doc/en/gentoo-x86-tipsntricks.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-x86-tipsntricks.xml,v 1.27 2011/03/16 07:47:44 nightmorph Exp $ -->

<guide>
<title>Gentoo/x86 Installation Tips &amp; Tricks</title>

<author title="Author">
  <mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
</author>
<author title="Editor">
  <mail link="neysx@gentoo.org">Xavier Neys</mail>
</author>
<author title="Editor">
  <mail link="nightmorph"/>
</author>

<abstract>
The Gentoo installation allows for very flexible approaches to the various
installation methods. As it is almost impossible to insert every single tip or
trick in the installation instructions this document tries to deal with all
submitted tips and tricks for reference purposes.
</abstract>

<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
<license/>

<version>3</version>
<date>2011-05-09</date>

<chapter>
<title>Introduction</title>
<section>
<title>Preliminary</title>
<body>

<p>
This document contains various tips and tricks for the Gentoo/x86 installation.
Most of them are discussed in a dense way - they are meant as an addendum to the
installation instructions and not as a replacement.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section>
<title>Contents</title>
<body>

<p>
<b>Advanced Installations</b>
</p>

<ul>
  <li><uri link="#software-raid">Software RAID</uri></li>
  <li><uri link="#ata-raid-2.4">ATA RAID using 2.4 kernels</uri></li>
  <li><uri link="#livecd-kernel">Using the Installation CD kernel</uri></li>
</ul>

<p>
<b>Simplifying the Installation</b>
</p>

<ul>
  <li><uri link="#leave_terminal">Leaving the Terminal</uri></li>
</ul>

<p>
<b>Fixing Errors/Issues</b>
</p>

<ul>
  <li><uri link="#checking-disks">Extensive Testing of your Disks</uri></li>
  <li>
    <uri link="#recover">Recovering from a malfunctioning installation</uri>
  </li>
</ul>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
<chapter>
<title>Advanced Installations</title>
<section id="software-raid">
<title>Software RAID</title>
<body>

<note>
If you are not familiar with software raid, please read the <uri
link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html">Software-RAID-HOWTO</uri>.
</note>

<note>
A more detailed procedure can be found in our <uri
link="/doc/en/gentoo-x86+raid+lvm2-quickinstall.xml">Software Raid and LVM2 x86
Quick Install Guide</uri>.
</note>

<p>
Once you are booted from the Installation CD, load the appropriate RAID
modules. For instance, if you plan on using RAID-1:
</p>

<pre caption="Loading the RAID-1 module">
# <i>modprobe raid1</i>
</pre>

<p>
When you partition your disks, make sure that your partitions use <c>fd</c>
(Linux raid autodetect) as Partition Type instead of <c>83</c> (Linux native).
You can alter the partition type using the <c>t</c> command in <c>fdisk</c>.
</p>

<p>
Now before we start creating the RAID arrays, we need to create the metadevice
nodes:
</p>

<pre caption="Creating metadevice nodes">
# <i>mknod /dev/md1 b 9 1</i>
# <i>mknod /dev/md2 b 9 2</i>
# <i>mknod /dev/md3 b 9 3</i>
</pre>

<p>
After partitioning, create the <path>/etc/mdadm.conf</path> file (yes, indeed,
on the Installation CD environment) using <c>mdadm</c>, an advanced tool for
<uri link="http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2002/12/05/RAID.html">RAID
management</uri>. For instance, to have your boot, swap and root partition
mirrored (RAID-1) covering <path>/dev/sda</path> and <path>/dev/sdb</path>,
you can use:
</p>

<pre caption="Creating raid devices with the mdadm command">
# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md1 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1</i>
# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md2 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2</i>
# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md3 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda3 /dev/sdb3</i>
</pre>

<impo>
You should not use any form of striping such as RAID-0 or RAID-5 on the
partition you boot from. Also, the <c>--metadata=0.90</c> is only necessary for
these critical file systems. Other filesystems can use more recent metadata
formats.
</impo>

<p>
The Linux Software RAID driver will start creating the metadevices. You can see
its progress in <path>/proc/mdstat</path>. Wait until the metadevices are
completely finished before proceeding.
</p>

