I have an old spare PC and I want to use it to learn linux. I've put ubuntu on my laptop and done other things like that that people suggest to noobs, however i'm not learning really how I want to learn linux. I really want to be a command line master and understand the real inner workings and power of linux. I've had a hard time finding a kind of tutorial that bridges the gap from, here's how you surf the internet and install packages in ubuntu to here's how I hold your hand through building everything and you will really understand...anyways, i just found out about linux from scratch (i know, kinda late) but this seems awesome for what I want to do; take an old pc screw it up, wipe it screw it up and screw up until i'm like "...i know kung fu"

in any case I have a general kind of setup question. I know LFS is a longer project that would take some dedication and I'm ready for that, but I don't have much space to really set up another pc area...I have a windows pc I have to use for my work thats my main workstation. I'd like to setup the spare pc and do everything remotely via putty or similar. is that possible? i think it is, but please someone slap my hand and guide me straight.

you have to install some linux distro to do LFS no? and then you work all from there right? so I was thinking on the old PC, set it up with some minimal type of distro like slackware or arch or something like that, and then I should be able to sit at my windows PC and ssh into the arch and have a browser to search for problems and LFS guide open on my windows PC and doing everything in putty with my headless arch/LFS experiment tucked away so I can sneak some LFS time while I'm supposed to be doing other things

sorry for the noobness. i feel like this is terribly noob question, but I don't want to bust out my spare and get everything going and excited and then realize this sneaky setup won't work like I hoped

Hi

I dont see why this wont work, You would have to have ssh server installed. Any of the distro make minimal install ,(Make host compilant)

So good luck I say

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thanks for the reply. that sounds good. I was really concerned with things that you have to do with the build that would require you to have an actual monitor or keyboard directly connected. it would stink to tuck my secret PC away and then when I get to the nitty gritty have to pull it out and have to hook it up to test etc, or would i be able to probably be able to install ssh at some point where I'm going to want to boot into my build (if I ever get there). at any point in the lower level stuff and testing would I be up a creek because of the set up as described? (I'm sure I'll probably get up a creek on my own in many other ways lol, but at least I hope my setup foundation will allow me to keep working through it.

Hi

When building lfs it,s all done from command line (hope you reliease). As you will have a Host installed Slack Debain what ever, That is the 1 you will connect to, Then you open a shell and build lfs, So lfs will never be the main system you are connecting to Until it is built. As for having to get the pc out I cant see any reason you will need to, You will create a partition on the hard drive for lfs (which is acssessible from host as another partition).
I hope I have described this correctly for you to understand.
You will just be ssh into host system then build using host. It,s just the same as if you in front of pc but you will be sending commands via eth0 cable

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yeah, that's what I understood it as, but I wasn't sure if maybe you build as you go and test certain things you've compiled etc, but sounds like that's probably once you build the main core and probably go into BLFS which is probably all done in your LFS right? and you compile whatever else you want in your build there? I guess i'm asking at what point in the lesson are you required to boot directly into your new LFS build and start working within it to continue/test?

maybe there's some fundamental thing i'm misunderstanding. I'd like to do everything remotely from a windows PC with putty. i should be fine?

Hi

Yes it can be built remotely through ssh. You will be using your host to build right upto the end when you boot into lfs, It will be know different to building directorly at the pc.

1 members found this post helpful.

great that's what I was thinking it would be, but I've certain done some dumb things off of assumptions. appreciate the help! cheers!