I recently bought a mini PC because I wanted a lightweight machine that I can easily carry anywhere. Arch Linux’s minimalistic, rolling-release approach aligns perfectly with my love for a Vim-based workflow and a highly customizable setup. While the process can seem intimidating at first, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience that offers complete control over your system.

Installing Arch Linux (UEFI or BIOS)

Arch Linux is well-known for giving users full control over their system. This guide walks you through a fresh Arch Linux installation. While it is detailed, always refer to the official Arch Wiki for up-to-date information.

Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. Creating a Bootable USB
3. Initial Setup
   • Check UEFI or BIOS
   • Wi-Fi Connection
   • Check Internet
   • Time & NTP
4. Partitioning
   • Using fdisk or cfdisk
   • BIOS Partition Scheme
   • UEFI Partition Scheme
5. Formatting and Mounting
   • Creating File Systems
   • Mounting Partitions
6. Installing the Base System
   • Fast Mirror Selection
   • pacstrap / basestrap
   • Generating fstab
   • Chroot
7. Configuration
   • Setting up Network Manager
   • Installing and Configuring GRUB
   • Root Password
   • Locale and Timezone
   • Hostname
   • Final Steps
8. Post-Installation
   • Creating a New User
   • Sudoers Configuration
   • Installing X.org and a Window Manager
   • Fonts
   • Enabling a Display Manager (Optional)
   • Sound Setup
   • Installing Yay (AUR Helper)

Prerequisites

• A working internet connection on another device (in case you need help or to follow the Arch Wiki).
• A USB drive of at least 2 GB capacity.
• Familiarity with the command line.

Important: Installing Arch Linux involves formatting drives, which is destructive. Back up all important data before proceeding.

Creating a Bootable USB

On Linux

sudo dd if=<path-to-arch-iso> of=<path-to-usb> status=progress

• if = input file (the ISO file).
• of = output file (usually something like /dev/sdb).
• Be sure to confirm the correct USB path using lsblk or fdisk -l before running the command.

On Windows

• Use Rufus. It’s a straightforward tool that avoids many potential pitfalls.

Initial Setup

1. Boot from your USB and select the Arch Linux USB in your system’s boot menu.
2. You should see a command-line shell once Arch boots.

Check UEFI or BIOS

ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars

• If you get an error, you’re in BIOS (Legacy) mode.
• If you see contents, you’re in UEFI mode.

Wi-Fi Connection

If you’re on Wi-Fi, use iwctl:

iwctl
device list
station <wlan> scan
station <wlan> get-networks
station <wlan> connect <wifi-name>
station <wlan> show
exit

Check Internet

ping google.com

If you have no connection, re-check your Wi-Fi settings or use a wired connection.

Time & NTP

timedatectl set-ntp true

This ensures your system clock stays synchronized.

Partitioning

Using fdisk or cfdisk

1. Identify target disk: lsblk

2. Open the disk utility:

   fdisk /dev/sda

   or

   cfdisk /dev/sda

BIOS Partition Scheme

A common layout might be:

• Boot: +200M
• Swap: typically 50% of your RAM size (+8G for 16 GB RAM)
• Root: at least +25G
• Home: rest of the disk space

Press w to write changes and exit.

UEFI Partition Scheme

• EFI: around +550M and formatted as FAT32.
• Swap: 50% of RAM or as needed.
• Root: Minimum +25G or more.
• Home: Rest of the disk (if desired on a separate partition).

Formatting and Mounting

Creating File Systems

Example commands (adjust partitions to suit your layout):

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1       # For /boot or /root or /home
mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1   # For UEFI partition if using UEFI
mkswap /dev/sda2          # Swap partition

Mounting Partitions

1. Swap:

   swapon /dev/sda2

2. Root:

   mount /dev/sda3 /mnt

3. Boot (UEFI):

   mkdir /mnt/boot
   mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot

4. Home (if separate):

   mkdir /mnt/home
   mount /dev/sda4 /mnt/home

Installing the Base System

Fast Mirror Selection

Choose the fastest mirrors by editing /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist. Move the closest/fastest mirrors to the top. This significantly speeds up package downloads.

pacstrap / basestrap

For Arch Linux:

pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware vim git

For Artix Linux (example):

basestrap -i /mnt base base-devel runit elogind-runit linux linux-firmware \
  grub networkmanager networkmanager-runit cryptsetup lvm2 lvm2-runit neovim vim

Generating fstab

genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab

Check the file to ensure correct entries:

vim /mnt/etc/fstab

Chroot

Now “enter” the new system:

• Arch:

  arch-chroot /mnt

• Artix:

  artix-chroot /mnt bash

Configuration

Setting up Network Manager

pacman -S networkmanager
systemctl enable NetworkManager

(In Artix, you would enable the corresponding runit service instead.)

Installing and Configuring GRUB

For BIOS

pacman -S grub
grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sda
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

For UEFI

pacman -S grub efibootmgr
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Root Password

passwd

Set a strong password for the root user.

Locale and Timezone

1. Edit /etc/locale.gen and uncomment your locale lines (e.g., en_US.UTF-8).

2. Generate them:

   locale-gen

3. Create /etc/locale.conf:

   echo "LANG=en_US.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf

4. Set your timezone:

   ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Seoul /etc/localtime
   # or use tzselect

Hostname

echo "myhostname" > /etc/hostname

Final Steps

Exit the chroot environment:

exit
umount -R /mnt
reboot

Remove your USB before booting, and the system should start from the newly installed Arch Linux.

Post-Installation

Creating a New User

1. Log in as root.

2. Create a user:

   useradd -m -g wheel <username>
   passwd han

3. Add additional groups if needed:

   usermod -aG audio,video,storage han

Sudoers Configuration

Edit /etc/sudoers:

visudo

Add or uncomment a line to allow members of the wheel group to use sudo:

%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

Installing X.org and a Window Manager

1. Install Xorg:

   pacman -S xorg-server xorg-xinit

2. Minimal Window Manager:

   pacman -S i3 dmenu rxvt-unicode

3. Start X (for testing):

   startx

4. For an automated start, add exec i3 in your ~/.xinitrc.

Fonts

sudo pacman -S noto-fonts noto-fonts-cjk noto-fonts-emoji noto-fonts-extra

Or any other font packages that suit your language preferences. For powerline or devicons, install Nerd Fonts:

yay -S nerd-fonts-hack

Enabling a Display Manager (Optional)

If you prefer a graphical login screen:

sudo pacman -S lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter
sudo systemctl enable lightdm.service

(Again, adapt for runit or other init systems.)

Sound Setup

Alsa

sudo pacman -S alsa-utils alsa-plugins
amixer

• Use M to unmute any channels.

PulseAudio

sudo pacman -S pulseaudio pulsemixer
pulseaudio --start

Installing Yay (AUR Helper)

1. Clone the Yay repository:

   git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git

2. Build and install:

   cd yay
   makepkg -si

Yay lets you install packages from both the official repositories and the AUR.

Conclusion

Congratulations! Your Arch Linux system is now up and running. From here, you can customize it with whatever software and configurations you like. Remember, the Arch Wiki is your best friend for finding detailed guides and troubleshooting tips.