Ive been checking out Gentoo Linux and the whole process seems logical etc. and with many options. Basically what Im looking for is more of an opinion of each of the different methods etc. For example, would people recomend the stage1, 2 or 3 installation etc.

A n00b's guide to getting and installing gentoo would be great. Along with some personal opinions. Im sick of waiting for fedor core 2, extra points if you convert me completely before fc2 is released!

The first time I ever tried installing gentoo I used the stage 1 tarball. It makes absolutely no difference in terms of difficulty of install - it just takes a longer that's all. I would recommend you do use that tarball.

The install docs on gentoo.org are excellent - but I would make a few points:

1) Unless you want to install mostly binaries (in which case why are you using gentoo?) you don't need to use the -k option on package installs - although it won't hurt. Basically this option installs binaries if they are available - so if you don't have the CD with all the binaries on then there is no issue

2) Compile your own kernel - don't use the genkernel! This basically does a hardware detect for every boot and will increase your boot time significantly. If you have never compiled your own before - don't worry it's pretty easy, just make sure you know what hardware you have. It'll probably take a few attempts, but that's not a problem

For details of my experiences see here

so what would be the current release to go for? Should I shoot for the CVS snapshot or what?

and would you recommend stage1 or 2 for faster boot times vs. ease of setup etc.

I do stage1 so i can compile NPTL in glibc and everything that follows, just my preference.

Just download the latest 2004.1 universal iso



2004.1 iso

md5sum

5ccddf4260fba0998c8cf5b65375947b *install-x86-universal-2004.1.iso

$ /lib/libc.so.6
GNU C Library stable release version 2.3.3, by Roland McGrath et al.
Copyright © 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Compiled by GNU CC version 3.3.3 20040412 (Gentoo Linux 3.3.3-r3, ssp-3.3-7, pie-8.5.3).
Compiled on a Linux 2.6.3 system on 2004-05-03.
Available extensions:
GNU libio by Per Bothner
crypt add-on version 2.1 by Michael Glad and others
NPTL 0.61 by Ulrich Drepper
BIND-8.2.3-T5B
NIS(YP)/NIS+ NSS modules 0.19 by Thorsten Kukuk
Thread-local storage support included.
Report bugs using the `glibcbug' script to <bugs@gnu.org>.

Stage 1 will give you the fastest, leanest machine with everything compiled for your system

The difference in terms of installing is that stage 1 requires just one extra command than stage 2

The difference in terms of performance would be not all that much to be honest, but it would be there. The main difference between stage 1 and 2 is imply that stage 1 gives you a cleaner system but will add a couple of hours to your install time.

Neither is really more difficult than the other since, as I say, it only comes down to one command

I'm going to have access to a PC with a fast internet connection - but it's not mine. I'm not allowed to connect my laptop to this fast network and would be stuck in dial-up. In MDK, Debian and RH I just download the RPM or deb file and transfer it using an external drive...now can I do something similar with Gentoo? Portage confuses me as I cannot find actuall tarballs.

you would be able to download tarballs (look for the mirrors on the gentoo website - you should be able to find the ebuilds, which will contain the exact file name and URL required)

If you then put them in /var/portage/distfiles then portage would find them and use them.

It's probably a fairly roundabout way to do it though...

You would have to do the initial install of gentoo using binaries and slowly convert to source files via updates which you could download in the way I just described

/usr/portage/distfiles

thanks...i can install from source on the 2004.1 universal liveCD, so that's not so much of a problem.

I'm a bit worried that this way will get me into dependency hell...maybe I'll just do this for the big tarballs and use dial-up to get the rest by emerge.

I'll use the pentium4 packageCD for the rest of the stuff I'm too lazy to compile.

i also have downloaded this iso at work...
at home i don't have an internet connection available... so i hope this doesn't want to connect to internet...

can i compile from stage 1 with this cd???
is there a how-to.. or the how-to at gentoo.org is also applicable to this iso??

thanks for your comments

sorry - yes it's /usrportage/distfiles - my mistake

there should be no dependency hell. You can find out what needs to be installed by using

Then use to find out how big it is. If it's large then get it via the fast machine.

ALL the deps will be listed - including all deps of deps, so there is no risk of getting caught out the way you could with RPMS - you know, you download a bunch of RPMs which are deps of what you really want. Only to find out that they have their own deps that you don't have!

Can't happen with portage

probably too late .. .but:

make a backup of your XF86Config file from mandrake before you do it.
and take note of what modules have been loaded by mandrake
example: lsmod > these_are_my_modules

it will make life a whole lot easier if you do this

so in average, how much data really gets downloaded using that ISO posted earlier?

Or does the amount fluctuate *alot* depending on what hardware you are using?


Im only on 256k ADSL and the debian net install took aaages.