Pekka Helenius
003c70e010
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5 years ago | |
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| README.md | 5 years ago | |
README.md
UEFI partition scheme for Clevo N950TP6
Partitions:
-
UEFI (syslinux boot)
-
NVMe SSD (Arch Linux file system)
-
HDD/SSD (user files + cache files)
Table of Contents
General overview
-
3 partitions used in this scheme
-
Various parts of the file system, such as
/var, exists in HDD/SSD in order to reduce redundant write operations on NVMe. -
RAM used as a mounting point for
/tmp -
Swap is stored in a seperate file for modularity. It is located at
/swap/swapfile(Yes, this is against FHS) -
UEFI partition size is 256 MiB in this installation, rest of the SSD (~250 GiB) is reserved for the Arch Linux OS
-
This installation method takes advantage of bind mounting feature
-
Only Arch Linux installed
-
No Windows or any other OSes installed
-
Uses
syslinuxbootloader.-
NOTE: When you create UEFI-based boot partition, you don't need to run
extlinux --installcommand (unlike on BIOS-based boot partition). Just put necessary boot files, set boot flags for the boot partition and you're good to go. -
NOTE: You don't need to run
efibootmgr, as referred on some websites.
-
NOTE: In general, you can have EFI partition on HDD mass storage, too. I mean: NVMe is not mandatory requirement here. However, slightly different /etc/fstab configuration is required than presented in fstab configuration file section. I have tested this custom setup on my spare HDD.
Getting started: backups & Arch Linux installation
1) Get an external mass storage & a Linux live USB & boot it
NOTE: If you intend to use Linux desktop and can't access it, use additional kernel boot parameters acpi_osi="!Windows 2015" acpi_osi=Linux
2) Mount your mass storage to /mnt/backupstorage
mkdir -p /mnt/backupstorage
mount /dev/<backupstorage> /mnt/backupstorage
2) Backup your original NVMe partitions to another mass storage as a .gz archive (greatly reduces backup file size). Command:
dd if=/dev/nvme0n1 conv=sync,noerror status=progress | gzip -c > /mnt/backupstorage/clevo-nvme.img.gz
NOTE: You can restore the backed up partitions with command:
gunzip -c /mnt/backupstorage/clevo-nvme.img.gz | dd of=/dev/nvme0n1 conv=sync,noerror status=progress
3) Format NVMe drive (this follows partition scheme defined below):
WARNING: Ensure you have proper partition backups before proceeding.
fdisk /dev/nvme0n1
d 1 delete partition 1
d .. delete partition N (all partitions must be deleted)
g create a new GPT partition table
n create a new partition 1 (boot partition)
p primary partition
<default> default first sector
+256M last sector: 256M
n create a new partition 2 (filesystem partition)
p primary partition
<default> default first sector
<default> default last sector (the whole disk. You can adjust this for your needs!)
w
mkfs.vfat /dev/nvme0n1p1 format NVMe boot partition to FAT32
mkfs.ext4 /dev/nvme0n1p2 format NVMe file system partition to Ext4
parted /dev/nvme0n1
toggle 1 boot toggle boot flag on boot partition
toggle 1 esp toggle esp flag (EFI) on boot partition (unless already exists!)
4) Install Arch Linux:
4.1) Mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 to /mnt/archsystem (mkdir -p /mnt/archsystem && mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt/archsystem)
4.2) Deploy Arch Linux system into /mnt/archsystem:
A) If you use non-Arch Linux live USB distribution, use arch-bootstrap shell script.
B) On Arch Linux based live USB distribution, use pacstrap command which is supplied with arch-install-scripts package.
5) Mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 to /mnt/archsystem/boot_efi (mkdir -p /mnt/archsystem/boot_efi && mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/archsystem/boot_efi)
6) Access the Arch Linux system with arch-chroot command.
7) In chrooted environment, install syslinux & intel-ucode. Follow file system scheme defined in the following sections:
NOTE: Use default $HOME locations for all users (root's home should point to /root and other users to /home/<user>). Nothing special here, just use defaults.
8) Once the system is configured, check your configuration:
-
Check basic settings, such as
hostname,localectl, timedatectl,locale-gen`, and your user-specific configurations -
Check you have properly set up boot files & configuration (EFI partition,
initsymbolic link, etc.) -
Test that initial RAM disk images (
initramfs.img,initramfs-fallback.img) & Linux kernel image are generated into/boot_efiinstead of default/bootlocation. You can test this withmkinitcpio -p linuxcommand. -
In some rare cases, you may need to reinstall
systemd. I once dropped intorootfsshell, and ultimately fixed this by reinstallingsystemd
Partition tables
The following sheet represents the desired partition tables for various mass storage devides used in this setup.
| Mass Storage | Partition table |
|---|---|
| Internal NVMe | gpt * |
| Internal HDD/SSD | gpt/dos |
- GPT (
gpt) partition table is required forUEFIsupport. GPT partition table should be applied to the mass storage you will install yourEFIboot partition into.
