(2 April 2026)

Developers of Arch Linux believe that excessive user friendliness results in bloated buggy code and an unstable operating system. Accordingly, simple bug-free code results in a stable OS, but such an OS is not for mass consumption and requires skilled users who have the patience to read detailed technical manuals.

I successfully installed Arch Linux version 2025.02.01 on two powerful modern desktop computers: Intel i9 Core, NVidia RTX 4070 Ti or NVidia RTX 3050, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM or 48 GB of DDR4 RAM, different motherboards (from Gigabyte and ASUS, the latter is recommended for Linux, just as Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard, now known as HP Inc., see https://linux-hardware.org), on a new gaming notebook computer (ASUS manufactured in 2024), and on two older computers: a notebook manufactured in 2017 and a desktop manufactured in 2018. I successfully installed/reinstalled Arch several dozen times at this point with various settings.

Here is the procedure for automatic installation (my easy tutorial for manual installation is here):

[If you have updated BIOS (lately called UEFI) in your computer, then you need to roll it back to the factory-installed version because any Linux may not work well with the latest version of BIOS. Also disable "Secure Boot" in the BIOS (you can try re-enabling it later).] I am assuming that you booted from your installation medium (such as a USB drive) containing an Arch Linux ISO image, and your computer has a wired connection to the Internet (my advice is to finish installing Arch Linux with the wired connection and then you can install Wi-Fi if you need it).

First, execute this command:

archinstall

You will be presented with various options. I am listing the options with which I successfully installed Arch on my computers. Try the exact same configuration first; you can change it later when you install Arch at least once successfully. For options not mentioned below, select defaults or the first option in a list or whatever you like. Work through the list from the top down. To select an option (add a checkmark), press the space bar; to select an option without a checkbox (only one choice is possible), press Enter. To cancel an option (where there is no checkbox), press Ctrl+C

• Language: My advice is to keep English for the installation options. They are easy to understand.
• Locales: I recommend keeping the defaults (English) to ensure problem-free installation. You can set another language after the installation, as described in a footnote.
• Mirrors: you must select a mirror region that is your country or at least the same time zone. The time zone of your IP address, the time zone of the mirror region that you selected, and the time zone that you will choose below should ALL match. Otherwise, you may end up with unsynchronized downloaded packages and failed authentication.
  • additional repositories: multilib
• Disk configuration: select "Use a best-effort default partition layout" and choose an empty disk that contains no partitions; if there are existing partitions, then archinstall may return error messages and abort the installation. If you are using an empty disk, but archinstall still has problems creating partitions, then (only in case of problems) convert the partition table of your disk from GPT to MBR (also known as msdos) before the installation.
  • file system: ext4
  • separate home partition: no
  • LVM: ignore, skip it
  • disk encryption (optional); see footnote** if you want encryption
  • ignore other options
• Swap: no
• Bootloader: choose Grub
• Kernels: select linux (the so-called Stable Kernel, best for newer computers) and linux-lts (the kernel with long-term support, best for older computers); you will try each of them to see which one works well with your computer
• Host name: keep the default
• Authentication:
  • root password: create it
  • add a user with a password, give it sudo privileges
• Profile → Type → Desktop: choose Cinnamon, XFCE, Awesome, and Qtile (these are the stablest desktop environments for Arch Linux, you can test them in this order if the installation is successful; when you use XFCE, you will need to install the xfce4-goodies package)
  • graphics driver: do not select the default; choose an appropriate driver for your GPU. See footnote*** about NVidia video cards.
  • greeter: choose ly (the least buggy option)
  • ignore other options
• Applications:
  • audio: select pulse audio
  • ignore other options
• Network configuration: choose Network Manager (default backend)
• Additional packages (press the / key to enter the search mode and start typing the name of a package; press Esc to exit the search mode): base-devel, git, gnome-terminal, linux-headers, linux-lts-headers, nano, terminus-font, xorg-xauth, vim
• Timezone: you must choose a correct one as mentioned above
• Automatic time sync (NTP): Enabled

When you are ready, choose "install." If you get an error such as problems with a mirror or "unknown trust", then run these commands:

pacman -Syy
pacman -S archlinux-keyring
archinstall

and try again.

After the installation finishes, do not chroot; simply choose "reboot" and remove the installation medium.

If you have several operating systems installed on your computer, then go to UEFI (BIOS) and select (as the first boot option) an "UEFI OS" (this is Arch) or "arch" installed on the known hard drive (see the size in the name, if it has a long name).

