Advantages and disadvantages of installing Gentoo GNU/Linux using Stage 1
 

Hello folks:

First and foremost I want to make absolutely clear that I don't intend to start a flame war about this, whether you like the distribution, the installation or which distribution you think is better. I'm just asking for opinions and ideas about this.

The issue at hand is this, I must write a document for one of my classes, and I have decided to write a manual on installing Gentoo using stage one, emphasizing my experiences with it.

I must interview at least 5 people to gain a basic knowledge of my audience, and what to expect from them. The idea with this thread is to ask for any ideas on what kinda of questions would you ask to an experience user about the Gentoo installation, and some ideas to create the audience profile, and if you want to comment about your experiences with the topic you are most than welcome as well. Anything is well appreciated.

Have a nice day,

I've done 3 stage 1 installs... Twice on a P4 2.8/1024 DDR and once on a Celeron 500/128. I will *NEVER* do it again on something as slow as the celeron. I love Gentoo (and, on that note, this thread should probably be in the Gentoo forum) but stage 1 is not for slow boxes, not unless you are INCREDIBLY patient.

Thanks for your opinions.

I was not aware that there is a Gentoo forum in Linuxquestions, if it so, would the moderators be kind as to change the thread to the Gentoo forum, in which it will better placed.

Come on folks, more opinions, ideas or insights are more than welcome

Have a nice day

To be honest,the best way to get your answers for this paper is to try Gentoo from a stage 1 install.
I have no problems with gentoo stage 1 and have installed from stage 1 quite a few times on several machines.Slow machines suck for gentoo period...stage 1,2, or 3.
The advantage is a system built specifically towards your hardware and tweaked just for your needs.

Yes I run Gentoo GNU/Linux and I installed from Stage 1, I just want ideas, insights, experiences. I would like to broaden my knowledge with this specific install process so I can create a audience profile to help me do a better job with the paper.

Thanks for your opinion, and once again, I encourage other people to share their ideas.

Good day,

depends on what you want. I've done my share of stage 1's and consider it a waste of time for the most part (keep in mind this is all completely my opinion). There is nothing wrong with optimizing, but what you get in the end is (assuming you want kde, gnome, the works) 20 or so hours of compile time to shave off maybe a second (and this is debatable) of application startup time which at that rate would take you years to get back the time it took you for the build. But all that said, if someone has never used Gentoo before I would recommend it for the learning experience, as well as I believe people should try as many distro's as possible to find the distro that fits their needs the most.

While I agree it takes quite some time to build a stage 1, I installed last week (re-installed) and bootstrapped overnight, then emerged-system while i went to classes the next day. Done. Did the 3rd stage in just about an hour.

Can it be done from a stage 3 and get (essentially) the same result? Absolutely. I've used debian, slackware, and fedora all before (and a couple others for short times), but gentoo is now the distribution I choose. Not because of "optimizing" but because I like the portage system, and most of all: I like the community. But I digress.

I'm not arguing the time it takes, or why someone would want to use it (re-read the last sentence of my previous post). As far as time, I compile everything from source on my Slack so I don't save any time off what it would take portage to do. My opinion was based on installing a stage 1 (with "optimizations" as per the installation instructions (yes I know they are optional, but I think we can agree that they are recommended by the Gentoo dev's) vs. a stage 3 install to get up and going. all of this is my opinion only.

There currently is no Gentoo forum here at LQ. (LQ's policy is to have an official representative participate on the forums, and thus far Gentoo has declined. If you would like to see a Gentoo forum at LQ, please contact Gentoo and let them know your thoughts.)

The only Gentoo installation experience I had was entirely unsuccessful. About 2 years ago when I was trying out many different distros, I attempted a Gentoo installation after reading (and agreeing with) the "Gentoo Philosophy" document. Unfortunately, after struggling with it over the course of a couple of days, about the only thing I had to show for it was a bunch of new dents in the wall, caused by my head ;) I'll admit that my own lack of experience almost certainly was a contributing factor but I just couldn't afford to keep wrestling with it.

As for a profile of a good Gentoo candidate, I'd say that he/she should *not* be a complete newbie; is comfortable with doing a lot of reading and following lengthy, detailed directions; has a powerful machine; and isn't afraid to spend considerable time dealing with the installation process. -- J.W.