archlinux-regolith-de

• archlinux-regolith-de
  • overview
  • usage
    • assumptions
    • hyper-v Setup
    • Arch Linux Setup
    • hyperv-finalization
    • Arch Linux post-setup
  • references

overview

This repository contains powershell and bash scripts to setup Arch Linux with Regolith desktop environment.

• personally, I have found that Arch Linux inside a Hyper-V box with 4GB of ram and 4 Logical cores performs significantly better than Windows host that has 16 GB of ram and 8 Logical cores. The laptop I am using is Lenvo X12 , and for windows updates , I am on insider channel.
• I am using btrfs file system for arch installation.
• this installation only uses i3 window manager
• I am using regolith flavored i3, as I really like the defaults it provides
• in case you are not using these scripts to install Arch in hyper-v, you would need to remove hyper-v specific pieces from 02-arch-setup.sh ; namely the sections that setup xrdp and Microsoft/linux-vm-tools ( lines 401-418)

usage

assumptions

• you are running windows 10 pro with hyper-v enables
• you have admin privileges
• your host has 16GB of memory. this is not a hard requirement
• your host cpu has 8 logical cores.this is not a hard requirement
• aria2 is installed in windows. you can use package managers such as scoop to install it.
• you have cloned this repository to your disk

hyper-v Setup

• modify 01-hyperv-init.ps1 script to suit your needs by modifying variables in VM CONFIG section of the script:
  • set $$VMName to change VM name from default value
  • set $MemoryStartupBytes to the amount of RAM you want to allocate for the VM. I would recommend setting VM ram to a quarter of what is available on host, as Windows seems to have horrendous memory management.
  • set $VMProcessorCount to the amount of Logical CPU cores you want to allocate to the VM. I would recommend using half of the logical cores available on your CPU.
  • set $VHDSizeBytes to the amount of HDD you want to allocate to the VM
• open a new powershell window in administrator mode.
• run 01-hyperv-init.ps1 script.
• start the VM

Start-VM -Name $VMName

• connect to the VM through Virtual Machine Connection (VMConnect)

$HOSTNAME = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_ComputerSystem -Property Name).Name
VMConnect $HOSTNAME $VMName

• inside arch installer media shell, set a root password and enable ssh

echo 'root:root' | chpasswd
systemctl start sshd

• inside your elevated powershell window, run the following snippet to extract list of IP V4 addresses of the interface, as we will ssh into it from powershell in arch install stages.

$IPV4Pattern = '^(?:(?:0?0?\d|0?[1-9]\d|1\d\d|2[0-5][0-5]|2[0-4]\d)\.){3}(?:0?0?\d|0?[1-9]\d|1\d\d|2[0-5][0-5]|2[0-4]\d)$'
Get-Vm -Name $VMName  | `
Select-Object -ExpandProperty Networkadapters | `
Select-Object -ExpandProperty IPAddresses | `
Where-Object -FilterScript { $_ -match $IPV4Pattern } | `
Select-Object -First 1

• open a new, non elevated powershell window. ssh into the VM in the new window. the ssh password will be root. You can use the following snippet ; change 192.168.2.246 to match IP address of your VM

ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null root@192.168.2.246

• do not close the elevated powershell window as you need it in the following steps.

Arch Linux Setup

• modify 02-arch-setup.sh script. search for damoon and change it to the username of your own choosing.
• move script into the VM with scp. execute this command in the other powershell window.

scp -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null 02-arch-setup.sh root@192.168.2.246:/root/

• execute the script in the ssh session you opened.

bash /root/02-arch-setup.sh

• after the script has finished execution, it would turn off the VM. you should be ready to use the VM.

hyperv-finalization

• this phase is not mandatory.
• Enable enhanced session mode. I highly encourage using enhanced session mode.

Set-VM -VMName $VMName -EnhancedSessionTransportType HvSocket

• Change boot order for VM

$gen2 = Get-VMFirmware $VMName
$gen2file = $gen2.BootOrder[0]
Set-VMFirmware -VMName $VMName -FirstBootDevice $gen2file
Get-VMFirmware $VMName

• Remove DVD from VM with same SCSI as HDD

Get-VMDvdDrive -VMName $VMName -ControllerNumber 0 | Remove-VMDvdDrive

• Remove DVD Scsi controler from VM

Get-VMScsiController -VMName $VMName -ControllerNumber 1 | Remove-VMScsiController

Arch Linux post-setup

• this phase is not mandatory.
• 02-arch-setup.sh script sets up default regolith look. in I have included my dotfiles under dotfiles folder. In the following steps, I will show you how to create your own dotfiles repo , put my dotfiles in it and use rcm for managing your VMs dotfiles.
• install rcm
• create a repository for your box's dot files, e.g hyperv-dotfiles
• clone the empty repository to ~/.dotfiles

git clone /repo/uri.git ~/.dotfiles

• copy all files in this repository's dotfiles directory to ~/.dotfiles

cp -r dotfiles/* ~/.dotfiles/

• commit and push the changes for your hyperv-dotfiles repository.
• run rcup in your shell to have it create the symlinks for you. accepts all changes.
• restart your VM. You should have the same environment as mine.

references

• https://www.distrotube.com/guest-articles/managing-dotfiles-with-rcm.html
• https://thoughtbot.com/upcase/videos/manage-and-share-your-dotfiles-with-rcm
• [ TODO ] https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/7090c940-ac19-4f11-9316-666301889248/virtual-machine-connection-the-session-was-disconnected-if-you-want-to-continue-try-to-connect?forum=win10itprovirt