Arch Linux on the Asus EeePC 904HD. Part one, installation.

To begin, I will explain why and for whom this article appeared.
It all started with the release of Ubuntu 8.10. I have been waiting for him for a long time. And HE came out. Upgraded from 8.04, and ... My disappointment knew no bounds. The terrible brakes on my EeePC 904 left him no chance to stay. It's a shame, I always loved this product. And to stay on 8.04 was already so dreary ...
Especially since I had long wanted to put a “managed” distribution. So my view fell on Arch Linux .

And if there are people here who are ready to sacrifice their time now to enjoy later, and also know what the “console” is and communicate with the “console” at a level higher than ubuntu_user, then this article is for you.
Well, the experimenters (like me :)) will also be satisfied.

1. First, prepare the distribution kit and the media.

There are two installation options: simple (using the .img file) or more complicated (using the .iso image).
Consider the first option, since it is much faster and does not require a pre-installed Linux-system.
To get started, download, for example, from the offsite, the latest distribution of archlinux-2008.06-core-i686.img ( Here you will find mirrors for downloading and torrent links. ) It is
necessary to download the core version, the ftp version cannot be used due to the lack of network card modules.

We need a flash drive at least 512 MB, as the distrib weighs ~ 300 MB.
Installing a system image from under Windows is most convenient using the Flashnul utility .
First, we look at the “flashnul -p" command under which index does the USB flash drive work for us. For instance:

C:\>flashnul -p

Avaible [sic] physical drives:
0 size = 200048565760 (186 Gb)
1 size = 400088457216 (372 Gb)
2 size = 400088457216 (372 Gb)
3 size = 4060086272 (3872 Mb)

The team gives us that the flash drive has an index of 3 and we will continue to work with this index.
“Fill” the image onto the USB flash drive with the command C:\>flashnul 3 -L path/to/arch/usb.img

For Linux users, all this is done with the dd command if = image.img of = / dev / sd [x]
Where / dev / sd [x] is the link to the USB flash drive (Attention! If you have a flash drive, for example, / dev / sdb1, then you need to write / dev / sdb (without index)).

Read more about preparing a flash drive with a distribution kit in the ArchWiki .

2. Installing the distribution kit.

So, the image is ready for us. Getting down.
We F2->Boot->Hard Disk Drives->1st Driveexpose the boot from the flash drive in the BIOS (we expose our flash drive). Save the config and reboot.
When loading, the GRUB menu now popped up. We launch the first item - Boot ArchLive .
In the Prompt login, enter “root”. Password will not be requested. Next, we do as it will be written ( To begin installation, run /arch/setup, i.e., enter / arch / setup in the console ).
The welcome window will come out, click OK. Asks where to install - select the first item (CD-ROM or OTHER SOURCE). And so the installation began on the points:

1. Prepare Hard Drive.
We will split the disk by the automatic method ( Auto-Prepare). Select / dev / sda . Next, the configurator will ask how much space to allocate for/ boot, swap, / (root directory), / home .
I broke it like this - / boot (64 MB), swap (512 MB), / (7500 MB), / home (all remaining space).
We select ext3 as the FS. We use it for / and for / home. We agree to the complete deletion of data.

2. Select Packages.
Choosing packages to install. After the information windows, the configurator will ask you to save the packages in the cache. I think this is not important anymore and you can answer “No”. Select "base-devel" to install. Next, packages from core and base-devel will be marked in the list of packages, the rest is your choice. I did not select anything additionally, since everything can be put on later.

3. Install Packages.
Actually installation of packages will start. Nothing special.

4. Configure System.
Initial configuration. He will ask you to use hwdetect to make adjustments for the equipment in the configuration files - click "No". Next, edit the files for your needs. I will not describe what exactly to edit. Read in detail in ArchWiki . Remember to set the root password.

5. Install Bootloader.
Bootloader installation. It’s more convenient for anyone. For me, GRUB and only GRUB;)
Install it on /dev/sda. Next, answer “No”.

And the last point is Exit Install. Click and type " reboot " in the console .

All! The beginning of the path has been laid!
If someone became interested, then in the second part I will tell you how to configure the network, upgrade, install the "correct" kernel, configure the "hot keys" and much more. :)
If even then it will be interesting to someone, then the time of X will come. :)