-
DOS (
dos) partition table is compatible with BIOS only. In UEFI setup, you can use DOS partition table on any mass storage you don't directly intended to use for booting process. -
If you have DOS partition table on your mass storage which contains boot partition, the mass storage can only be used for BIOS-mode booting.
-
You can boot this laptop using either BIOS or UEFI mode. UEFI is recommended.
-
You can switch between BIOS & UEFI modes in setup menu.
Storage roles
The following sheet represents a general overview of desired partition scheme.
| Role | Location | Partition | Partition Size | Type | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boot files | Internal NVMe | 1 | 256 MiB | FAT32, EFI | boot, esp * |
| Operating System | Internal NVMe | 2 | Any | Ext4 | - |
| User files & dirs | Internal HDD/SSD (2.5") | Any | Any | Ext4 ** | - |
boot, espflags are available only for GPT partitioned mass storage. For DOS, onlybootflag can be used.
** If you intended to store $HOME folders of system users, you should use a partition type which supports Unix-type permission scheme. Thus, NTFS and similar solutions are invalid options for this mass storage. Keep in mind that many Unix-like partition types may be incompatible on Microsoft Windows OSes.
Partition scheme overview
-
Internal NVMe is referred as
/dev/nvme0n1 -
Internal 1 TiB HDD is referred as
/dev/sda
> fdisk -l
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 232.9 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: B4ED4BFE-7300-4B6E-8DE4-74D91681A89C
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1 2048 526335 524288 256M EFI System
/dev/nvme0n1p2 526336 488396799 487870464 232.7G Linux filesystem
Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Disk model: WDC WD10JPVX-75J
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: C4C74840-056F-4C6F-9351-728CB43B2E17
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 1953523711 1953521664 931.5G Linux filesystem
> parted -l
Model: ATA WDC WD10JPVX-75J (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 1000GB 1000GB ext4
Model: Unknown (unknown)
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 250GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 269MB 268MB fat32 boot, esp
2 269MB 233GB 232GB ext4
Boot loader
-
Pretty simple to set up
-
Existing
syslinuxinstallation used
Boot partition structure
. EFI partition mount point
|
└─────────────────────────────────────EFI─────────────────────────────────────
| | |
BOOT syslinux |
├── bootx64.efi * ├── syslinux.efi * ├── initramfs-linux-fallback.img (fallback initramfs image)
├── cat.c32 ├── cat.c32 ├── initramfs-linux.img (initramfs image)
├── chain.c32 ├── chain.c32 ├── vmlinuz-linux (kernel image)
├── cmd.c32 ├── cmd.c32 └── intel-ucode.img (from package `intel-ucode`)
├── cmenu.c32 ├── cmenu.c32
├── config.c32 ├── config.c32
├── cptime.c32 ├── cptime.c32
├── cpu.c32 ├── cpu.c32
├── cpuid.c32 ├── cpuid.c32
├── cpuidtest.c32 ├── cpuidtest.c32
├── debug.c32 ├── debug.c32
├── dhcp.c32 ├── dhcp.c32
├── dir.c32 ├── dir.c32
├── dmi.c32 ├── dmi.c32
├── dmitest.c32 ├── dmitest.c32
├── gfxboot.c32 ├── gfxboot.c32
├── hdt.c32 ├── hdt.c32
├── hexdump.c32 ├── hexdump.c32
├── host.c32 ├── host.c32
├── ifcpu64.c32 ├── ifcpu64.c32
├── ifcpu.c32 ├── ifcpu.c32
├── ldlinux.e64 ├── ldlinux.e64
├── lfs.c32 ├── lfs.c32
├── libcom32.c32 ├── libcom32.c32
├── libgpl.c32 ├── libgpl.c32
├── liblua.c32 ├── liblua.c32
├── libmenu.c32 ├── libmenu.c32
├── libutil.c32 ├── libutil.c32
├── linux.c32 ├── linux.c32
├── ls.c32 ├── ls.c32
├── lua.c32 ├── lua.c32
├── mboot.c32 ├── mboot.c32
├── meminfo.c32 ├── meminfo.c32
├── menu.c32 ├── menu.c32
├── pci.c32 ├── pci.c32
├── pwd.c32 ├── pwd.c32
├── reboot.c32 ├── reboot.c32
├── rosh.c32 ├── rosh.c32
├── sysdump.c32 ├── sysdump.c32
├── syslinux.c32 ├── syslinux.c32
├── syslinux.cfg * ├── syslinux.cfg *
├── vesa.c32 ├── vesa.c32
├── vesamenu.c32 ├── vesamenu.c32
├── vpdtest.c32 ├── vpdtest.c32
├── whichsys.c32 ├── whichsys.c32
└── zzjson.c32 └── zzjson.c32
- Duplicate files with equivalent contents. Although all files are duplicates, you should pay attention especially to these files.
