[gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo from another Linux distro

[gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo from another Linux distro

[Grant]

I'm getting ready for a remote Gentoo install.  I'd like to avoid any
sort of CD/USB/floppy usage.  I can select a variety of different
distros to be preinstalled on the system.  Can I end up with the same
Gentoo system installing from another distro as I can from a LiveCD?
I've read over:

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/altinstall.xml#doc_chap5

and it sounds like I may not be able to end up with one big root
partition like this:

Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1               1           5       40131   83  Linux
/dev/sda2               6          68      506047+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda3              69       19457   155742142+  83  Linux

If the preinstalled distro has a partition table like this, I won't be
able to make a separate partition for Gentoo.  If the preinstalled
distro has separate large partitions, I will be able to install Gentoo
on one of the partitions, but I won't ever be able to set up a
partition table like the above with one big root partition.

Is that correct or do I have this all wrong?

- Grant

Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo from another Linux distro

[Nevynxxx]

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Grant wrote:
> I'm getting ready for a remote Gentoo install.  I'd like to avoid any
> sort of CD/USB/floppy usage.  I can select a variety of different
> distros to be preinstalled on the system.  Can I end up with the same
> Gentoo system installing from another distro as I can from a LiveCD?
> I've read over:
>
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/altinstall.xml#doc_chap5
>
> and it sounds like I may not be able to end up with one big root
> partition like this:
>
> Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
> /dev/sda1               1           5       40131   83  Linux
> /dev/sda2               6          68      506047+  82  Linux swap / Solaris
> /dev/sda3              69       19457   155742142+  83  Linux
>
> If the preinstalled distro has a partition table like this, I won't be
> able to make a separate partition for Gentoo.  If the preinstalled
> distro has separate large partitions, I will be able to install Gentoo
> on one of the partitions, but I won't ever be able to set up a
> partition table like the above with one big root partition.
>
> Is that correct or do I have this all wrong?
>
> - Grant
>
>   
That is basically correct, you can't remove the root partition, while it
is in use....

What you could do though, depending on how big that boot partition is,
is copy the live CD to the boot partition, set a boot option to boot
that as the root, and then do your normal install in the main big
partition.....

I've never done, or tried this, but it should work....The minimal
install cd is ~50MB I think....

All that said, I'm an LVM guy myself, and like to have a few partitions
about for different things depensding on the machines usage. :)


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Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo from another Linux distro

[Hazen Valliant-Saunders]

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So what's the question?


You can install gentoo from a live cd, in fact you could try to drop to
single user mode and fire up a new kernel via the LiveCD, but alas that may
be a bit precarious.

Next to that I'd say format your file system and go from the LiveCD, why
don't you ahve console access?

Simply use the current paritions hwever if this is a "Dedicated" system
remember to format them before hand.

XFS, Ext3 and Reiser are all good, I'm partial to XFS myself but I'd advise
you to do some resarch.

HTH.

On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 6:58 AM, Nevynxxx <nevyn@anferny.me.uk> wrote:

> Grant wrote:
> > I'm getting ready for a remote Gentoo install.  I'd like to avoid any
> > sort of CD/USB/floppy usage.  I can select a variety of different
> > distros to be preinstalled on the system.  Can I end up with the same
> > Gentoo system installing from another distro as I can from a LiveCD?
> > I've read over:
> >
> > http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/altinstall.xml#doc_chap5
> >
> > and it sounds like I may not be able to end up with one big root
> > partition like this:
> >
> > Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
> > /dev/sda1               1           5       40131   83  Linux
> > /dev/sda2               6          68      506047+  82  Linux swap /
> Solaris
> > /dev/sda3              69       19457   155742142+  83  Linux
> >
> > If the preinstalled distro has a partition table like this, I won't be
> > able to make a separate partition for Gentoo.  If the preinstalled
> > distro has separate large partitions, I will be able to install Gentoo
> > on one of the partitions, but I won't ever be able to set up a
> > partition table like the above with one big root partition.
> >
> > Is that correct or do I have this all wrong?
> >
> > - Grant
> >
> >
> That is basically correct, you can't remove the root partition, while it
> is in use....
>
> What you could do though, depending on how big that boot partition is,
> is copy the live CD to the boot partition, set a boot option to boot
> that as the root, and then do your normal install in the main big
> partition.....
>
> I've never done, or tried this, but it should work....The minimal
> install cd is ~50MB I think....
>
> All that said, I'm an LVM guy myself, and like to have a few partitions
> about for different things depensding on the machines usage. :)
>
>


-- 
Hazen Valliant-Saunders
IT/IS Consultant
(613) 355-5977

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Re: [gentoo-user] Installing Gentoo from another Linux distro

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:44:58 -0700, Grant wrote:

> If the preinstalled distro has a partition table like this, I won't be
> able to make a separate partition for Gentoo.  If the preinstalled
> distro has separate large partitions, I will be able to install Gentoo
> on one of the partitions, but I won't ever be able to set up a
> partition table like the above with one big root partition.

You will, as long as the distro you use for installation is not on the
first partition. Then you can install Gentoo on the first partition,
make sure it works and then remove the partition containing the original
distro and resize your root.

But why do you want everything n a single partition? This is a more risky
setup with a remote server, because any filesystem corruption could make
the system unbootable. I'd have a small root partition and everything
else on LVM. Then even if /usr or /var is toast, you can still boot in
single mode.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

He's dead, Jim. Just like your career.

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