ArchBang 2.00-RC1 -Testers Invited!

~sHyLoCk~ · 02-27-2010, 08:01 PM

ArchBang is a simple GNU/Linux Distribution. It combines the lightweight Arch Linux with fast and simple Openbox window manager. It aims at providing the user an out-of-the-box Arch Linux experience with a pre-configured Openbox desktop suite whilst being simple and adhering to The Arch Way.
ArchBang is available in both 32bit and 64bit.

Official Website
Official Forum
BugTracker

Currently ArchBang 2.00 RC2 is out for testing. Download info is on our website.

syg00 · 03-01-2010, 05:53 AM

Just to remind myself to test this - and get you off the zero-reply list ...

syg00 · 03-05-2010, 01:07 AM

Looks pretty good - this is being posted from the (_x64) liveCD.
I ran into your (disconnected) floppy drive problem - will look at that later.

Not sure the interface is "me" - but that's personal preference. Will pull the 32-bit version and see how it performs (and looks) on a really old laptop.

Nice work.

Should add it appears to have found all my hardware o.k. - my nVidia 8600 GT driving my monitor at 1920x1080, sound card.

syg00 · 03-05-2010, 07:04 PM

The 32-bit is un-bootable for me - Buffer I/O errors on sr0. This appears to be a wider Arch problem of late. Also complains about the floppy.
I will transfer this to the thread on the Arch forums.

linus72 · 03-05-2010, 07:18 PM

It runs great on my old i686 Emachines with MX4000 Gforce, AMD AthlonXP 2400+ K7
and I haven't noticed any issues yet....

I didn't burn to CD, I dd'd it to my usb to install to hard drive

I dig the dark themes too, see screenshot

linus72 · 03-06-2010, 06:23 AM

OK,

so I'm still kinda learning Arch and have run into a couple snags...

No real problems besides the /etc/sudoers thing mentioned in Archbang forum thread
as in no reboot/shutdown for user until edit /etc/sudoers...

It wont let me login to Arch forum for some reason so I am putting this here...

After initial first upgrade which upgrade like 10 things it acted kinda weird
with the wallpaper and conky disappearing

After rebooting I haven't had any more issues except
I have installed Slim and can't get it to activate?
I edited /etc/inittab for runlevel 4 and dont know how
to get Slim to start?

Also, why does it instantly startx when I login as user?
this was before Slim.

Also, how do I choose a WM?
Like xwmconfig in Slack, but what for Arch?

EDIT: of course I know about editing ~/.xinitrc but was wonderin what other ways
I could autostart Slim, etc?
Heres my new shiny xfce4 Desktop; the system is running very stable now for a RC1

EDIT2: For future release I have a couple recommends...

1) The installer didnt tell me which partition was my swap when installing
this isn't your fault, I have so many partitions I forgot which one was swap...and most installers verify which is swap etc, so I just opened term and did sudo fdisk -l, and its sda6 (2 HDD and 16 partitions between them

2) The root desktop is not configured and so when opening thunar,etc as root its pretty ugly as the gtkrc is not set for root...I usually setup root's theme's, etc to match users
just my opinion

3) X starts as soon as I enter name/password;; what if I have to fix something as user?
How do i get it to stop autoX when logging in as user?
when logging in as root X doen't autostart, which is good.

4) A big recommends for PCMANFM vs Thunar or any other
The problem with Thunar/Nautilus,etc is they "blind" you to your partitions!
with PCMANFM I can view and mount partitions on left panel no issues
with most like thunar you are left to manually mounting the partition, etc
This is a gripe with most distro's for me and just a rant about that, not about Archbang

No bugs as I can see except my general ignorance of Arch Linux

So I give it a 9 out of 10 dude for a RC1
Please note I didn't use a CD, I dd'd to USB and it worked flawlessly thru install etc
I got the dd info from archbang wiki here
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/ArchBang

Quote:

Mount ISO on USB
To put the iso on pen drive. Open Terminal as root and type:

Code:

# dd if=archbang-2.00-RC1-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=8M

replace the x with the letter corresponding to your pendrive. Type fdisk -l to list all the drives on your system. Running ArchBang live system on pendrive is a breathtaking experience!
Warning: dd can be a deadly command if used carelessly!

course I'm using the 32-bit version, not -x86_64

Also, here's my /proc/cpuinfo and it has a Nvidia Gforce MX4000 I think(LOL)

Code:

vendor_id	: AuthenticAMD
cpu family	: 6
model		: 8
model name	: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2400+
stepping	: 1
cpu MHz		: 1996.872
cache size	: 256 KB
fdiv_bug	: no
hlt_bug		: no
f00f_bug	: no
coma_bug	: no
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 1
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr sse syscall mmxext 3dnowext 3dnow up
bogomips	: 3995.15
clflush size	: 32
cache_alignment	: 32
address sizes	: 34 bits physical, 32 bits virtual
power management: ts

Can I compile kernel for my cpu or what?

