chroot install of arch fails, no mounted / in a chroot.

Shadow_7 · 04-19-2015, 04:11 PM

I normally install linux in linux with the use of a chroot environment before I ever boot a given install. I thought that I would try arch, but the base system fails to function in a chroot for installing packages, like a bootable linux kernel.

# pacman -Syu

Code:

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n] Y
error: could not determine cachedir mount point /var/cache/pacman/pkg
error: failed to commit transaction (not enough free disk space)
Errors occurred, no packages were upgraded.

It seems that the mtab doesn't have the / entry, because it's a chroot. And because the host linux is debian based, it fails to install by other efforts due to the lack of a pacstrap or pacman in the deb repository. Futher complicated by the / of the chroot not being a direct mount point of a /dev/ location.

And the archlinux-bootstrap-2015.04.01-x86_64.tar.gz bundle doesn't have a bootable kernel in it, so I can't just slap it on a flash card and boot it either. I can kind of function in the chroot with adding users, changing passwords and basic admin setup steps, but if I can't install anything to the base system like a kernel, then the base system is kind of pointless for anything beyond a bash shell.

Steps to Date.

Code:

mount /dev/sdc3 /mnt/p3
mkdir /mnt/p3/install
cd /mnt/p3/install
wget -c http://mirror.jmu.edu/pub/archlinux/iso/2015.04.01/archlinux-bootstrap-2015.04.01-x86_64.tar.gz
tar -xzvpf archlinux-bootstrap-2015.04.01-x86_64.tar.gz
cd root.x86_64
cp /etc/resolv.conf ./etc/resolv.conf
nano ./etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
mount -t proc none /mnt/p3/install/root.x86_64/proc
mount --rbind /dev /mnt/p3/install/root.x86_64/dev
export LANG=C; chroot /mnt/p3/install/root.x86_64 /bin/bash

Code:

pacman-key --init
pacman-key --populate archlinux
pacman -Syy
pacman -Syu

And then the previous mentioned error. There is no / in the mtab of the chroot. And there's no bootable kernel in the bootstrap tarball. So which came first, the chicken or the egg? Is the only way to install arch by running arch first?

Shadow_7 · 04-20-2015, 11:22 AM

Some progress. After noticing the README in the root.x86_64/ base system. Using the arch-chroot in the sub-directories there of gave an environment where the previous mount point complaints didn't occur. But the README documentation appears dated as the URL provided is no longer valid.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...he_base_system

should be:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php...e#Installation

And pacstrap /mnt base doesn't work (no pacman in the host distro), but pacman -S base seems to be equivalent while in the arch-chroot. So I should be on my way to a bootable SDHC card of arch for my laptop.

Shadow_7 · 04-20-2015, 04:33 PM

Booted arch and ran it while. Played runescape < 3 hours before a hard X crash. I don't have that issue in debian, so back to the other bootable media. An interesting option though. Most of the debian xorg packages are xorg-... in arch. Like xorg-xclock, xorg-oclock, xorg-xinit. And bison provides yacc when compiling cwm from sources. The trackpad on my hp stream 11 didn't work, and while I don't use it, that and other debian is simpler (for me) stuff puts arch on a shelf for my current uses. To be fair, using openjdk instead of oracles java, and running the OS from SDHC card, so it might not be the distros influences that resulted in said issue(s). It was better at a few things once I got past my rusty admin-ish skillz. Like correctly detecting my monitors native resolutions by default. And live streaming (incoming) web content.