Using a livecd/usb of an easier distro to install Gentoo

[JelteF]

I've been using Gentoo for about three years now and have installed and helped installing it many times. The only time I used the Gentoo livecd was the first time. After that I used livecd's from Mint.
It has quite a bit of advantages:
1. You have a browser that is not command line based, which is really handy for googling and copy pasting.
2. You have gparted, which is in my opinion way more easier to use than parted.
3. You have a terminal that doesn't forget the lines above its height, which is good for debugging.
4. You have working networking, which is a pain to setup if its not working on the livecd (and has to be done everytime you reboot).

These are all really usefull for setting up the system.
This is why I think an extra installation medium option should be added to the install guide. I think it would make the installation for newcomers a lot less frustrating. Getting Gentoo to boot and work the first time is already a hard task, no need to make it harder by having a hard installation medium as well.
One last thing, the only thing that is missing on other livecd's is the mirrorselect utility. Everything else can be done the exact same way. Once you have chrooted everything is just fine, since you are in your own non booting Gentoo.

Would love to know what you guys think.

[szatox]

I have installed with a guide quite a long time ago, but I have NEVER installed using gentoo install cd.
It was clear enough for me that I can use anything as long as it has some basic tools, so I used debian I had already installed as my main system. And then I used slax, for it's image only takes like 200 MB and installs on a stick with double-click (figuratively) and it let me put stage and portage tarball next to the directory containing bootable stuff.
Distro you use for installation doesn't have any impact on the installation process, so what's the point? You use what you like or what you have in your hands already. There is no need to make another "option" here.

A thing that could be an option is using netifrc vs networkmanager vs wicd vs dhcpcd for networking. I think there was only the netifrc way described.
Also, it would be nice to have DOS partition vs GPT, and some hint about DM-RAID, LUKS and LVM. Replacing those modules under a live system takes much more effort.

[NathanZachary]

I have installed Gentoo using both the minimal installation disc, and other live distributions. I agree with you that, for the most part, it is more efficient to use a different live medium.
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[marian.b]

Why not simply use the latest Gentoo LiveDVD? IMHO that comes with the advantage of allowing one to build a Gentoo system from a Gentoo environment, while preserving all the advantages of using other distros' LiveDVDs. You would use the latest stage3 and the latest portage snapshot anyway ...

[jonathan183]

systemrescuecd has most of the advantages but is still a small download and runs on most systems ...

I have used the Gentoo media, used other distro livedvd, used the systemrescuecd. I'd tend to use the systemrescuecd ... it has just about everything needed and is Gentoo based.
The Gentoo livedvd could also be used (have not tried to use it for an install) ... it's a bigger download and needs more resources than the systemrescuecd.

Gentoo is about user choice ... but if I had to pick only one way to install it would be with the systemrescuecd