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Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

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Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#111

Post by rcxdude »

vetinari wrote: post #78
rcxdude wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly what he's saying, except on top he's saying that rufus can supply a driver for NTFS for UEFI firmware that does not support it.

He frames it differently; more optimistic than the reality on the ground. He is also conflating things in a way that does not work (just because Intel ships something does not means that it is a standard to benchmark compliance to spec against it; it creates unnecessary confusion. Intel has a right to implement things above the spec, but it does not mean that spec mandates such things). You can ship your own filesyst…

That same page claims that disabling secure boot is no longer necessary (though most users are in fact used to it by now). It very much seems like the feature does actually just work in most cases.

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#112

Post by runjake »

greatcircle wrote: post #13

I installed Windows 10 the other week - it kinda blew my mind how poor the install experience was. The iso contained files greater than 4GB, which breaks fat32, which I'm sure many people are still using on flash drives. So I had to use an MS cmd-line tool to split the wim files manually and edit the install files. Why doesn't the installer just use smaller archive files?

Because you're supported to use NTFS, not FAT32. NTFS is the native format.

But you don't have to do all that. Use the Media Creation Tool:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11/

Edit: Or even better, as degenerate comments below, use Rufus, which is what I use.

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#114

Post by alexvitkov »

nsonha wrote: post #84
alexvitkov wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Arch install is literally 1. partition your system 2. mount / 3. run 1 command to actually install the system 4. install grub Sure, it's a bit gatekeepy if you haven't done it before, but it teaches you a lot of useful things about how a Linux system works, that you'll undoubtedly need if you plan to use Arch.

Imagine any other consumer product boasting about teaching you things, instead of just do what it means to do. Also am I dumb? Why do I need to be taught these things again and again every damn installation?

You don't need to be taught again and again, you should just know it. I haven't had to install it in years but I bet I can get an usable system in 10 minutes.

I wouldn't mind a graphical installer but my point is that the install process reflects the experience of actually using it - it's a tinkerer's system, and from time to time you'll need to spend an hour reading the Wiki. If you're not willing to do it for the install, you'd probably also be miserable using the damn thing - the system is honest with what it is from the get go, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#116

Post by deaddodo »

vetinari wrote: post #66
voltagex_ wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Rufus author has capital O Opinions on this: https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#user-content-Blah_...

He is wrong; UEFI does specify FAT (section 13.3). It does not prevent supporting other filesystems, as well as other partition schemes or volume formats (nothing prevents UEFI from supporting LVM, for example), but only FAT and GPT are mandatory (i.e. "must"). Thus only FAT and GPT are implemented in 100% of shipped computers. Yes, you can get Intel NUC and yes, it does support NTFS in UEFI. It is also compliant wit…

> He is wrong; UEFI does specify FAT (section 13.3).

He literally addresses that. Saying that the one thing the Spec does is require that, at the very least, you can boot from FAT32.

When he says the spec doesn't require FAT32, he means nothing in the spec says your device itself should be FAT32 and that it's fully conformant to use a UEFI:NTFS driver to load from a USB stick.

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#117

Post by kwanbix »

vetinari wrote: post #56
kwanbix wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine that very few people who use Windows have USBs on fat32. In fact, Windows format by defaults on NTFS with the option format on exFAT. There is no option fo format on FAT32, you need to use a specific tool. More so, most people just burn the iso to the usb, deleting everyhing on it.

Windows ISO files are iso9660, so you cannot "burn them" into the usb; only to optical drive. For USB, Microsoft provides media creation tool, which will format the usb to FAT32, and then copy the files there. As said elsewhere in this thread, it will use esd instead of wim container, which has better compression, so it will fit. The install USB can be neither NTFS nor exFAT, because neither of these filesystems are…

Of course you can. I open rufus, and I "burn" the ISO to the USB drive. I don't know if you are referring to a more specific process, or a different process, but the ISO is then copied to the USB, and I can boot from it, install windows, and even browse the files.

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#118

Post by IE6 »

greatcircle wrote: post #13

I installed Windows 10 the other week - it kinda blew my mind how poor the install experience was. The iso contained files greater than 4GB, which breaks fat32, which I'm sure many people are still using on flash drives. So I had to use an MS cmd-line tool to split the wim files manually and edit the install files. Why doesn't the installer just use smaller archive files?

anecdotally - I feel windows has gone the opposite direction and switched places with linux in terms of ease of installation. I've been using Linux for decades now but had to install Windows 11 for a gaming machine I built:

* I couldn't install windows 11 because it was "missing drivers" (this took me back to 95) * Tried installing Windows 10 instead thinking to eventually upgrade to 11 * Got stuck in an update loop where it tried to install update named like 2H02 ~20 times (I wasn't paying attention to what it was actually updating and just kinda kept trying to update it until it was finished) * Tried to troubleshoot the issue, tried a few things * Gave up, installed ubuntu, checked how well the game works on Steam and it ran OK

Re: Install Windows the Arch Linux Way

#120

Post by pyrophane »

It is nice to know that there is still a simple-ish way to bypass linking your account to a Microsoft Account at install time.

A couple of days ago I was reinstalling Windows on a machine that was new enough that the wireless drivers weren't available on install, and was surprised that the installer just would not let me proceed with the install like used to.

Of course, even if you manage to install Windows with a local-only account, that doesn't mean that it is going to be easy to keep it that way. At least you'll get to have your choice of username, though!

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