Arch linux has been my primary linux distribution for over two years and yet somehow I still haven't got it to work on the first run. Even though it requires hours to set up I have never regretted my descision. I made the switch after my first distro (ubuntu) started to feel a bit sluggish. Ofcourse Arch linux is fast AF but it also allows me to customize every single bit of it (dream come true). Assuming you already have a bootable Arch linux drive ready, boot the drive and follow the next steps. To check if your system is booted in UEFI or BIOS run the following command
ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
If the directory does not exist you will get the following output ls: cannot access '/sys/firmware/efi/efivars': No such file or directory .
It means your system is booted in BIOS or CSM If you have wireless connectivity(like me) assuming your wifi adapter/ network card is plugged in enter the following command.
wifi menu
The following menu should pop up. Select your SSID enter your password and confirm. To confirm internet connection enter
ping google.com
If you see a output such as this it means you are connected. Else try troubleshooting network issue or repeat the above steps again. Update the systemclock using timedatectl
timedatectl set-ntp true This is the scary part. Now you will be actually changing your physical file system, unless you are running a virtual machine then you must be fine. Partitioning disks requires that you use the appropriate tool cfdisk, fdisk, etc(cfdisk in my case). The commands are pretty easy to follow. Remember to not screw up and do not forget to keep a windows bootable by your side always!!.
Usually you may want to split you arch linux installtion into parts such as home, root,swap and boot
Common partition configuration Swap space is optional if you have enough RAM (although it is recommended). I ususally use a SWAP file instead. But if you are going to need hibernate functionality then swap space is the way to go. Take note of the partition name of your drive eg. /dev/sda4, etc. Use the command lsblk Now it's time to partition the disks.
Boot
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdaX1
Swap
mkswap /dev/sdaX2
swapon /dev/sdaX2
Root
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdaX3
Home
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdaX4
To mount the partitions on /mnt use the following commands.
First create mount points
cd /mnt
mkdir home boot
cd
Mount boot
mount /dev/sdaX1 /mnt/boot
Mount root
mount /dev/sdaX3 /mnt
Mount home
mount /dev/sdaX4 /mnt/home