at least this time i managed a grub gui!
i'm installing gentoo minimal x64. its been relatively smooth aside from reentering commands and arguments due to the occasional typo.

i have been using the quick installation guide for x86. the only two hiccups i ran into were as follows and i thought all was well until she rebooted.

.

The hiccup is obvious, but I just alternated i386 for x86_64 presuming it'd be the proper image on the x64 disk and as linux didn't burp from the command line, I presumed it was fine but now suspect it could be an issue with my ultimate issue which is that the file *kernelname* does not exist when I reboot to grub.

I followed this to the letter as far as I didn't remove the kernel version from the name, but removed the line root=sd3 ram true root=sda3 and copied the format in the install guide. If the above hiccup using x86_64 isn't my real problem, it could be that I left the initrd line commented out (boot was always my issue in command line installation). I'm doubting its removing the bit about true root or including the long version of the kernel name (i've never seen a boot line include root=/dev/partition ram as well as true root=/dev/partition. I have never seen "true root" and that could be that I've never attempted to use gentoo.

Worse yet is that despite the fact that I've created the appropriate mount points for my installation via:

and so on; trying to reboot with the live cd and edit these proves difficult because the live disc is remaking these mount points and mounting ; etc. I'm hoping it hasn't overwritten the directories for the installation I just (nearly) completed.

Obviously I cannot do this from the grub line either, which is where the hard disk boot fails and says, so what now?

Can someone help me out? Three possible troubles or one simple but messy one and I'm stuck. I'm going to leave the drive as is for now because I'd rather resolve it then rebegin not for time (its a quick process), but so I can learn this minimal installation which I have not attempted beyond LFS (but root got me...)

btw i might add I just tried to remount the partitions to different points since the live disk is using the mount points previously created and I can't locate the files within the drive. i.e.

trying to reenter /dev/sda just prints an echo (in yellow if it is significant) and it is not searchable with the list command and cd attempts print out bash:cd:/dev/sda:Not a directory.

Sorry about the spiel.

Thanks.

Hmmm - right at the beginning of that document is the following - highlighted in yellow no lessI would suggest you try as advised - there is a x86_64 version.

i used amd64 iso, latest stage, and latest portage. not an x86 iso...unless you meant the guide.

i have to admit, on the topic of computers i'm not very skilled. i spend more time reinstalling my hard disk than you do answering these posts. i was to understand from internet resources that intel has no true 64 bit architecture, but that it was based on the amd 64-bit architecture. i spoke with someone more in the know than myself, and according to their advice I should download an i686 gentoo cd/dvd for my hard disk installation. There isn't one on the gentoo downloads webpage. x86, amd64, sparc; etc..but none for i686. Do I have to choose another distribution? I'm sure I can get it running with the x86_64 disc that I've downloaded, but I'd prefer like any person that it be the correct disk for my hardware platform. now I'm confused. I've used i686 installations before and they didn't present issues that weren't OS related. thanks again.

itchgo.

I was referring to the handbook.
If you have the amd64 (just a common name now for both AMD and Intel 64 bit architectures), and it boots, you have the correct CD.
Read the doco - you'll get nowhere on gentoo if you aren't prepared to follow the (excellent) documentation. Attempting short-cuts will lead to (further) trouble.

The x86 and amd64 guides are mostly the same. But if you use the 64 bits livecd and you want a 64 bits SO then you should be following the amd64 handbook, and not the x86 one. That's your first error.

The second is that "amd64" as such is a generic name for the x86_64 architecture. It doesn't really matter if your chip has been made by intel or amd. The arch is often referred as "amd64" just because amd was the inventor. Intel had 64 bits chips by that time but it was an entirely different architecture that didn't succeed in the desktop market at all.

Just as an example, people often refer to x86 using "i386" ('i' means Intel) just because by that time it was intel the one who launched that chip.

So, to sum up, you must use the right manual for the SO you want to install. amd64 iso and amd64 handbook to get an amd64 SO (which will work on intel chips). OR x86 iso, x86 handbook to get an x86 (32 bits) SO, which will also work.

sheesh, my pc was down for a few days. thanks for the replies, I did manage a chat connectino on IRC and learned as much, thankyou. I found out that the main issue with the installation was I deleted some lines I thought were not essential in the grub configuration file. I'm still unsure as to whether or not there was a naming conflict in using the short name that the guide used, that I assumed to be truncated for simplicuity in writing the document, and using the kernel revision number in the filename, which is what I did do. Almost had that one perfect, I feel horrible I can't even follow the directions, haha.

Someone also said it might be a better idea to use the i686 image, or at least that was the feeling I got. Wanting a 64-bit architecture apparently makes this not possible as i686 .iso are 32-bit.

I also wasn't chrooting on reboot, and so was unable to access the new filesystem. this is why there was issues reaching the installation configuration files.

Thanks for the replies though it is much appreciated, I did manage to figure out the installation! Take care.