You will see the Grub menu of Arch Linux, quickly select "Advanced options for Arch Linux" or something like that. There, you can choose one of the two kernels that you just installed plus two fall-back options (older kernels). I recommend starting with "linux" (Stable Kernel) if you have a newer computer and with "linux-lts" if you have an older computer; if it doesn't work with your computer, then try the other kernel, including fall-back options for each kernel. In total, you can test 4 kernels. If none of them lets you get to a log-in screen, then you may try an alternative installation approach (see footnote*).

The installation procedure described in this document was successful for me at first try. I have also installed Arch Linux manually many times. It is possible that you will have to install Arch Linux several times with archinstall at various settings. You can ask experienced Arch users a question at https://bbs.archlinux.org (don't forget to mention that you are using archinstall) or use Arch Wiki and/or ChatGPT to find an answer (I prefer AI on Google Search to ChatGPT). One of disadvantages of this simplified automated installation is that a whole hard drive will be occupied by Arch Linux (even if you specify smaller partitions, all pre-existing stuff will be deleted from the disk by archinstall). If you want to install Arch into some portion of a hard drive and to keep your pre-existing partitions there, then you need manual installation (without archinstall, see my easy tutorial here). Another potential disadvantage of archinstall is installation of an unsuitable video driver when you have several kernels. Again, manual installation will help in this case.

After you finish Arch Linux installation, you can change the language of the user interface if English is not your native language (see footnote^$). After that, you can install Wi-Fi if you need it (see footnote^#). Now let's install some basic programs:

sudo pacman -S timeshift firefox evince 7zip file-roller libreoffice-still hunspell hunspell-en_us hyphen hyphen-en vlc vlc-plugins-all celluloid

Suppose you tested the Stable Kernel and it works fine; in this case, do not try using the other kernel because it requires slightly different versions of the desktop environment and of the other software packages that we installed under the Stable Kernel. You will have to reinstall all the software packages under the other kernel; otherwise, you will experience numerous bugs. If you are content with the Stable Kernel, then uninstall the long-term support kernel to prevent yourself from booting accidentally into linux-lts and to reduce the number and frequency of package updates:
sudo pacman -Rns linux-lts linux-lts-headers

Finally, keep in mind that Arch Linux involves rolling updates (things change often, in contrast to Debian), and it is possible that some package updates in a distant future will break something on your system, for example, a wireless modem may start acting up. For this reason, I recommended installing timeshift above, which you can use to revert to a functional state of your operating system (kind of like System Restore in Windows). After that, wait 1–2 months before updating again. Alternatively, instead of using timeshift, try a different Arch kernel or a fallback version; it may still be problem-free. You can find details about settings in timeshift and about the troubleshooting of Arch Linux at the end of my tutorial for the manual installation.

Footnotes:

*Use the same options as above except leave the "Profile" field blank (ignore this option), and you will need to specify all the additional packages listed above (in particular git and vim); after the installation is finished, reboot, log in, and install several packages using the command line:

sudo pacman -S xterm cinnamon xfce4 awesome qtile ly

then enable the greeter using these commands:

sudo systemctl enable ly@tty1.service
sudo systemctl disable getty@tty1.service
sudo reboot

If you have an NVidia video card released in the last 6 years (3rd to 5th generation), then you may need to install the nvidia-open package, only if you have problems with your display and/or video (this command is for the "linux" kernel, also known as "Stable"):

sudo pacman -S nvidia-open
sudo reboot
(for the "linux-lts" kernel, replace nvidia-open with nvidia-open-dkms in the command above)

**First, try installing without encryption, and if you succeed, then you can delete everything from the disk (so that there are no partitions) and reinstall with encryption. Regarding other details: In the "encryption" option, set the password, choose file system ext4, and encryption method "Luks" (default). Next, you must select the "partition" option (while you are in the "encryption" menu), and using the Space bar, select the partition (that will be created by archinstall) for encryption. If you do not select the default partition for encryption, then your disk won't be encrypted. If you try to mess with default partitions, then the encrypted installation is likely to fail. If you have a large disk (2 or 3 TB), archinstall will show you that it will create a 1 TB encrypted partition; this is a bug; in actuality, it will encrypt the whole drive, don't worry. Archinstall won't be erasing the whole drive, and therefore the creation of the encrypted disk will be quick (but you will lose everything you had on this disk). You can ignore the option "Use HSM to unlock encrypted drive." After you successfully install Arch Linux this way, do not unlock this partition from another OS on your computer because it may damage your Arch installation (you will experience temporary glitches).

