfiles.d + # man tmpfiles.d Read that **manpage**, and then continue studying all the files. @@ -304,42 +304,42 @@ depending on your use case. I enabled it on my system, to see what was in it. Edit **/etc/pacman.conf**, and below the **extra** section add: - [kernels] - Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist* + [kernels] + Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist* Now, sync with the newly-added repository: - # pacman -Syy + # pacman -Syy Lastly, list all available packages in this repository: - # pacman -Sl kernels + # pacman -Sl kernels In the end, I decided not to install anything from it, but I kept the repository enabled regardless. ## Setup a Network Connection in Parabola -Read the Arch wiki guide to [Configuring the Network](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_Network). +Read the ArchWiki guide to [Configuring the Network](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_Network). ### Set the Hostname This should be the same as the hostname that you set in **/etc/hostname**, when installing Parabola. You should also do it with `systemd`. If you chose the hostname *parabola*, do it this way: - # hostnamectl set-hostname parabola + # hostnamectl set-hostname parabola This writes the specified hostname to **/etc/hostname**. More information can be found in these **manpages**: - # man hostname - # info hostname - # man hostnamectl + # man hostname + # info hostname + # man hostnamectl Check **/etc/hosts**, to make sure that the hostname that you put in there during installation is still on each line: - 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost parabola - ::1 localhost.localdomain localhost parabola + 127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost parabola + ::1 localhost.localdomain localhost parabola You'll note that I set both lines; the second line is for IPv6. Since more and more ISPs are providing this now, it's good to be have it enabled, just in case. @@ -348,25 +348,25 @@ The `hostname` utility is part of the `inetutils` package, and is in the **core* installed by default (as part of the **base** package). ### Network Status -According to the Arch wiki, [udev](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Udev) should already detect +According to ArchWiki, [udev](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Udev) should already detect the ethernet chipset, and automatically load the driver for it at boot time. You can check this in the **Ethernet controller** section, when running the `lspci` command: - # lspci -v + # lspci -v Look at the remaining sections **Kernel driver in use** and **Kernel modules**. In my case, it was as follows: - Kernel driver in use: e1000e - Kernel modules: e1000e + Kernel driver in use: e1000e + Kernel modules: e1000e Check that the driver was loaded, by issuing `dmesg | grep module_name`. In my case, I did: - # dmesg | grep e1000e + # dmesg | grep e1000e ### Network Device Names -According to the Arch wiki guide on [Configuring Network Device Names](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_Network#Device_names), +According to the ArchWiki guide on [Configuring Network Device Names](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_Network#Device_names), it is important to note that the old interface names that you might be used to (e.g., `eth0`, `wlan0`, `wwan0`, etc.), if you come from a distribution like Debian or Trisquel, are no longer applicable. Instead, `systemd` creates device names @@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ with a fixed identifier that it automatically generates. An example device name for your ethernet chipset would be `enp0s25`, and is never supposed to change. -If you want to enable the old names, the Arch wiki recommends adding `net.ifnames=0` +If you want to enable the old names, ArchWiki recommends adding `net.ifnames=0` to your kernel parameters (in Libreboot context, this would be accomplished by following the instructions in [How to replace the default GRUB configuration file](grub_cbfs.md)). @@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ For background information, read [Predictable Network Interface Names](http://ww To show what the device names are for your system, run the following command: - # ls /sys/class/net + # ls /sys/class/net [Changing the device names](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Configuring_Network#Change_device_name) is possible, but for the purposes of this guide, there is no reason to do it. @@ -401,24 +401,24 @@ that you could use. Since we are going with the *MATE Desktop Environment*, we will primarily be following the instructions on the [Arch Linux Package Repository](https://wiki.mate-desktop.org/archlinux_custom_repo) page, but will also refer to the [General Recommendations](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General_recommendations#Graphical_user_interface) -on the Arch wiki. +on ArchWiki. ### Installing Xorg The first step is to install [**Xorg**](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg); this provides an implementation of the `X Window System`, which is used to provide a graphical intefrace in GNU+Linux: - # pacman -S xorg-server + # pacman -S xorg-server We also need to install the driver for our hardware. Since I am using a Thinkpad X200, I will use `xf86-video-intel`; it should be the same on the