[GenToo] Non-network install

[Tom Jandl]

I build my Gentoo boxes from stage 1 which compiles everything from
source, so this is just an educated guess after a quick read of the
docs. CD one should have three different tar balls on it, stages 1, 2,
and 3. While booted to the live CD, partition and format the disk on the
laptop. Then copy the stage three tarball to the disk & unpack it. CD 1
should have a choice of kernels to also copy to the laptop. That (plus a
bootloader) should give you a bootable basic system from precompiled
packages. Boot the laptop from the new system, then mount the second CD
to install the rest of the precompiled packages. Everybody feel free to
jump in if I missed something important! 
Now that I have seen the power and ease of Gentoo's portage system, I
will never again experience RPM hell. On a KDE system, just type in two
words before bed: "emerge Evolution". The next morning awake to
Evolution and it's many dependencies freshly compiled from source and
ready to use. It doesn't get any better than this.

Do not let the installation part ruin your fun. Your next install will
be a piece of cake.

Tom

On Tue, 2004-03-09 at 00:33, Tim Wunder wrote:
> OK, Gentoo lovers, help me out here.
> I downloaded the live-cd install ISO and the disk 2 packages.
> The install-x86-universal-2004.0.iso image from:
> ftp://mirror.iawnet.sandia.gov/pub/gentoo/releases/x86/2004.0/livecd/universal/
> and  the packages-pentium4-2004.0.iso image from:
> ftp://mirror.iawnet.sandia.gov/pub/gentoo/releases/x86/2004.0/livecd/pentium4/
> I'm trying to do a non-network install, cuz, well, cuz I'm upstairs and 
> the install CD won't configure my wireless card in my R40 laptop and I 
> don't feel like going downstairs, finding a network cable and wiring 
> myself to the internet (out of sheer, unadulterated laziness.)
> 
> Now the documentation tells me that I can do a non-network install, but 
> I have to set an environment variable, $PKGDIR, and use emerge --usepkg 
> <blah, blah>.
> 
> Unfortunately, I can't get this to work. Not only doesn't the 
> documentation tell you *what* you're supposed to set the env var to, all 
> the directories I tried (sorry, didn't write them down) didn't work. Any 
> ideas what I'm s'posed to use? Do I need to give up and wire myself to 
> the Internet to install this POS^k^k^kfine linux distribution?
> 
> I can't imagine that the required kernel sources are on the second CD, 
> 'cuz I can't get anything off of there (the install is run from the 
> live-CD so I can't unmount it to mount the second CD.)
> 
> Many Thanks,
> Tim