And do I have to do anything about the Nvidia stuff as in the archbang
webpage here at end?
http://pdg86.wordpress.com/2010/02/2...ang-2-00-beta/

Haven't had any X issues since upgrade so dont know about the Nvidia stuff mentioned there above....

Thanks

brianL · 03-06-2010, 06:44 AM

I've had it (the 64 bit version) running OK in VirtualBox. Burned it to a CD, and might try installing it as a dual-boot with Slack64 on my desktop later today or tomorrow.

~sHyLoCk~ · 03-06-2010, 07:04 AM

@ linus72

X shouldn't autostart after you have installed. It only autostarts in Live User.

linus72 · 03-06-2010, 07:09 AM

OH
well it autostarts every desktop as soon as I log in as "bz", my username...
as soon as I enter password it starts in a millisecond!

~sHyLoCk~ · 03-06-2010, 08:51 AM

Code:

 rm ~/.bash_profile

Now check.

linus72 · 03-06-2010, 09:19 AM

OK
I got that fixed and now I have Slim working as well.

First I edited /etc/inittab for runlevel 4; I then edited /etc/rc.conf and put Slim last as a daemon ( @slim)
and Slim now lets me log in

Now, when each desktop starts I get this warning
How do i fix that??

Quote:

Could not look up internet address for archbang.
This will prevent Xfce from operating correctly.
It may be possible to correct the problem by adding
archbang to the file /etc/hosts on your system.

here's my /etc/hosts and I edited like this, is that right?

Code:

#
# /etc/hosts: static lookup table for host names
#

#<ip-address>	<hostname.domain.org>	<hostname>
# 127.0.0.1		localhost.localdomain	localhost
127.0.0.1		localhost.localdomain	archbang
# End of file

EDIT: here's my /etc/sudoers I edited so i could use pcmanfm as root and reboot/shutdown

Code:

bz      ALL=(ALL) ALL
bz ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/pcmanfm
bz ALL=NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown -r now
bz ALL=NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown -h now

pixellany · 03-06-2010, 01:20 PM

I just installed Archbang: Nice piece of work!!

comments/questions:

1. When going to run the installer, it wants a root password. In my experience, the rest of the planet configures live CDs to boot into root by default, and not require any passwords to install. I got around it with "sudo something". Unnecessary annoyance for newbies.

2. Much as I like the Arch logo, I do NOT like it as a cursor. How do you change this?

3. I like the list of shortcut keys on the desktop--and the fact that "super-D" gives a desktop just like on Windows. (Yes, old habits are hard to break.)

4. I also like the whatever-it-is on the desktop that shows various system stats. What IS that?? (Saw it also in Anti-X/Fluxbox)

5. Apparently no login manager (ordinary user logs in on CLI, then X starts.) How do you log in more than one user?**

**Switching users has always been a big issue for me---I now use KDE/KDM, but would really like to convert to something faster.

linus72 · 03-06-2010, 02:03 PM

OK

so I set it up a little wrong and now have xfce4 running great with Slim

I should have edited /etc/inittab for runlevel 5 and then I read about DM's at archwiki
http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Display_Manager
and saw this for Slim in /etc/inittab

Code:

x:5:respawn:/usr/bin/slim >& /dev/null

so, now everything is working
autologin as root or user

pixellany · 03-06-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

now have xfce4 running great with Slim

But the thread is about Archbang/Openbox.......Oh well...

linus72 · 03-06-2010, 02:38 PM

yeah
I didnt try it for Openbox Pix
Never have been a Openbox type

My attraction to it was the Arch/i686 part
never tried Arch before and I need i686 so....

I am setting up my own JWM/Fluxbox/Icewm combo but need a standby when I inadvertently
break one of those so I use XFCE4 as my backup till I perfect the JWM/Fluxbox/Icewm desktops

LOL
I already broke JWM's .jwmrc a couple times...