<pre caption="Saving information about the created devices">
# <i>mdadm --detail --scan > /etc/mdadm.conf</i>
</pre>

<p>
From now onwards, use <path>/dev/md1</path> for the boot partition,
<path>/dev/md2</path> for the swap partition and <path>/dev/md3</path> for the
root partition.
</p>

<p>
Right before chrooting, don't forget to copy over <path>/etc/mdadm.conf</path>
to <path>/mnt/gentoo/etc</path>.
</p>

<p>
When you're configuring your kernel, make sure you have the appropriate RAID
support <e>in</e> your kernel and not as module.
</p>

<p>
When installing extra tools, emerge <c>mdadm</c> as well. Note that this isn't
available on all Installation CDs so you might not be able to install Gentoo on
a Software RAID when using a networkless installation!
</p>

<p>
When configuring your bootloader, make sure it gets installed in the MBR of
<e>both</e> disks if you use mirroring.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section id="ata-raid-2.4">
<title>ATA RAID using 2.4 kernels</title>
<body>

<p>
Make sure you boot your Installation CD using the <c>doataraid</c> option. Once
booted, check the contents of <path>/dev/ataraid</path>. It should contain
various <path>disc*</path> directories for each harddisk available in the ATA
RAID. An entire disk is displayed as <path>disc</path> while partitions are
<path>part*</path>.
</p>

<p>
Write down the various <path>/dev/ataraid/disc*/*</path> device files that you
use to install Gentoo on. You will need to substitute the <path>/dev/hda</path>
examples in the installation with this path.
</p>

<p>
Before chrooting, bind-mount the <path>/dev</path> structure in the new
environment:
</p>

<pre caption="Bind-mounting /dev">
# <i>mount --rbind /dev /mnt/gentoo/dev</i>
</pre>

<p>
When configuring your kernel, make sure you enable support for your ATA RAID
chipset and options. For instance, a popular ATA RAID system is a <e>Promise
FastTrack built-in RAID</e> in which case you definitely need <c>Promise
FastTrack Options</c> built in into your kernel.
</p>

<p>
When configuring GRUB, you first have to create a GRUB bootdisk. This is not as
hard as you think. First install GRUB as you would, but when you come to the
part where GRUB is getting installed in the MBR, follow the following
instructions:
</p>

<pre caption="Creating a GRUB bootdisk">
# <i>cd /boot/grub</i>
# <i>dd if=stage1 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=1</i>
# <i>dd if=stage2 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 seek=1</i>
</pre>

<p>
You still need to write your <path>grub.conf</path> file. This is no different
from the installation instructions, just make sure that your <c>root=</c> points
to the ATA RAID device.
</p>

<p>
After finishing the installation, boot with your GRUB bootdisk. You will be
greeted by a GRUB prompt. Now configure GRUB to boot from the ATA RAID device:
</p>

<pre caption="Installing GRUB on the ATA RAID">
grub&gt; root (hd0,x)
grub&gt; setup (hd0)
grub&gt; quit
</pre>

<p>
Now reboot (with the GRUB bootfloppy removed).
</p>

<p>
LILO users can safely use the instructions mentioned in the installation
instructions.
</p>

</body>
</section>
<section id="livecd-kernel">
<title>Using the Installation CD kernel</title>
<body>

<p>
If you don't want to compile a kernel yourself you can use the kernel from the
Installation CD and copy it to your system. When you come to the point that
you're asked to compile a kernel, go to another terminal (press Alt-F2) and
log in with the root password you've supplied at the beginning of the
installation.
</p>

<p>
Copy over the kernel and modules to your Gentoo system:
</p>

<pre caption="Copying over the Installation CD kernel">
<comment>(${KN} is the kernel name, usually something like 'gentoo' or 'smp')</comment>
cdimage ~# <i>cp /mnt/cdrom/isolinux/${KN} /mnt/cdrom/isolinux/${KN}.igz /mnt/gentoo/boot</i>
cdimage ~# <i>mkdir -p /mnt/gentoo/lib/modules</i>
cdiamge ~# <i>cp -Rp /lib/modules/`uname -r` /mnt/gentoo/lib/modules</i>
</pre>

