Noob help!

[ausmusj1]

tar will take either xvjf or -xvjf - shouldn't matter. Most likely at issue is *where* the snapshot got downloaded to. Do this:

[idella4]

like ausmusj1 pointed out, where is your file. I've had those type of non-responses too in early attempts. Rule of thumb is to get the file in the root directory of the new home partition of the new system. You need to keep a mental map of the folder structure since konqueror or nautilus are many steps away yet. From booting up the minimal install cd, you ought to have done 'cd /dev/hd-- /mnt/gentoo'. (replace hd-- with the correct entry) Then your position is in the root of the new gentoo system. Get the file, in this case the portage fIle, that you downloaded in the root of the new system. I've found that in that situation, the commands you're copying from the instructionsand run then work just right.

The commands in the instructions are all correct, but with a limited overall understanding of them, they are harder to follow. They might need a minor change or tweak to get them to execute, but that's part of the steep learning curve in climatising to gentoo.
Get the portage created, then you're getting closer to the step of chroot to the new system in its own right.
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idella4@aus