Basically, you need:
-
A) existing
syslinuxinstallation -
B) Copy files from
/usr/lib/syslinux/efi64/to theEFI/BOOT/andEFI/syslinux/subfolders presented above.
Be aware: .c32 files presented here may vary depending on version of your syslinux package. It should be fine, though.
Boot partition permissions
NOTE: You don't need to set these manually if you use proper /etc/fstab entry mask values as defined in fstab configuration file. These values are here so you can just check them.
| Permissions | Owner (user:group) | Type | Item Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| rwxr-xr-x (0755) | root:root | Directory | ./EFI |
| rwxr-xr-x (0755) | root:root | Directory | ./EFI/BOOT |
| rwxr-xr-x (0755) | root:root | Directory | ./EFI/syslinux |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/initramfs-linux-fallback.img |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/initramfs-linux.img |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/vmlinuz-linux |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/intel-ucode.img |
| ---------------- | --------- | --------- | ---------------------------------- |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cat.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/chain.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cmd.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cmenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/config.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cptime.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cpu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cpuid.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/cpuidtest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/debug.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/dhcp.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/dir.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/dmi.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/dmitest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/gfxboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/hdt.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/hexdump.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/host.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/ifcpu64.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/ifcpu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/ldlinux.e64 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/lfs.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/libcom32.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/libgpl.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/liblua.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/libmenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/libutil.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/linux.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/ls.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/lua.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/mboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/meminfo.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/menu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/pci.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/pwd.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/reboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/rosh.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/sysdump.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/syslinux.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/syslinux.cfg |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/vesa.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/vesamenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/vpdtest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/whichsys.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/BOOT/zzjson.c32 |
| ---------------- | --------- | --------- | ---------------------------------- |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cat.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/chain.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cmd.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cmenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/config.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cptime.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cpu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cpuid.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/cpuidtest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/debug.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/dhcp.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/dir.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/dmi.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/dmitest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/gfxboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/hdt.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/hexdump.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/host.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/ifcpu64.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/ifcpu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/ldlinux.e64 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/lfs.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/libcom32.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/libgpl.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/liblua.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/libmenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/libutil.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/linux.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/ls.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/lua.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/mboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/meminfo.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/menu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/pci.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/pwd.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/reboot.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/rosh.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/sysdump.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/syslinux.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/syslinux.cfg |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/syslinux.efi |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/vesa.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/vesamenu.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/vpdtest.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/whichsys.c32 |
| rw-r--r-- (0644) | root:root | File | ./EFI/syslinux/zzjson.c32 |
Filesystem structure
Mount points overview
| Item Name | Item Type | Partition | Partition format |
|---|---|---|---|
| /bin | Symbolic link (to usr/bin) | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /boot ***** | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /boot_efi * | Directory | NVMe, 1 (Boot) | FAT32/EFI |
| /dev | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /etc | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /home | Directory (bind) ** | HDD/SSD (User files) | Ext4 |
| /init | Symbolic link (to usr/lib/systemd/systemd) |
NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /lib | Symbolic link (to usr/lib) |
NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /lib64 | Symbolic link (to usr/lib) |
NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /lost+found | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /mnt *** | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /opt | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /proc | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /root | Directory (bind) ** | HDD/SSD (User files) | Ext4 |
| /run | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /sbin | Symbolic link (to usr/bin) |
NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /swap **** | Directory (bind) ** | HDD/SSD (Cache files) | Ext4 |
| /srv | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /sys | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /tmp | Directory | RAM | tmpfs |
| /usr | Directory | NVMe, 2 (OS) | Ext4 |
| /var | Directory (bind) ** | HDD/SSD (Cache files) | Ext4 |
- Mount point
/boot_efifor UEFI boot partition is defined in/etc/fstab. Please see [fstab configuration file](#fstab-configuration file) for additional information.