<p>
To have all modules that are currently running (from the Installation CD) loaded
during bootup of your Gentoo system, run the following command from within the
chrooted environment:
</p>

<pre caption="Adding all running modules to the modules.conf file">
# <i>cat /proc/modules | cut -d ' ' -f 1 &gt;&gt; \</i>
  <i>/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-`uname -r | cut -d . -f -2`</i>
# <i>update-modules</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Simplifying the Installation</title>
<section id="leave_terminal">
<title>Leaving your Terminal</title>
<body>

<p>
Many people want to leave their system when it's compiling. In certain cases
this is rather difficult as the installation is done in a public environment
where you cannot trust everyone. If this is the case, you want to be able to
perform the compilation in the background and log out from all terminals.
</p>

<p>
There are several possible solutions for this. The first one is to use
<c>screen</c>. After booting the Installation CD, set your root password and
start a screen session:
</p>

<note>
Not all Installation CDs provide screen. If this is the case, you will have to
use one of the other methods described in this section.
</note>

<pre caption="Starting a screen session">
# <i>screen -S gentoo</i>
</pre>

<p>
Once inside the screen session you can perform the entire installation. When you
want to leave your terminal, press <c>Ctrl-a, d</c> (that is, control and a at
the same time, then followed by a d) to <e>detach</e> your screen session. You
can now safely log out of your system.
</p>

<p>
To regain access to your terminal, log in as root again and <e>attach</e> to
the running screen session:
</p>

<pre caption="Attaching to a screen session">
# <i>screen -x gentoo</i>
</pre>

<p>
If you can't use screen, there is still a way to leave your terminal. Follow the
installation instructions, but when you come to the point where a long-term
compilation would be started (for instance the <c>./scripts/bootstrap.sh</c>
step), use <c>nohup</c> which allows for a process to continue even when you log
out. Don't forget the trailing "&amp;", otherwise the process won't be placed in
the background! Remember where you are (the <c>pwd</c> command will show you
that) as you will need to know this later on.
</p>

<pre caption="Using nohup">
# <i>pwd</i>
/usr/portage
# <i>nohup ./scripts/bootstrap.sh &amp;</i>
</pre>

<p>
Now exit the chrooted environment (<c>exit</c>) and the Installation CD session.
Your compilation will continue in the background.
</p>

<p>
When you want to check the compilation, log in as root (on the Installation CD)
and chroot back into your environment and go to the directory where you left
off:
</p>

<pre caption="Chrooting back">
# <i>chroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash</i>
# <i>env-update &amp;&amp; source /etc/profile</i>
# <i>cd /usr/portage</i>
</pre>

<p>
Now use the <c>less</c> command on the <path>nohup.out</path> file that is
situated inside that directory. The compilation will append its output to that
file, so if you want to follow the compilation progress, run <c>less
nohup.out</c> and press <c>F</c> to follow the changes. When the compilation is
finished, you can continue with the next step of the installation instructions.
</p>

<p>
If you ever get tired of following the changes, press <c>Ctrl-C</c> followed by
a <c>q</c>. This won't stop the compilation process, only the <c>less</c>
process.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>

<chapter>
<title>Fixing Errors/Issues</title>
<section id="checking-disks">
<title>Extensive Testing of your Disks</title>
<body>

<p>
If you think your disk needs to be thoroughly checked for consistency (bad
sectors and such), you can use the <c>-c</c> option while placing the ext2 or
ext3 filesystem on it (using <c>mke2fs</c>). This will format, perform a
read-test and mark all bad blocks as such. If you are really paranoid, use
<c>-c -c</c> to format your disk and perform an extensive read/write test.
</p>

<pre caption="Checking for disk consistency">
# <i>mke2fs -j -c /dev/hda3</i>
</pre>

</body>
</section>
<section id="recover">
<title>Recovering from a malfunctioning installation</title>
<body>

<p>
If for some reason your Gentoo installation fails, you don't have to redo the
installation all over again. Instead, you can safely "go" to the point where you
think you made a mistake (or where you think the instructions are flawed) and
try a different approach.
</p>

