Install Arch on Zhora

Last night, I successfully installed Arch Linux on my secondary desktop computer, Zhora. I decided that things were getting a little to complex using VBox. I was unable to get proper full screen happening and all sorts of other problems like that. Also, a new wireless card came in the mail (for Zhora). If I had been messing around with Arch on Zhora, I would have had to have been stealing Pris’ wireless card everytime I wanted to install anything (which would have been a pain in the butt).

Basically the install all went very smoothly, which I am very excited about. The only real problem that I had was getting the wireless card to work. When I tried to bring the interface wlan0 up after the base install, it basically told me I was unable to do it. I think the command would have been

ifconfig wlan0 up

or something like that. Half an hour of research later I had worked out that the issue was that my wireless card (a Dlink) needed additional packages install during the base install to work. For those interested (or who have the same or similar card) my card is a RaLink RT2561/RT61 revB 802.11g. I needed to have the rt2x00-rt61-fw package installed. I just hosed that install and started again, making sure to install this package from the get-go. Easy!

The rest of the install was quite easy. I got X up and running without hastles and got Fluxbox installed as well. I quite like Fluxbox – it seems to fit in very well with the philosophies that Arch Linux seems to abide to, such as The Arch Way.

I have quite grandiose plans to now install Arch Linux on my main desktop, Pris. Bare in mind that this poses somewhat of a risk – I haven’t used Arch much yet, and this is the machine that I do all my uni work on. I have a feeling this is going to make me adapt to a new system very quickly indeed, but I’m up for the challenge! I’m just waiting on a new graphics card to put into Pris, and I should be ready to rumble. Hopefully there will be a post here tonight telling of my tales installing Arch on Pris. If not… it will either mean my graphics card didn’t arrive, or something much much worse has happened