i am currently installing gentoo following the documentation here:


i am trying to do but i get -/bin/bash: emerge: command not found

the installation has been smooth up until this point. any ideas or should i just start from the beginning again?

What part of the handbook are you at? If your getting that error that means that portage can't be found in your root directory as an installed program.

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handboo...?part=1&chap=6

im at 6b.

Generally something as simple as not running the commands correctly - especially the "env-update" and/or "source ...".

If you can't sort it out, simply rebootthe CD, do the mounts again (section 4.summit) then restart at section 6.
We've all been there - it's part of the learning ...

It looks like you skipped step 5d to me. That or you haven't chrooted properly. syg00 has some good advice though. This is definatly part of learning, i've been there done that.

i wasnt expecting to actually get through the whole install on my first try. after i get it to work ill probably step through it again that way i can get into more detail with understanding the commands that i am running. i want to run gentoo for awhile just to get a feel of a more difficult distro than ubuntu. im really trying to learn linux, so i have a lot planned that i want to try to take on. im thinking in about six months or so im going to try linux from scratch. im up for the challenge but well see where i stand with my linux knowledge.

I'm curious, why weren't you expecting to get through the installation on the first try? What makes Gentoo more difficult? Is the documentation unclear? Is there a way Gentoo could improve the installation process and/or documentation? There are a couple of Gentoo-based distributions that aim to "just work." You might want to try them out if you are having a hard time with Gentoo. Those distros are Vidalinux and Ututo.

the only distros i have installed have been ubuntu and suse, both with gui installers. so i went into this one not knowing what really to expect. the documentation is not unclear. i have not gone back and tried to start back where they suspect that i messed up, but im guess that it was probably my error that caused the problem in the first place (probably a typo), not an issue with gentoo. im excited to try a distro that is more challenging than ubuntu. im not complaining at all about gentoo, i want to run into problems, because the best way to learn is trying to work through them.

Gentoo can be difficult. I had to reinstall quite a few times before I got it the way I liked it. The problem really comes from a lack of understanding. The documentation is excellent, but like always, the real world doesn't always work the way you want it to. When I went through the install process on numerous occasions certain commands didn't work as I though they should, I ended up leaving out commands, I must of made a million typing errors. It can be difficult, but some of us are lucky enough to get it on the first try.

I cheated with Gentoo because I didn't use the LiveCD. I installed it from within Debian and I had the net configured so I avoided a lot of initial work. The advantage also was that it was easier to browse and read through the online documentation as I worked that way rather than have to print it out or use a text mode browser like links.

So my thought is that if you already have an existing Linux distro, just use that to install gentoo. The steps are all the same. The Live install cd is provided only to get you into a Linux environment to do the install and if you have it already on your system you don't need it.

I acutally read the documentation on my laptop while installing Gentoo on my desktop. I'd hate to think I had to print out the whole handbook. Thats way to many pages... what a waste.

Another trick is to think logically and ask, "why do they want me to do this?" instead of blindly following the steps. It takes a while and is a pain, but believe me it works that way.

And yes, I installed Gentoo first shot. Not bragging but just wanted to say that it's not as complex as it seems to be at first. I too was way confused initially but once you *know* that such-and-such step is to do so-and-so you'll get the idea.

Edit: the exact same advice I'm giving was given to me in this very same forum...

i plan to have the manual on one screen and google on the other. that way i can see what each command does instead of just going through the motions. its is easy to use linux, but knowing it is another thing to master.