<p>
First of all you need to chroot back into your Gentoo Linux environment. Follow
the instructions again, but ignore the partitioning steps as your partitions are
already created and even populated. You can therefore immediately mount those
partitions at <path>/mnt/gentoo</path>. You should also ignore the steps about
stage extraction and modifying <path>make.conf</path> - you don't want to
overwrite your files do you?
</p>

<p>
Once chrooted inside your Gentoo Linux environment, immediately go to the step
where you think you should try a different approach. Don't redo all the steps
like bootstrapping and such unless that is the place where you think things
went wrong.
</p>

<p>
For instance, if you believe that you have a wrongly configured
<path>grub.conf</path>, you can immediately fire up your editor to update
<path>/boot/grub/grub.conf</path>.
</p>

<p>
Once you have tried a different approach for your situation, you should consider
how much of the subsequent steps you need to perform again. If the subsequent
steps are depending on your change, you will need to redo those.
</p>

<p>
For instance,
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    if you have changed a variable inside <path>make.conf</path> you will need
    to do all subsequent compiling since those depend on the settings inside
    <path>make.conf</path>
  </li>
  <li>
    if you have altered <path>/boot/grub/grub.conf</path> you can immediately
    exit the chrooted environment and reboot as no subsequent steps are
    depending on <path>grub.conf</path>
  </li>
  <li>
    if you have recompiled your kernel you only need to make sure that your
    bootloader configuration points to the correct kernel image (double-check
    that you mounted your <path>/boot</path>!), then you can exit the chrooted
    environment and reboot
  </li>
  <li>
    if you have altered <path>/etc/fstab</path> you can exit the chrooted
    environment and reboot
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
As you can see, for most recovery operations you can immediately reboot. Only in
certain cases will you need to redo the subsequent installation steps.
</p>

