Install livecd without network not working.

[drakebasher]

I am trying to install Gentoo from CDs. I have the liveCD (2004.1) created by and purchased directly from Gentoo. When I run emerge anything, emerge tries to download via ftp from the internet. The same occurs when I run bootstrap.sh. I have set PORTDIR, DISTDIR and PACKAGEDIR to the respective directories /usr/portage, dist and packages in /etc/make.conf. In another effort, I also set these three at the command line (# PORTDIR="usr/portage") I have also tried using the -K switch with emerge.

When I run either bootstrap.sh or emerge, Gentoo tries to contact several ftp sites and after failing all, it exits to the command prompt. When I run 'emerge gentoo-sources' with no switch, I get the same thing. When I run it with the -K or -k switch, Gentoo reports that no packages were found. Per the Gentoo Handbook, I have copied all of the distfiles to /mnt/gentoo/usr/portage/distfiles (prior to chroot).

I have followed the Gentoo Handbook as closely as possible, allowing that the writers have an obvious preference for network installs. It appears to me that the non-network install instructions, if not the executables, are broken. Please help me to correct the error.

[lakerdonald]

well just first off, bootstrapping your system is a stage1 command, but stage3 is the only network-less stage. Did you get the universal or minimal livecd?

[drakebasher]

well just first off, bootstrapping your system is a stage1 command, but stage3 is the only network-less stage. Did you get the universal or minimal livecd?

Thanks for the response, lakerdonald.I have 2 CDs, 2004.1/x86: one is Universal x86 Installation Disc, other is x86 Binary Packages Disc. I wanted a stage 1 install so I could minimize the system for use in a 486DX as gateway and router.

The Handbook sections dealing with the stage tarball offer the choice of downloading from the internet or using the livecd. It doesn't say, imply or suggest that stage 1 requires internet and in fact there is a stage 1 tarball on the CD, which I have untarred.

Handbook says: "If you haven't copied over all source code before, then the bootstrap script will download all necessary files." It goes on to explain that bootstrap.sh can be run with a --fetch switch for download, but not processing of source files. I took all of this to mean that the necessary source, having been copied from the CD to the /usr/portage/distfiles/ directory, could then be used by bootstrap.sh same as if they had been downloaded, since that is the same directory that emerge wants to download to.

If I run bootstrap.sh, the first file it tries to download is portage-2.0.50-r5.tar.bz2 and it is to go into /usr/portage/distfiles. I have untarred from the CD the snapshot portage-20040413.tar.bz2. There is no file portage-2.0.50-r5.tar.bz2 on the CD or in the system being installed, but there is a file /usr/portage/sys-apps/portage/portage-2.0.50-r5.ebuild in the system being built.

Following is the result of running emerge -K system. I checked for the existence of about a dozen of the files listed and they all correspond to .ebuild files in /usr/portage. And they all follow this pattern:

• /usr/portage/sys-apps/baselayout/baselayout-1.8.10.ebuild
  corresponds to the first listed dependancy:
  sys-apps/baselayout-1.8.10

