Unobscured Vision Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 Since I'm still a n00b when it comes to Linux (Is there anyone other than the esteemed Mr.Torvalds who ISN'T to some degree ? lol) , I've hatched the master plan for Gentoo. I see that I've got choices (a good thing...), such as Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 (2 ISO images...). I've decided that I'm going to start by installing it at Stage 3, from the ISO's (currently downloading cd-2), learn what I can, then proceed to a Stage 2 install, then the almighty, do-it-yerself Stage 1 (the "Prize", as it were). Any tips, pointers, hints, tricks and rhetoric in this area would be most helpful and appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellBender Posted December 11, 2003 Share Posted December 11, 2003 I say you just start off with a Stage 1 install. Gentoo is a source distro, so its pretty pointless to use it if you are going to be getting it off of Stage 3 anyway. At least do a Stage 2 first :) As for any tips.. Make sure to follow the installation guide on gentoo.org. It's very detailed and you'll die without it. Also, when it comes to setting up X, many people (including myself) have loads of problems. I spent a good 2 days trying almost all the different combinations before figuring out that you can use a default configuration.. and the default configuration worked for me. So when you get to that part, you'll see in the Gentoo guide that you can use a default config--dont try to customize it until you've tried the default config. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 Baby steps...remember, the hardest Linux I've used is SuSE. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xe|oN Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I took the Gentoo plunge last week and im loving it! :D If you follow the installation guide on gentoo.org the only real difference between a Stage 1 and Stage 3 install is time (Add a day or 2 to your install time :p). Anyone can do a Stage 1 install if they can follow instructions. I personally did a Stage 1 install. Having used Debian a lot prior to using Gentoo certainly helped me to get XFree86 going fast tho ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredVolkl Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 I jumped into Gentoo today too. Previously I was running Slack 9.1 and I was just looking into something different. Gentoo caught my eye. I figured I could do a stage 3 install pretty fast and then do a stage 1 later when I have time. Boy was I wrong. It took like 5 hours to get a partial compile done. I gave up when my ATI drivers wouldn't emerge. I'm not a linux guru yet, but I'd say I'm fairly well aquanted with it. For some reason it just kicked my ass tonight. I'm gonna try a stage 1 install when I get home for X-mas break and I have more time. As for a suggestion, I'd go with a stage 1 install if you have time. The gentoo.org tutorial pretty much walks you through everything. It's not really hard and if you're familiar with at least a several linux commands, you shouldn't have a hard time doing it. The hardest part is configuring your kernel, which if you do it a few times, it's not so bad. I've done it a couple times before, so it wasn't that hard for me. Just know your hardware. It'll help you tremendously. GOOD LUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 Well, I got to the part where you start entering cheroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash (or something like that...very close) and it kept spitting an error at me that the directory didnt exist...yet it was right there where it should have been. As it was, I was having to mkdir rather often when there was nothing in the instructions to do so --- JUST to get further along in the install. Also, during the tar - portage thing (cause I was doing a stage 3), I saw several files thatwere missing or invalid. I went to tarball the stage 3 beforehand and it just about gave up the ghost for the same reason. So, gentoo has frustrated me....for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kemical Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 i like the livecd's better should try those first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaredVolkl Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Well, I got to the part where you start entering cheroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash (or something like that...very close) and it kept spitting an error at me that the directory didnt exist...yet it was right there where it should have been.As it was, I was having to mkdir rather often when there was nothing in the instructions to do so --- JUST to get further along in the install. Also, during the tar - portage thing (cause I was doing a stage 3), I saw several files thatwere missing or invalid. I went to tarball the stage 3 beforehand and it just about gave up the ghost for the same reason. So, gentoo has frustrated me....for now. You may want to check your disks for errors. Did you MD5 sum them after you downloaded the images? ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS run a checksum on things like this. It's crucial you get a good set of data to install an operating system. You don't want one corrupted file screwing you up down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobscured Vision Posted December 13, 2003 Author Share Posted December 13, 2003 Checked the md5sum from windows (after I reinstalled xp... :crazy: ) and it's not the same as what was specified for cd-1. So it looks like I got a bad .iso on my hands. CD-2 is ok, so I'm not COMPLETELY screwed, but I guess I get to d/l cd-1 again. I'm going to use a different mirror, if there IS another mirror. :no: EDIT: after thinking about it, gentoo can do a net install... Concerning video drivers, I hear that it can be a real pain in the ass to get nVidia drivers to emerge and sync. Any tips to avoid a hassle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metal_dragen Veteran Posted December 13, 2003 Veteran Share Posted December 13, 2003 Nvidia drivers are cake. I don't know where you heard that but I've never had a problem merging nvidia drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellBender Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Concerning video drivers, I hear that it can be a real pain in the ass to get nVidia drivers to emerge and sync. Any tips to avoid a hassle? Yeah, many people have had crazy problems with nvidia drivers. There's a tutorial in the install guide on how to install them.. follow it word for word. and never EVER run emerge -C sys-apps/portage :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revenant Posted December 13, 2003 Share Posted December 13, 2003 Gentoo, is an awsome Distro, but its kinda limited. I was a Redhat Wiz before they cut the Desktop Support, but oh well. Gentoo would be my second choice but have you had any hangs on install? :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seethru Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 I tried to install gentoo 3x after getting fed up with suse and not running apache properly........gentoo failed install 3x from a net install, both stage 2 and stage 3. I didn't have the time for stage 1, so now I've installed FreeBSD.....quick, painless, and it's been updating every bit of software that I could possibly need through it's ports system. I don't even have to find a download location because most programs are already there, just cd /usr/whatever/whatever make install distclean Beautiful :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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