</body>
</section>
</chapter>
</guide>
1	swift	1.1	<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
2			<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
3	nightmorph	1.28	<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-x86-tipsntricks.xml,v 1.27 2011/03/16 07:47:44 nightmorph Exp $ -->
4	swift	1.1
5	nightmorph	1.27	<guide>
6	swift	1.1	<title>Gentoo/x86 Installation Tips & Tricks</title>
7	neysx	1.16
8	swift	1.1	<author title="Author">
9	nightmorph	1.21	<mail link="swift@gentoo.org">Sven Vermeulen</mail>
10	neysx	1.16	</author>
11			<author title="Editor">
12			<mail link="neysx@gentoo.org">Xavier Neys</mail>
13	swift	1.1	</author>
14	nightmorph	1.27	<author title="Editor">
15			<mail link="nightmorph"/>
16			</author>
17	swift	1.1
18			<abstract>
19			The Gentoo installation allows for very flexible approaches to the various
20			installation methods. As it is almost impossible to insert every single tip or
21			trick in the installation instructions this document tries to deal with all
22			submitted tips and tricks for reference purposes.
23			</abstract>
24
25	rane	1.15	<!-- The content of this document is licensed under the CC-BY-SA license -->
26			<!-- See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 -->
27	swift	1.1	<license/>
28
29	nightmorph	1.28	<version>3</version>
30			<date>2011-05-09</date>
31	swift	1.1
32			<chapter>
33			<title>Introduction</title>
34			<section>
35			<title>Preliminary</title>
36			<body>
37
38			<p>
39			This document contains various tips and tricks for the Gentoo/x86 installation.
40			Most of them are discussed in a dense way - they are meant as an addendum to the
41			installation instructions and not as a replacement.
42			</p>
43
44			</body>
45			</section>
46			<section>
47			<title>Contents</title>
48			<body>
49
50	swift	1.2	<p>
51			<b>Advanced Installations</b>
52			</p>
53
54	swift	1.1	<ul>
55			<li><uri link="#software-raid">Software RAID</uri></li>
56	swift	1.4	<li><uri link="#ata-raid-2.4">ATA RAID using 2.4 kernels</uri></li>
57	rane	1.15	<li><uri link="#livecd-kernel">Using the Installation CD kernel</uri></li>
58	swift	1.1	</ul>
59
60	swift	1.3	<p>
61			<b>Simplifying the Installation</b>
62			</p>
63
64			<ul>
65			<li><uri link="#leave_terminal">Leaving the Terminal</uri></li>
66			</ul>
67
68	swift	1.5	<p>
69			<b>Fixing Errors/Issues</b>
70			</p>
71
72			<ul>
73			<li><uri link="#checking-disks">Extensive Testing of your Disks</uri></li>
74	swift	1.6	<li>
75			<uri link="#recover">Recovering from a malfunctioning installation</uri>
76			</li>
77	swift	1.5	</ul>
78
79	swift	1.1	</body>
80			</section>
81			</chapter>
82			<chapter>
83			<title>Advanced Installations</title>
84			<section id="software-raid">
85			<title>Software RAID</title>
86			<body>
87
88			<note>
89	neysx	1.12	If you are not familiar with software raid, please read the <uri
90	swift	1.1	link="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html">Software-RAID-HOWTO</uri>.
91			</note>
92
93	neysx	1.19	<note>
94			A more detailed procedure can be found in our <uri
95			link="/doc/en/gentoo-x86+raid+lvm2-quickinstall.xml">Software Raid and LVM2 x86
96			Quick Install Guide</uri>.
97			</note>
98
99	swift	1.1	<p>
100	neysx	1.19	Once you are booted from the Installation CD, load the appropriate RAID
101			modules. For instance, if you plan on using RAID-1:
102	swift	1.1	</p>
103
104			<pre caption="Loading the RAID-1 module">
105			# <i>modprobe raid1</i>
106			</pre>
107
108			<p>
109			When you partition your disks, make sure that your partitions use <c>fd</c>
110			(Linux raid autodetect) as Partition Type instead of <c>83</c> (Linux native).
111			You can alter the partition type using the <c>t</c> command in <c>fdisk</c>.
112			</p>
113
114			<p>
115	swift	1.11	Now before we start creating the RAID arrays, we need to create the metadevice
116			nodes:
117			</p>
118
119			<pre caption="Creating metadevice nodes">
120	neysx	1.17	# <i>mknod /dev/md1 b 9 1</i>
121			# <i>mknod /dev/md2 b 9 2</i>
122			# <i>mknod /dev/md3 b 9 3</i>
123	swift	1.11	</pre>
124
125			<p>
126	swift	1.26	After partitioning, create the <path>/etc/mdadm.conf</path> file (yes, indeed,
127			on the Installation CD environment) using <c>mdadm</c>, an advanced tool for
128			<uri link="http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2002/12/05/RAID.html">RAID
129			management</uri>. For instance, to have your boot, swap and root partition
130			mirrored (RAID-1) covering <path>/dev/sda</path> and <path>/dev/sdb</path>,
131	swift	1.7	you can use:
132	swift	1.1	</p>
133
134	neysx	1.17	<pre caption="Creating raid devices with the mdadm command">
