Install Arch Linux using EFI and GRUB

install-arch-linux-using-efi-and-grub.md

Installing Arch linux with EFI

1. Change keyboard layout:

   • loadkeys no

2. Verify boot mode:

   • ls /sys/firmware/efi/efivars (If the directory exist your computer supports EFI)

3. Ping some site on the Internet to verify connection:

   • ping archlinux.org

4. Update system clock:

   • timedatectl set-ntp true
   • You can verify the status with timedatectl status

5. Enable SSH:

   • systemctl start sshd

6. Change root password:

   • passwd

7. Go to https://archlinux.org/mirrorlist and find the closest mirror that supports HTTPS:

   • Add the mirrors on top of the /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist file.
   • Server = https://mirror.neuf.no/archlinux/$repo/os/$arch (Norway)

8. Create EFI partition:

   • fdisk -l to find the designation for the HDD. (Most likely /dev/sda)
   • fdisk /dev/sda
     • g (to create a new partition table)
     • n (to create a new partition)
     • 1
     • enter
     • +300M
     • t
     • 1 (for EFI)
     • w

9. Create /root partition:

   • fdisk /dev/sda
     • n
     • 2
     • enter
     • +30G
     • w

10. Create /home partiton:

    • fdisk /dev/sda
      • n
      • 3
      • enter
      • enter
      • w

11. Create the filesystems:

    • mkfs.fat -F32 /dev/sda1
    • mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
    • mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3

12. Create the /root and /home directories:

    • mount /dev/sda2 /mnt
    • mkdir /mnt/home
    • mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/home

13. Install Arch linux base packages:

    • pacstrap -i /mnt base

14. Generate the /etc/fstab file:

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

15. Chroot into installed system:

    • arch-chroot /mnt

16. Set the timezone:

    • ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Oslo /etc/localtime

17. Update the Hardware clock:

    • hwclock --systohc

18. Install boot manager and other needed packages:

    • pacman -S grub efibootmgr dosfstools openssh os-prober mtools linux-headers linux-lts linux-lts-headers

19. Set locale:

    • sed -i 's/#en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/g' /etc/locale.gen (uncomment en_US.UTF-8)
    • locale-gen

20. Enable root login via SSH:

    • sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/g' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
    • systemctl enable sshd.service
    • passwd (for changing the root password)

21. Create EFI boot directory:

    • mkdir /boot/EFI
    • mount /dev/sda1 /boot/EFI

22. Install GRUB on EFI mode:

    • grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --bootloader-id=grub_uefi --recheck

23. Setup locale for GRUB:

    • cp /usr/share/locale/en\@quot/LC_MESSAGES/grub.mo /boot/grub/locale/en.mo

24. Write GRUB config:

    • grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

25. Create swap file:

    • fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
    • chmod 600 /swapfile
    • mkswap /swapfile
    • echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | tee -a /etc/fstab

26. Exit, unount and reboot:

    • exit
    • umount -a
    • reboot

This is an awesome tutorial Thanks

How does grub-install find a EFI directory in the 22 step? It probably needs --efi-directory=/boot parameter. Also you can omit --target=x86_64-efi because it's default.

Nice tutorial. I had to do pacman -Sy && pacman -S archlinux-keyring to refresh keys.

-F FAT-SIZE
Specifies the type of file allocation tables used (12, 16 or 32 bit). If
nothing is specified, mkfs.fat will automatically select between 12, 16 and
32 bit, whatever fits better for the filesystem size.
I deduce that accurately it should be mkfs.fat -F 32 with a space between size entry rather than mkfs.fat -F32

neat and works like a charm. thanks

---

I needed to specify efi directory when grub-install like this

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --bootloader-id=grub_uefi --recheck --efi-directory=/boot/EFI

fyi. if your grub shows only "UEFI firmware settings" entry, install linux-headers linux-lts linux-lts-headers after mount boot partition ( I didn't because I thought it wasn't necessary for me and I was wrong )

tty-ready arch os I've managed to install

mkfs.fat -F 32 /dev/sda6 
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda7

mount /dev/sda7 /mnt
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
mount /dev/sda6 /mnt/boot/efi

pacstrap /mnt base base-devel linux linux-firmware grub efibootmgr networkmanager

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

arch-chroot /mnt

grub-install --bootloader-id=arch_grub
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

that's it

Just in case.
If someone doesn't have compressed linux kerne

You can check if this is because the first install by check menuentry, using

cat /boot/grub/grub.cfg | grep menuentry

If there is only the firmware entry you will have to add this file, then rebuild all.

If file are totally missing of your hard drive, use

pacman -s mkinitcpio