installing gentoo minimal from WiFi? is possible ?

themythtoon · Last edited by themythtoon on Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:32 pm; edited 3 times in total

Hello!
I never installed gentoo, I always wanted to give it a try but the installer scared me.
Yesterday I started to read everything in the installation handbook and at first it seems easy, but I forgot that my Notebook does not have a wlan xD port
Create my bootable USB, boot it, and pond me where configuring the network would be.
but in handboook it does not explain what to do next to connect to my modem and thus access the internet.
It's possible ? I missed a step?

To simplify it: I want to configure my network and then connect to my WiFi modem to follow the installation.

It's possible? Do I forget any detail of the handbook?

Thank you for your patience !

jobb · n00b Joined: 20 Jun 2019 Posts: 13

themythtoon

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 5:01 pm Post subject:

themythtoon,

Welcome to Gentoo.

There is nothing magic about the Gentoo minimal CD. Its just a toolkit you use to install Gentoo. None of the code on the minimal CD will go into your install.
That means you can use any Linux liveCD to install Gentoo. There are a couple of constraints to keep in mind.
For a 64 bit install, you must boot a 64 bit kernel.
For a UEFI install, its easier if you boot in UEFI mode. You will need to boot in UEFI mode to complete the install.

Getting back to the minimal CD and toolkits, the minimal CD is not a good toolkit to use if you want to install using WiFi as its wifi support is poor.
Find a liveCD that supports your WiFi and use that to install Gentoo. If you already have another Linux installed on your system, that will do nicely.

System Rescue CD used to be Gentoo based. That will probably be a good toolkit.

You probably need wpa_supplicant to get your wifi to work. Nobody runs an open or WEP encrypted wireless network any more. Its WPA2 or better.
You will need to set up wpa_supplicant to deal with your encryption.

System Rescue CD provides a graphical too to do that.
If you really have your heart set on using the Gentoo minimalCD, you can use Sneakernet.
There is always a way.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

themythtoon · Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:13 pm Post subject:

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:36 pm Post subject:

themythtoon,

The hybrid ISO is several years old. You can use it to follow the gentoo handbook to accomplish an install.
If you try to install its code to your HDD, updating will be more difficult than installing using the minimal CD.
It was only ever intended to allow potential users to try Gentoo without installing it.

Gentoo does not provide very many binary packages for you to install. Mostly only things that will not build on low end systems.

Being several years old, it may be missing support for newer hardware, such as your WiFi.

Start with System Rescue CD on a USB stick if you need to download something.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
those that do backups
those that have never had a hard drive fail.

cwr · Veteran Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 1969

I honestly think you'd find it quicker and easier to install Ubuntu first,
and then use that installation to install Gentoo; then add Gentoo to the
boot menu. Given the size of modern drives 8-16 GB for a Ubuntu install
is nothing, and the installer would do all the tricky stuff, like sorting
out the boot setup, for nothing.

Furthermore, I've always found it helpful to have a second installation
available to maintain or backup or generally mess around with the first.
Sometimes I use Gentoo as the second install, and sometimes the current
Ubuntu LTS; with a net connection Ubuntu is easy to maintain, so it's no
great hardship.

Good luck - Will