135	nightmorph	1.28	# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md1 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1</i>
136			# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md2 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda2 /dev/sdb2</i>
137			# <i>mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md3 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sda3 /dev/sdb3</i>
138	swift	1.1	</pre>
139
140	neysx	1.16	<impo>
141	nightmorph	1.18	You should not use any form of striping such as RAID-0 or RAID-5 on the
142	nightmorph	1.28	partition you boot from. Also, the <c>--metadata=0.90</c> is only necessary for
143			these critical file systems. Other filesystems can use more recent metadata
144			formats.
145	neysx	1.16	</impo>
146
147	swift	1.1	<p>
148			The Linux Software RAID driver will start creating the metadevices. You can see
149			its progress in <path>/proc/mdstat</path>. Wait until the metadevices are
150			completely finished before proceeding.
151			</p>
152
153	neysx	1.17	<pre caption="Saving information about the created devices">
154			# <i>mdadm --detail --scan > /etc/mdadm.conf</i>
155			</pre>
156
157	swift	1.1	<p>
158	neysx	1.16	From now onwards, use <path>/dev/md1</path> for the boot partition,
159			<path>/dev/md2</path> for the swap partition and <path>/dev/md3</path> for the
160	swift	1.1	root partition.
161			</p>
162
163			<p>
164	neysx	1.16	Right before chrooting, don't forget to copy over <path>/etc/mdadm.conf</path>
165			to <path>/mnt/gentoo/etc</path>.
166	swift	1.1	</p>
167
168			<p>
169			When you're configuring your kernel, make sure you have the appropriate RAID
170	swift	1.26	support <e>in</e> your kernel and not as module.
171	swift	1.1	</p>
172
173			<p>
174	neysx	1.16	When installing extra tools, emerge <c>mdadm</c> as well. Note that this isn't
175			available on all Installation CDs so you might not be able to install Gentoo on
176			a Software RAID when using a networkless installation!
177	swift	1.1	</p>
178
179			<p>
180			When configuring your bootloader, make sure it gets installed in the MBR of
181	swift	1.26	<e>both</e> disks if you use mirroring.
182	swift	1.1	</p>
183
184			</body>
185			</section>
186	swift	1.4	<section id="ata-raid-2.4">
187			<title>ATA RAID using 2.4 kernels</title>
188			<body>
189
190			<p>
191	swift	1.26	Make sure you boot your Installation CD using the <c>doataraid</c> option. Once
192			booted, check the contents of <path>/dev/ataraid</path>. It should contain
193			various <path>disc*</path> directories for each harddisk available in the ATA
194			RAID. An entire disk is displayed as <path>disc</path> while partitions are
195	swift	1.4	<path>part*</path>.
196			</p>
197
198			<p>
199			Write down the various <path>/dev/ataraid/disc/</path> device files that you
200			use to install Gentoo on. You will need to substitute the <path>/dev/hda</path>
201			examples in the installation with this path.
202			</p>
203
204			<p>
205			Before chrooting, bind-mount the <path>/dev</path> structure in the new
206			environment:
207			</p>
208
209			<pre caption="Bind-mounting /dev">
210	nightmorph	1.27	# <i>mount --rbind /dev /mnt/gentoo/dev</i>
211	swift	1.4	</pre>
212
213			<p>
214			When configuring your kernel, make sure you enable support for your ATA RAID
215			chipset and options. For instance, a popular ATA RAID system is a <e>Promise
216			FastTrack built-in RAID</e> in which case you definitely need <c>Promise
217			FastTrack Options</c> built in into your kernel.
218			</p>
219
220			<p>
221			When configuring GRUB, you first have to create a GRUB bootdisk. This is not as
222			hard as you think. First install GRUB as you would, but when you come to the
223			part where GRUB is getting installed in the MBR, follow the following
224			instructions:
225			</p>
226
227			<pre caption="Creating a GRUB bootdisk">
228			# <i>cd /boot/grub</i>
229			# <i>dd if=stage1 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 count=1</i>
230			# <i>dd if=stage2 of=/dev/fd0 bs=512 seek=1</i>
231			</pre>
232
233			<p>
234			You still need to write your <path>grub.conf</path> file. This is no different
235			from the installation instructions, just make sure that your <c>root=</c> points
236	swift	1.26	to the ATA RAID device.
237	swift	1.4	</p>
238
239			<p>
240			After finishing the installation, boot with your GRUB bootdisk. You will be
241			greeted by a GRUB prompt. Now configure GRUB to boot from the ATA RAID device:
242			</p>
243
244			<pre caption="Installing GRUB on the ATA RAID">
245			grub> root (hd0,x)
246			grub> setup (hd0)