livecd portage # emerge -K system
Calculating system dependencies ...done!
   sys-apps/baselayout-1.8.10
   sys-apps/portage-2.0.50-r5
   sys-devel/binutils-2.14.90.0.7-r4
   sys-devel/gcc-3.3.2-r5
   sys-libs/glibc-2.3.2-r9
   sys-apps/modutils-2.4.25
   dev-lang/python-2.3.3
   app-shells/sash-3.6
   dev-lang/perl-5.8.2-r1
   app-editors/nano-1.2.3
   net-misc/dhcpcd-1.3.22_p4-r4
   net-misc/iputils-020927
   net-misc/rsync-2.6.0
   net-misc/wget-1.9-r2
   app-shells/bash-2.05b-r9
   app-arch/bzip2-1.0.2-r3
   sys-apps/kbd-1.08-r5
   app-arch/cpio-2.5
   sys-apps/coreutils-5.0.91-r4
   sys-apps/debianutils-1.16.7-r4
   sys-apps/diffutils-2.8.4-r4
   sys-fs/e2fsprogs-1.34
   sys-apps/ed-0.2-r3
   sys-apps/fbset-2.1
   sys-apps/file-4.06
   sys-apps/findutils-4.1.20-r1
   sys-apps/slocate-2.7-r5
   sys-apps/gawk-3.1.3-r1
   sys-apps/grep-2.5.1-r1
   sys-apps/groff-1.18.1-r4
   app-arch/gzip-1.3.3-r2
   sys-apps/hdparm-5.4
   sys-apps/less-381
   sys-apps/man-1.5l-r6
   sys-apps/man-pages-1.66
   sys-apps/net-tools-1.60-r7
   sys-apps/procps-3.1.15
   sys-apps/psmisc-21.2-r4
   sys-apps/sed-4.0.7
   sys-apps/setserial-2.17-r2
   sys-apps/shadow-4.0.3-r9
   sys-apps/pam-login-3.14
   app-arch/sharutils-4.2.1-r8
   app-arch/tar-1.13.25-r3
   sys-apps/texinfo-4.5
   sys-apps/util-linux-2.12-r4
   sys-apps/which-2.16
   sys-devel/autoconf-2.58-r1
   sys-devel/automake-1.8.3
   sys-devel/bc-1.06-r5
   sys-devel/bin86-0.16.0
   sys-devel/bison-1.875
   sys-devel/flex-2.5.4a-r5
   sys-devel/libtool-1.4.3-r4
   sys-devel/m4-1.4-r1
   sys-devel/make-3.80
   sys-devel/patch-2.5.9
   sys-libs/cracklib-2.7-r8
   sys-libs/db-4.1.25_p1-r3
   sys-libs/ncurses-5.4-r1
   sys-libs/pam-0.77
   sys-libs/pwdb-0.62
   sys-libs/readline-4.3-r4

   sys-libs/zlib-1.1.4-r2
   net-misc/openssh-3.7.1_p2-r2
   sys-fs/devfsd-1.3.25-r6

These are required by '--usepkgonly' -- Terminating.

The ebuild files appear to be scripts for compiling from source. But where is the source?

[lakerdonald]

You seem to have misinterpreted the Gentoo Handbook. In the description of the stages and how to install them. If you look at the description of the stages in the gentoo handbook, it says that stage3 is the only networkless install. In the Classic Handbook it describes a way that you can do a networkless install, but you have to download several packages beforehand.
As to your comment about ebuilds and source, ebuilds are simply scripts that tell portage wtf to do with the source, so you still need the source.

[drakebasher]

If you look at the description of the stages in the gentoo handbook, it says that stage3 is the only networkless install.

I'll have to trust you on that. Based on your previouspost, I've moved ahead with a stage 3 install and I guess that should let me optimize things about as much as I can manage at this point. Thanks for your response.

[lakerdonald]

If you can manage to get the target computer hooked up to the internet or transfer files from a computer that can, then it's possible for a stage 1. Google the Gentoo Classic Handbook

[penguinlnx]

There is an automatic install disk (single CD) that gets you all the way
to the GUI without the Internet:

It is the Vlol (gentoo).ISO image you can download and burn, then boot off it.

It beats trying to get a stage 3 to run without the internet hooked up...
I tried that. you get a command line and no clue what to do next.
The manuals for GENTOO actually AREN'T as good as they seem to think.
And there are two versions of their manual posted on their site.
One is riddled with either errors (or more politely ommisions) as to
what path/directory you should be in at various stages. Also many
essential commands were left out, without explanation.
You could guess some of them if you were already an expert,
but if you already know how to install Gentoo, why read the manual?
I suspect you can't really install from the disks without a net connection,
unless you are a systems administrator or the author of the manual.