***For the latest NVidia video cards, select "Nvidia open kernel module for newer GPUs, Turing+"

this means that GeForce GTX 1660, GeForce RTX 2060, and newer models of NVidia video adapters can use this option. See the code names of NVidia video cards here. If installation with this option does not work well, then you can try reinstalling with the option "open-source nouveau," and if this fails, then you can try reinstalling with NVidia proprietary drivers. Of course you can try NVidia proprietary drivers first because it's the most reliable approach, but I don't see the point of getting involved with Linux if you continue using closed-source software anyway.

^$This procedure is described here for the Cinnamon desktop environment. I am assuming that you have successfully logged in to the Cinnamon graphical user interface. Open a terminal (for example, gnome-terminal) and execute the following command (copy each command from this manual and then paste it into the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Shift+V):
sudo nano /etc/locale.gen

We opened a configuration file for editing in a program called nano. Using either the ↓ or PageDown (PgDn) key, find the line(s) corresponding to your language (may be more than one). Delete the # symbol at the beginning of the line(s) to activate these options. After that, save the file (Ctrl+O and next the Enter key), exit the editor (Ctrl+X), and execute this command:
sudo locale-gen

If the locales were created successfully, then we can install a translation of the user interface into your native language:
sudo pacman -S cinnamon-translations
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -sri

If you see the question "Packages to cleanBuild?" please respond No
If you see the question "Diffs to show?" please respond N
The last procedure will take some time to finish. Next, execute:
yay -S mintlocale
(respond to the questions in the same way)

We installed everything needed for changing the interface language. Now press the Menu button (corresponds to the Start button in Windows) and go to "System Settings" → section "Preferences" → the "Languages" button. In the dialog window that pops up, set all three options to your native language (otherwise the procedure may fail) and reboot your computer. Now almost all menus, tool tips, and buttons in the desktop environment will be in your language. It is possible that in some programs, you will have to select your native language manually within settings. To add a keyboard layout in your language, go to System Settings → section "Hardware" → the "Keyboard" button → Layouts.

^#If you will be using Wi-Fi on your notebook computer only occasionally, then you can simply connect to Wi-Fi using your smartphone and then share this connection with your notebook via USB tethering (ignore the text below). If you want to install Wi-Fi access on your notebook PC permanently, then follow the instructions below. First, let's install iwd (Wi-Fi driver) and configure it:

sudo pacman -S iwd impala
sudo nano /etc/iwd/main.conf
We opened a configuration file for editing. Add the following lines to enable an internal DHCP client and DNS support (copy the text from this manual and paste it into the file using the menu Edit → Paste of the terminal):
[General]
EnableNetworkConfiguration=true
[Network]
NameResolvingService=systemd

Save the file (Ctrl+O and then Enter) and exit the editor (Ctrl+X), then execute these two commands:
sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-resolved
sudo ln -sf /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

The configuration of iwd is complete. It is recommended to install a firewall along with iwd. Your wired connection is protected by your router, whereas your Wi-Fi connection is currently protected by nothing. We will install ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall):
sudo pacman -S ufw
sudo systemctl enable --now ufw.service
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw enable
Check that the firewall is active and running with your new rules:
  sudo ufw status verbose

The setup of the firewall is finished. Now we can disable NetworkManager, enable the Wi-Fi driver (iwd), and launch a simple graphical user interface for Wi-Fi (impala). This is one long command:
sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager && sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager && sudo systemctl enable --now iwd.service && impala

To move between the three sections of the program, use the Tab key. If you don't see your router in the list, then press the s key (scan) (for more details, see ArchWiki).

To disable iwd and return to your wired connection, do the following. First, disconnect Wi-Fi in impala (select your activated connection and press Enter) and shut down impala (Ctrl+C). Next (one long command):
sudo systemctl stop ufw.service && sudo systemctl disable ufw.service && sudo systemctl stop iwd.service && sudo systemctl disable iwd.service && sudo systemctl enable --now NetworkManager

To disable the wired connection and return to your Wi-Fi, execute the following single long command:
sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager && sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager && sudo systemctl enable --now iwd.service && sudo systemctl enable --now ufw.service && impala