247			grub> quit
248			</pre>
249
250			<p>
251			Now reboot (with the GRUB bootfloppy removed).
252			</p>
253
254			<p>
255			LILO users can safely use the instructions mentioned in the installation
256			instructions.
257			</p>
258
259			</body>
260			</section>
261	swift	1.10	<section id="livecd-kernel">
262	rane	1.15	<title>Using the Installation CD kernel</title>
263	swift	1.10	<body>
264
265			<p>
266			If you don't want to compile a kernel yourself you can use the kernel from the
267	swift	1.26	Installation CD and copy it to your system. When you come to the point that
268			you're asked to compile a kernel, go to another terminal (press Alt-F2) and
269			log in with the root password you've supplied at the beginning of the
270			installation.
271	swift	1.10	</p>
272
273			<p>
274			Copy over the kernel and modules to your Gentoo system:
275			</p>
276
277	rane	1.15	<pre caption="Copying over the Installation CD kernel">
278	swift	1.10	<comment>(${KN} is the kernel name, usually something like 'gentoo' or 'smp')</comment>
279	nightmorph	1.22	cdimage ~# <i>cp /mnt/cdrom/isolinux/${KN} /mnt/cdrom/isolinux/${KN}.igz /mnt/gentoo/boot</i>
280	swift	1.10	cdimage ~# <i>mkdir -p /mnt/gentoo/lib/modules</i>
281			cdiamge ~# <i>cp -Rp /lib/modules/`uname -r` /mnt/gentoo/lib/modules</i>
282			</pre>
283
284			<p>
285	nightmorph	1.23	To have all modules that are currently running (from the Installation CD) loaded
286			during bootup of your Gentoo system, run the following command from within the
287			chrooted environment:
288	swift	1.10	</p>
289
290			<pre caption="Adding all running modules to the modules.conf file">
291			# <i>cat /proc/modules \| cut -d ' ' -f 1 >> \</i>
292			<i>/etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-`uname -r \| cut -d . -f -2`</i>
293	nightmorph	1.24	# <i>update-modules</i>
294	swift	1.10	</pre>
295
296			</body>
297			</section>
298	swift	1.1	</chapter>
299	swift	1.3
300			<chapter>
301			<title>Simplifying the Installation</title>
302			<section id="leave_terminal">
303			<title>Leaving your Terminal</title>
304			<body>
305
306			<p>
307			Many people want to leave their system when it's compiling. In certain cases
308			this is rather difficult as the installation is done in a public environment
309			where you cannot trust everyone. If this is the case, you want to be able to
310			perform the compilation in the background and log out from all terminals.
311			</p>
312
313			<p>
314			There are several possible solutions for this. The first one is to use
315	swift	1.26	<c>screen</c>. After booting the Installation CD, set your root password and
316			start a screen session:
317	swift	1.3	</p>
318
319			<note>
320	swift	1.26	Not all Installation CDs provide screen. If this is the case, you will have to
321			use one of the other methods described in this section.
322	swift	1.3	</note>
323
324			<pre caption="Starting a screen session">
325			# <i>screen -S gentoo</i>
326			</pre>
327
328			<p>
329			Once inside the screen session you can perform the entire installation. When you
330			want to leave your terminal, press <c>Ctrl-a, d</c> (that is, control and a at
331			the same time, then followed by a d) to <e>detach</e> your screen session. You
332			can now safely log out of your system.
333			</p>
334
335			<p>
336	swift	1.26	To regain access to your terminal, log in as root again and <e>attach</e> to
337	swift	1.3	the running screen session:
338			</p>
339
340			<pre caption="Attaching to a screen session">
341			# <i>screen -x gentoo</i>
342			</pre>
343
344			<p>
345			If you can't use screen, there is still a way to leave your terminal. Follow the
346			installation instructions, but when you come to the point where a long-term
347			compilation would be started (for instance the <c>./scripts/bootstrap.sh</c>
348			step), use <c>nohup</c> which allows for a process to continue even when you log
349			out. Don't forget the trailing "&", otherwise the process won't be placed in
350			the background! Remember where you are (the <c>pwd</c> command will show you
351			that) as you will need to know this later on.
352			</p>
353
354			<pre caption="Using nohup">
355			# <i>pwd</i>
356			/usr/portage
357			# <i>nohup ./scripts/bootstrap.sh &</i>
358			</pre>
359
360			<p>
361	swift	1.26	Now exit the chrooted environment (<c>exit</c>) and the Installation CD session.
362			Your compilation will continue in the background.
363	swift	1.3	</p>
364
365			<p>
366	swift	1.26	When you want to check the compilation, log in as root (on the Installation CD)
367			and chroot back into your environment and go to the directory where you left
