X-Git-Url: https://git.shemshak.org/~bandali/bndl.org/blobdiff_plain/ed891db307af229f6179c8613d7017c14a52a570..caf3b78c74be4c0d1e53904aa258fda50e512ef0:/content/post/arch-macbook-air.md?ds=sidebyside diff --git a/content/post/arch-macbook-air.md b/content/post/arch-macbook-air.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f4b3b22 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/post/arch-macbook-air.md @@ -0,0 +1,280 @@ ++++ +title = "Arch GNU/Linux on MacBook Air 2013" +date = 2016-11-01 +tags = ["arch", "macbook"] +draft = false +[menu.main] + weight = 2001 + identifier = "arch-gnu-linux-on-macbook-air-2013" ++++ + +This post summarizes how I install and dual-boot Arch GNU/Linux with +Full-Disk Encryption alongside macOS. It is not meant to be a +replacement for the [Installation Guide](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/installation%5Fguide) or the former [Beginner's Guide](https://csdietz.github.io/arch-beginner-guide/). +Rather, it mostly serves as a small summary with a few useful notes +about the gotchas. + +So, make sure you understand what you type into your terminal. If you +don't, checking out the Arch wiki should probably be your first step. + +_Note:_ you will need internet access throughout the installation and +the MacBook Air's WiFi doesn't work out of the box on Arch. I +recommend using your phone's USB Tethering (if it does support it), or +using an Ethernet-USB adapter. + + +## Shrinking the macOS partition {#shrinking-the-macos-partition} + +The first step I take is resizing the HFS+ macOS partition to make +room for the new GNU/Linux installation. There are plenty +of tutorials on how to do this using macOS's Disk Utility, so do that +and then come back! + + +## Creating a bootable Arch Installer USB {#creating-a-bootable-arch-installer-usb} + +There are different ways of creating a bootable Arch USB, all +documented on the [USB flash installation media](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/USB%5Fflash%5Finstallation%5Fmedia) page on the Arch wiki, +but the simplest one is using `dd` if you already have access to +another UNIX system. + +Warning: make sure you backup the data on your flash +drive, as `dd` will irrevocably destroy all data on it. + +Use `lsblk` to find the name (block device) of your USB drive, then +run `dd` (as root) as shown below: + +```bash +dd bs=4M if=/path/to/archlinux.iso of=/dev/sdx status=progress && sync +``` + +Replace `/path/to/archlinux.iso` with the path to the Arch image you +have downloaded, and `/dev/sdx` with your drive. + + +## Booting up from the USB {#booting-up-from-the-usb} + +After creating the install USB, reboot your laptop and hold the alt +key and boot into the USB. + +When booting is complete and you're presented with the prompt, it's a +good time to make sure you're connected to the internet (see the +_note_ at the top of this post). + +Use `ping` to verify that you've established a connection: + +```bash +ping archlinux.org +``` + + +## Updating the system clock {#updating-the-system-clock} + +Once you're connected to the internet, make sure the system clock is +accurate: + +```bash +timedatectl set-ntp true # start and enable systemd-timesyncd +``` + +You can check the service status using `timedatectl status`. + + +## Partitioning {#partitioning} + +I won't dive into partitioning and instead, I'll refer you to the +[Partitioning](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partitioning) page of Arch wiki. Of the available partitioning tools, I +personally prefer `cfdisk`. + + +## Setting up LVM & LUKS {#setting-up-lvm-and-luks} + +I use a [LVM on LUKS](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Encrypting%5Fan%5Fentire%5Fsystem#LVM%5Fon%5FLUKS) setup, where I set up LVM on top of the encrypted +partition. + +First, let's set up the underlying encrypted partition: + +```bash +cryptsetup -v --cipher aes-xts-plain64 --key-size 512 --hash sha512 \ + --iter-time 5000 --use-urandom -y luksFormat /dev/sdaX +``` + +where `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the last step +(e.g. `/dev/sda4`). For more information about the `cryptsetup` +options, see the [LUKS encryption options](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Dm-crypt/Device%5Fencryption#Encryption%5Foptions%5Ffor%5FLUKS%5Fmode). + +Then we open the container: + +```bash +cryptsetup open --type luks /dev/sdaX lvm +``` + +Now it's time to use lvm and prepare the logical volume(s): + +```bash +pvcreate /dev/mapper/lvm +vgcreate vg /dev/mapper/lvm +lvcreate --extents +100%FREE -n root vg +``` + +This will create a physical volume on the mapping we just opened, +create a volume group named `vg` on the physical volume, and create a +logical volume named `root` that spans the entire volume group. More +complex setups are possible thanks to the great flexibility of lvm. + +We now format the logical volume with `ext4`: + +```bash +mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/vg-root +``` + + +## Installing the base system {#installing-the-base-system} + +Let's mount the logical volume, make a directory for the mount point +of the boot partition, and mount the boot partition (`/dev/sda1`): + +```bash +mount /dev/mapper/vg-root /mnt +mkdir /mnt/boot +mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/boot +``` + +Finally, let's install the base system (and optionally `base-devel`): + +```bash +pacstrap /mnt base base-devel +``` + + +## Configuring the system {#configuring-the-system} + +Let's generate the fstab: + +```bash +genfstab -U /mnt >> /mnt/etc/fstab +``` + +Use your favorite terminal-based editor, edit the fstab file and add +the `discard` option for the root partition to enable TRIM on the SSD. + +Now we change root into our newly installed system and will configure +it. Adjust these according to your own setup. + +```bash +arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash +passwd # set the root password +echo myhostname > /etc/hostname # set the hostname +ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Canada/Eastern /etc/localtime # time zone +hwclock --systohc --utc # write system clock to hardware clock (UTC) +useradd -m -G wheel -s /bin/bash myuser # create myuser +passwd myuser # set the password for myuser +echo "myuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" >> /etc/sudoers.d/myuser +# uncomment en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8 and other needed locales in /etc/locale.gen +locale-gen +echo LANG=en_US.UTF-8 > /etc/locale.conf +export LANG=en_US.UTF-8 +``` + +Then adjust the initramfs hooks in `/etc/mkinitcpio.conf` and enable +the `encrypt` and `lvm2` hooks, and make sure `keyboard` is available +before `encrypt` so you can actually type in the LUKS password when +booting. Your `HOOKS` line should look similar to this: + +```nil +HOOKS="base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt lvm2 filesystems fsck" +``` + +After adjusting the hooks, build the initramfs: + +```bash +mkinitcpio -p linux +``` + +Now, install the `intel-ucode` package. We'll configure the bootloader +to enable intel microcode updates. + +```bash +pacman -S intel-ucode +``` + +Create the `/boot/loader/loader.conf` with the following content +(adjust the timeout to your liking): + +```nil +default arch +timeout 3 +``` + +Then create the entry for Arch: + +```bash +mkdir -p /boot/loader/entries +touch /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf +``` + +Now edit `/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf` to specify the Arch entry: + +```nil +title Arch GNU/Linux +linux /vmlinuz-linux +initrd /intel-ucode.img +initrd /initramfs-linux.img +options cryptdevice=/dev/sdaX:vg:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/vg-root rw +``` + +Again, `/dev/sdaX` is the partition you created in the [partitioning](#partitioning) +step as the underlying encrypted partition. + +Finally, install the bootloader, exit the chroot, umount and reboot! + +```bash +bootctl install +exit +umount -R /mnt +reboot +``` + + +## Post-installation recommendations {#post-installation-recommendations} + +Congratulations! You now have a minimal Arch installation. + +At this point, I usually install my favorite AUR helper, [pacaur](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/pacaur/), then +I install the [broadcom-wl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/broadcom-wl-dkms/) wireless driver and [mba6x\_bl-dkms](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/mba6x%5Fbl-dkms/) +backlight driver to fix the post suspend/resume issue where three's no +brightness after waking up from suspend, and the only available +brightness would be 100%. + +```bash +pacaur -S linux-headers dkms # linux-headers is required for dkms +pacaur -S broadcom-wl-dkms +pacaur -S mba6x_bl-dkms +``` + +Then, I'd like to install + +- input, graphics, and sound drivers, +- a desktop environment (I prefer Xfce or LXQt), +- a display manager for login screen (lightdm or sddm), and +- a network manager (NetworkManager or ConnMan). + +Check out the [General recommendations](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/General%5Frecommendations) for more details. + + +## References {#references} + +Here are some resources I've come across each with lots of useful bits +and pieces, about installing Arch on a MacBook: + +- [pandeiro/arch-on-air](https://github.com/pandeiro/arch-on-air) +- [Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Retina 2014 with DM-Crypt, LVM and suspend to disk](https://loicpefferkorn.net/2015/01/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-retina-2014-with-dm-crypt-lvm-and-suspend-to-disk/) +- [Installing Archlinux on Macbook Air 2013](http://frankshin.com/installing-archlinux-on-macbook-air-2013/) +- [Arch Linux Installation with OS X on Macbook Air (Dual Boot)](http://panks.me/posts/2013/06/arch-linux-installation-with-os-x-on-macbook-air-dual-boot/) +- [Installing (encrypted) Arch Linux on an Apple MacBook Pro](https://visual-assault.org/2016/03/05/install-encrypted-arch-linux-on-apple-macbook-pro/) +- [Installing Arch Linux on a MacBook Air 2013](http://alexeyzabelin.com/arch-on-mac) +- [Arch Linux running on my MacBook](https://medium.com/phils-thought-bubble-of-recent-stuff/arch-linux-running-on-my-macbook-2ea525ebefe3) +- [Dual boot Arch Linux on MacBook Pro Installation](http://codylittlewood.com/arch-linux-on-macbook-pro-installation/) + +[//]: # "Exported with love from a post written in Org mode" +[//]: # "- https://github.com/kaushalmodi/ox-hugo"