Arch / Derivatives

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1. Distro Selection

If you’re interested in trying an Arch-based system but want something easier to get started with, I’d suggest EndeavourOS or Cachyos. The installation steps originally made for EndeavourOS also apply to Cachy OS since they use the same installer. For installing vanilla Arch, the only guide you should be following is the one on the Arch Wiki.

If you’ve never used Linux before and aren’t willing to read documentation or troubleshoot issues, Arch or Arch-based distributions may not be the best starting point.

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2. Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, make sure you have:

  1. A USB drive with at least 8 GB of capacity.

  2. A bootable media tool like Rufus, Ventoy, or Balena Etcher.

  3. Secure Boot disabled in BIOS.

  4. BitLocker disabled in Windows (for dual boot setups).

  5. Fast Boot disabled (also for dual boot setups).

  6. GPU mode set to "Ultimate" or "Standard" in Linux or Windows.

Secure Boot may prevent the system from booting. Be sure to disable it in BIOS.

If BitLocker is not turned off, it can lead to data loss or prevent access to your drive during installation.

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3. Installation Process

3.1 Download the ISO

Download the latest EndeavourOS ISO from the official website: https://endeavouros.com

3.2 Create Bootable USB

  1. Download and open Rufus.

  2. Select "ISO Image" and choose the EndeavourOS ISO.

  3. Insert your USB drive and select it in Rufus.

  4. Set the Partition Scheme to GPT.

  5. Click Start and wait for the process to complete.

  6. Safely eject the USB drive after completion.

3.3 Partitioning

  1. Open Disk Management in Windows.

  2. Locate your C: drive, right-click, and select Shrink Volume.

  3. Shrink the volume by at least 50 GB (recommended).

  4. Leave the space unallocated; do not create a new volume.

3.4 BIOS Setup

  1. Reboot your system and press F2.

  2. Disable Secure Boot.

  3. Set your USB drive as the first boot device.

  4. Save changes and exit BIOS.

3.5 Begin Installation

EndeavourOS Installation:

Once you're in the live session:

  1. Connect to the internet using Wi-Fi or Ethernet.

  2. Launch the installer from the taskbar.

  3. Choose the Online Installation method.

An internet connection is required for updating the system, and some options, like selecting a desktop environment or bootloader, are not available in the offline installer.

Guided Installer Walkthrough (For the Calamares installer found in EndeavourOS and CachyOS.)

Installer
Language

Choose your language.

Region and Timezone

Choose your region and your timezone.

Keyboard Layout

Choose your keyboard layout. If you have the US layout, simply press Next.

Desktop Environment

Now choose your desktop environment. I would recommend sticking to either GNOME or KDE. It will show a preview image of what the desktop environment looks like, but in short: KDE is more Windows-like and GNOME is more macOS-like. Once you've decided, simply double click on the option and choose Next.

Additional Packages

I’d recommend getting an LTS kernel that you can use as a backup, and if you have a printer, you can check the printing support box. Other than that, I’d leave the rest as is.

Bootloader

Select GRUB as the bootloader.

Disk Setup

For a single-boot setup, select Erase Disk and enable Swap with Hibernate if you plan on using suspend to disk instead of swap on zram. For a dual-boot setup, select Replace a Partition and choose the unallocated space.

An example of dual boot.

This is an example of a dual-boot setup. The disk size is irrelevant because it is running in a virtual machine.

User Setup

Now enter your username, hostname, and password, then click Next.

Summary

Review all settings. If everything looks correct, click Install. Then wait for the installation to complete, and reboot.

Arch Installation:

For a complete manual installation, please refer to the installation steps found on the Arch Wiki.

3.6 Complete Setup

  1. Exit the Live Environment.

  2. Remove the USB drive.

  3. Your system should now boot into Linux or display a bootloader menu if dual booting.

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4. Uninstalling Linux

4.1 For Dual Boot Systems

  1. Open Disk Management and delete the Linux partitions.

  2. Open Command Prompt as Administrator, then run:

diskpart
select disk X         # Replace X with your actual disk number
list partition
select partition 1    # EFI partition is usually number 1.
assign letter=Z

  1. In a new Command Prompt window:

cd /d Z:\EFI
dir
rd /s /q endeavouros  # Replace with your distro`s name

  1. Return to the first terminal and run:

remove letter=Z

  1. Reboot your system. You should now boot directly into Windows.

4.2 For Standalone Linux Installations

  1. Boot using a Windows installation USB.

  2. Press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.

  3. Run the following commands:

diskpart
select disk X         # Replace X with the correct disk number
clean
exit

  1. Proceed with installing Windows normally.

If the Windows installer doesn’t detect your disk on Intel systems, disable **VMD (Volume Management Device)** in BIOS.

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