Arch linux installation instructions for Asus X205TA
-` meyer@x205ta
.o+` ----------
`ooo/ OS: Arch Linux x86_64
`+oooo: Host: X205TAW 1.0
`+oooooo: Kernel: 5.14.12-arch1-1
-+oooooo+: Uptime: 38 mins
`/:-:++oooo+: Packages: 455 (pacman)
`/++++/+++++++: Shell: bash 5.1.8
`/++++++++++++++: Resolution: 1366x768
`/+++ooooooooooooo/` WM: sway
./ooosssso++osssssso+` Theme: Arc-Dark [GTK2/3]
.oossssso-````/ossssss+` Icons: Arc [GTK2/3]
-osssssso. :ssssssso. Terminal: alacritty
:osssssss/ osssso+++. Terminal Font: Hack
/ossssssss/ +ssssooo/- CPU: Intel Atom Z3735F (4) @ 1.832GHz
`/ossssso+/:- -:/+osssso+- GPU: Intel Atom Processor Z36xxx/Z37xxx Series Graphics & Display
`+sso+:-` `.-/+oso: Memory: 220MiB / 1906MiB
`++:. `-/+/
.` `/
This is supposed to be a tutorial, in the most straightforward way possible, on how to install Arch Linux on an Asus X205TA. This was quite a saga for me to get it done in 2021.
You will need:
- USB flash drive
- Another linux machine
- Arch Linux ISO
Older images did not have WIFI or sound working out of the box. However, newer images are working correctly. There are still some quirks to deal, however.
First of all, you will need to create a bootia32.efi for yourself. You'll
neeed a new grub.cfg file. Luckily, I have one, copied from
this blog and it is included in this repo.
You MUST change the ARCH_YYYYMM label in the grub.cfg file to match the
ISO you have just downloaded. To get the correct label for the ISO you just
downloaded you can execute the following (line breaks added):
$ file archlinux-2021.10.01-x86_64.iso
archlinux-2021.10.01-x86_64.iso:
ISO 9660 CD-ROM filesystem data (DOS/MBR boot sector)
'ARCH_202110' (bootable)After you have updated the grub.cfg file to match your ISO, you can execute
the following:
$ grub-mkstandalone -v \
-d /usr/lib/grub/i386-efi/ \
-O i386-efi \
--modules='part_gpt part_msdos' \
--fonts=unicode \
--locales=uk \
--themes='' \
-o ./bootia32.efi \
/boot/grub/grub.cfg=./grub.cfgThis will generate a bootia32.efi file on your current directory.
This step is very easy. We are just going to copy all files from the ISO to a
USB flash drive and add our bootia32.efi file. First, format it using vfat
and set the label of the drive to match the Arch Linux ISO label. In our
example, it was ARCH_202110.
$ mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdc1 -n ARCH_202110Mount it, so we can copy files to it:
$ mkdir /tmp/usb
$ mount /dev/sdc1 /tmp/usbMount the ISO file as well, so we can copy its files:
$ mkdir /tmp/iso
$ mount archlinux-2021.10.01-x86_64.iso /tmp/iso -o loop
mount: /tmp/iso: WARNING: source write-protected, mounted read-only.Copy all files from ISO to USB, add our bootia32.efi as well:
$ cp -rv /tmp/iso/* /tmp/usb
$ cp -v bootia32.efi /tmp/usb/EFI/BOOT/Clean up after yourself:
$ umount /tmp/iso
$ umount /tmp/usbYou have a bootable USB!!
To boot into the USB media just press ESC, or F2 multiple times while the
computer is booting. Make sure you have "secure boot" deactivated in the BIOS.
Newer versions of arch linux installation medias come with a very handy script
that helps with the installation process. First, connect to the internet using
iwctl:
$ iwctl
[iwd]# station wlan0 scan
[iwd]# station wlan0 connect YOUR_WIFI
[iwd]# exitHere I show the summary of my installation, which worked. You can modify it to better suit your case.
$ archinstall
Select one of the above keyboard languages: us-acentos
Select one of the above regions to download packages from: United states
Select one of the above disks: /dev/mmcblk2
Found partitions on the selected drive: Format entire drive and setup a basic partition scheme
Select which filesystem your main partition should use: ext4
Enter disk encryption password (leave blank for no encryption):
Would you like to use GRUB as a bootloader: y
Desired hostname for installation: x205ta
Enter root password:
Enter a username: meyer1994
Password for user meyer1994:
Should this user be a supeuser: y
Enter a pre-programmed profile name: minimal
Choose which kernels to use: linux
Write additional packages to install:
Select one network interface to configure:
Enter a valid timezone: Brazil/East
Would you like automatic time synchronization: yWait for it to finish but do not restart.
After you finished the installation process, while still in using the bootable
USB, chroot into the system. Usually, the system will be mounted in
/mnt. If not, mount them first and then chroot into it:
$ mount /dev/mmcblk2p2 /mnt
$ mount /dev/mmcblk2p1 /mnt/boot
$ arch-chroot /mntWe need to install a correct version of grub into this system.
$ grub-install \
-–target=i386-efi \
-–efi-directory=/boot \
--bootloader-id=grub_uefi \
-–recheck
Installing for i386-efi partition
Installation finished. No errors reportedAnd generate its configuration:
$ grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Generating grub configuration file
...
doneAudio was a known issue with this machine. However, it seems to have been
resolved in newer linux kernel versions. To make it work, I just installed
pulseaudio and rebooted the computer.
$ pacman -S pulseaudio- ifranali's blog: the main reference for this
- Arch Wiki X205TA page: gathering lots of info
- savagezen's repo: used by me the first time I got this working, back in 2016
- Myself: for making a question in 2016, which I forgot, and leading me back to ifranali's blog
- Wayback Machine: for having a snapshot of ifranali's blog
- avakyeramian's repo: for having some fixes to problems I did not even know existed