368			off:
369	swift	1.3	</p>
370
371			<pre caption="Chrooting back">
372			# <i>chroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash</i>
373			# <i>env-update && source /etc/profile</i>
374			# <i>cd /usr/portage</i>
375			</pre>
376
377			<p>
378			Now use the <c>less</c> command on the <path>nohup.out</path> file that is
379			situated inside that directory. The compilation will append its output to that
380			file, so if you want to follow the compilation progress, run <c>less
381			nohup.out</c> and press <c>F</c> to follow the changes. When the compilation is
382			finished, you can continue with the next step of the installation instructions.
383			</p>
384
385			<p>
386			If you ever get tired of following the changes, press <c>Ctrl-C</c> followed by
387			a <c>q</c>. This won't stop the compilation process, only the <c>less</c>
388			process.
389			</p>
390
391			</body>
392			</section>
393			</chapter>
394
395	swift	1.5	<chapter>
396			<title>Fixing Errors/Issues</title>
397			<section id="checking-disks">
398			<title>Extensive Testing of your Disks</title>
399			<body>
400
401			<p>
402			If you think your disk needs to be thoroughly checked for consistency (bad
403			sectors and such), you can use the <c>-c</c> option while placing the ext2 or
404	neysx	1.25	ext3 filesystem on it (using <c>mke2fs</c>). This will format, perform a
405			read-test and mark all bad blocks as such. If you are really paranoid, use
406			<c>-c -c</c> to format your disk and perform an extensive read/write test.
407	swift	1.5	</p>
408
409			<pre caption="Checking for disk consistency">
410			# <i>mke2fs -j -c /dev/hda3</i>
411			</pre>
412
413			</body>
414			</section>
415	swift	1.6	<section id="recover">
416			<title>Recovering from a malfunctioning installation</title>
417			<body>
418
419			<p>
420			If for some reason your Gentoo installation fails, you don't have to redo the
421			installation all over again. Instead, you can safely "go" to the point where you
422			think you made a mistake (or where you think the instructions are flawed) and
423			try a different approach.
424			</p>
425
426			<p>
427			First of all you need to chroot back into your Gentoo Linux environment. Follow
428			the instructions again, but ignore the partitioning steps as your partitions are
429			already created and even populated. You can therefore immediately mount those
430			partitions at <path>/mnt/gentoo</path>. You should also ignore the steps about
431	swift	1.26	stage extraction and modifying <path>make.conf</path> - you don't want to
432	swift	1.6	overwrite your files do you?
433			</p>
434
435			<p>
436			Once chrooted inside your Gentoo Linux environment, immediately go to the step
437			where you think you should try a different approach. Don't redo all the steps
438			like bootstrapping and such unless that is the place where you think things
439			went wrong.
440			</p>
441
442			<p>
443			For instance, if you believe that you have a wrongly configured
444			<path>grub.conf</path>, you can immediately fire up your editor to update
445			<path>/boot/grub/grub.conf</path>.
446			</p>
447
448			<p>
449			Once you have tried a different approach for your situation, you should consider
450			how much of the subsequent steps you need to perform again. If the subsequent
451	swift	1.26	steps are depending on your change, you will need to redo those.
452	swift	1.6	</p>
453
454			<p>
455			For instance,
456			</p>
457
458			<ul>
459			<li>
460	swift	1.26	if you have changed a variable inside <path>make.conf</path> you will need
461	swift	1.6	to do all subsequent compiling since those depend on the settings inside
462			<path>make.conf</path>
463			</li>
464			<li>
465			if you have altered <path>/boot/grub/grub.conf</path> you can immediately
466			exit the chrooted environment and reboot as no subsequent steps are
467			depending on <path>grub.conf</path>
468			</li>
469			<li>
470			if you have recompiled your kernel you only need to make sure that your
471			bootloader configuration points to the correct kernel image (double-check
472			that you mounted your <path>/boot</path>!), then you can exit the chrooted
473			environment and reboot
474			</li>
475			<li>
476			if you have altered <path>/etc/fstab</path> you can exit the chrooted
477			environment and reboot
478			</li>
479			</ul>
480
481			<p>
482			As you can see, for most recovery operations you can immediately reboot. Only in
483			certain cases will you need to redo the subsequent installation steps.
484			</p>
485
486			</body>
487			</section>
488	swift	1.5	</chapter>
489	swift	1.1	</guide>