other Thinkpads, as well as the Macbook 1,1 and 2,1. - # pacman -S xf86-video-intel + # pacman -S xf86-video-intel For other systems, you can try: - # pacman -Ss xf86-video- | less + # pacman -Ss xf86-video- | less When this is combined with looking at your `lspci` output, you can determine which driver is needed. By default, `Xorg` will revert to `xf86-video-vesa`, @@ -426,68 +426,69 @@ which is a generic driver, and doesn't provide true hardware acceleration. Other drivers (not just video) can be found by looking at the `xorg-drivers` group: - # pacman -Sg xorg-drivers + # pacman -Sg xorg-drivers ### Xorg Keyboard Layout `xorg` uses a different configuration method for keyboard layouts than Parabola, so you will notice that the layout you set in **/etc/vconsole.conf** earlier might not actually be the same in `xorg`. -Check the Arch wiki's article on [Xorg's keyboard configuration](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_in_Xorg), for more information. +Check ArchWiki's article on [Xorg's keyboard configuration](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_in_Xorg), for more information. To see what layout you currently use, try this on a terminal emulator in `xorg`: - # setxkbmap -print -verbose 10 + # setxkbmap -print -verbose 10 I'm simply using the default Qwerty (US) keyboard, so there isn't anything I need -to change here; if you do need to make any changes, the Arch wiki recommends two ways +to change here; if you do need to make any changes, ArchWiki recommends two ways of doing it: manually updating [configuration files](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_in_Xorg#Using_X_configuration_files) or using the [localectl](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_in_Xorg#Using_localectl) command. ### Installing MATE Now we have to install the desktop environment itself. According to the Arch Linux Package Repository, if we want all of the MATE Desktop, we need to install two packages: - # pacman -Syy mate mate-extra + # pacman -Syy mate mate-extra The last step is to install a Display Manager; for MATE, we will be using `lightdm` -(it's the recommended Display Manager for the MATE Desktop); for this, we'll follow the insructions [here](https://wiki.mate-desktop.org/archlinux_custom_repo#display_manager_recommended), +(it's the recommended Display Manager for the MATE Desktop); for this, we'll folow the instructions [on the MATE wiki](https://wiki.mate-desktop.org/archlinux_custom_repo#display_manager_recommended), with one small change: the `lightdm-gtk3-greeter` package doesn't exist in Parabola's repositories. So, instead we will install the `lightdm-gtk-greeter` package; it performs the same function. We'll also need the `accountsservice` package, which gives us the login window itself: - # pacman -Syy lightdm-gtk3-greeter accountsservice + # pacman -Syy lightdm-gtk3-greeter accountsservice After installing all the required packages, we need to make it so that the MATE Desktop Environment will start automatically, whenever we boot our computer; to do this, we have to enable the display manager, `lightdm`, as well as the service that will prompt us with a login window, `accounts-daemon`: - # systemctl enable lightdm - # systemctl enable accounts-daemon + # systemctl enable lightdm + # systemctl enable accounts-daemon Now you have installed the *MATE Desktop Environment*,If you wanted -to install another desktop environment, check out some [other options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Desktop_environment) on the the Arch wiki. +to install another desktop environment, check out some [other options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Desktop_environment) on ArchWiki. ### Configuring Network Manager in MATE Now that we have installed the Mate Desktop environment, and booted into it, we need to set up the network configuration in our graphical environment. -The MATE Desktop wiki recommends that we use Network Manager; the Arch wiki article -about it can be found [here](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NetworkManager). +The MATE Desktop wiki recommends that we use Network Manager; an +article about Network Manager can be found +[on ArchWiki](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NetworkManager). We need to install the NetworkManager package: - # pacman -S networkmanager + # pacman -S networkmanager We will also need the Network Manager applet, which will allow us to manage our networks from the system tray: - # pacman -S network-manager-applet + # pacman -S network-manager-applet Finally, we need to start the service (if we want to use it now), or enable it, (so that it will activate automatically, at startup). - # systemctl enable NetworkManager.service + # systemctl enable NetworkManager.service If you need VPN support, you will also want to install the `networkmanager-openvpn` package. @@ -498,11 +499,11 @@ with Network Manager are** `dhcpcd` **and** `wifi-menu`**.** You can see all currently-running services with this command: - # systemctl --type=service + # systemctl --type=service And you can stop them using this command: - # systemctl stop service_name.service + # systemctl stop service_name.service If you want to disable those services, meaning that you no longer want them to start when the computer boots up, you will need to use `systemctl's` `disable` option, |