** bind option is defined in /etc/fstab. Please see the following diagram.
*** Directory /mnt contains directories existing on HDD/SSD (User files). Please see the following diagram.
**** Optional: non-standard location for a SWAP file. Please see Arch Wiki - Swap file for additional information.
***** /boot folder contains only intel-ucode.img file, provided by Arch Linux package intel-ucode. Otherwise, /boot folder is empty and all necessary boot files are in /boot_efi
/mnt location overview
| Item Name | Item Type | Partition | Partition format |
|---|---|---|---|
| /mnt/hdd | Directory | HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/home | Directory (binded to /home) |
HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/home/ | Directory | HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/home/root | Directory (binded to /root) |
HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/var | Directory (binded to /var) |
HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/lost+found | Directory | HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
| /mnt/hdd/swap | Directory (binded to /swap) |
HDD/SSD | Ext4 |
<user> refers to your Linux file system user account(s).
fstab configuration file
The following /etc/fstab configuration corresponds to the file system structure explained above.
Please configure UUID values for your setup. You must use proper UUID values instead of the ones presented below (see Retrieving UUIDs). Additionally, use proper username string for <user>.
> cat /etc/fstab
#
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
#
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
#
#########################################
# NVMe: M.2 - FILE SYSTEM PARTITION
# Root system
UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e / ext4 defaults,noatime,discard 0 1
#########################################
# Boot files - FAT32 partition, needs mask values
UUID=927D-38E4 /boot_efi vfat defaults,dmask=0022,fmask=0133 0 0
#########################################
# RAM & SWAP
# temporary folders
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=20480M,nr_inodes=500k 0 0
# Swap memory file (optional)
/mnt/hdd/swap /swap none bind 0 0
/swap/swapfile none swap defaults 0 0
#########################################
# HDD: SATA - USER FILES PARTITION
UUID=fba31569-c25c-4e30-b117-9ea83c41a8bd /mnt/hdd ext4 defaults,discard 0 2
#########################################
# Bind folders
# /var folder
/mnt/hdd/var /var none bind 0 0
# Home folders
/mnt/hdd/home/root /root none bind 0 0
/root /home/root none bind 0 0
#########################################
# Optional: mount your cache folders to RAM
#tmpfs /home/<user>/.cache tmpfs size=15%,mode=0777,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0
syslinux configuration file
This configuration applies to the files EFI/BOOT/syslinux.cfg & EFI/syslinux/syslinux.cfg on NVMe partition 1 (Boot). Please configure APPEND kernel parameters properly for your setup. At least, you must use proper UUID values instead of the ones presented below (see Retrieving UUIDs).
# Config file for Syslinux -
# /boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg
#
# Comboot modules:
# * menu.c32 - provides a text menu
# * vesamenu.c32 - provides a graphical menu
# * chain.c32 - chainload MBRs, partition boot sectors, Windows bootloaders
# * hdt.c32 - hardware detection tool
# * reboot.c32 - reboots the system
#
# To Use: Copy the respective files from /usr/lib/syslinux to /boot/syslinux.
# If /usr and /boot are on the same file system, symlink the files instead
# of copying them.
#
# If you do not use a menu, a 'boot:' prompt will be shown and the system
# will boot automatically after 5 seconds.
#
# Please review the wiki: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syslinux
# The wiki provides further configuration examples
DEFAULT arch
PROMPT 0 # Set to 1 if you always want to display the boot: prompt
TIMEOUT 5
# You can create syslinux keymaps with the keytab-lilo tool
#KBDMAP de.ktl
# Menu Configuration
# Either menu.c32 or vesamenu32.c32 must be copied to /boot/syslinux
UI menu.c32
#UI vesamenu.c32
# Refer to http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/menu
MENU TITLE Boot Menu
#MENU BACKGROUND splash.jpg
MENU COLOR border 30;44 #40ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR title 1;36;44 #9033ccff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR sel 7;37;40 #e0ffffff #20ffffff all
MENU COLOR unsel 37;44 #50ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR help 37;40 #c0ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR timeout_msg 37;40 #80ffffff #00000000 std
MENU COLOR timeout 1;37;40 #c0ffffff #00000000 std
MENU COLOR msg07 37;40 #90ffffff #a0000000 std
MENU COLOR tabmsg 31;40 #30ffffff #00000000 std
#MENU RESOLUTION 1920 1080
#Clear the screen when exiting the menu
MENU CLEAR
# boot sections follow
#
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
# 895 = 1920x1080x32 framebuffer
#
LABEL arch
MENU LABEL Arch Linux
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img
APPEND root=UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e rw vga=895 acpi_osi="!Windows 2015" acpi_osi=Linux nowatchdog nogpumanager rd.udev.log-priority=3 vm.swappiness=10 net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 cgroup_no_v1=all
LABEL archshell
MENU LABEL Arch Linux (shell)
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
INITRD ../initramfs-linux.img
APPEND root=UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e rw vga=895 systemd.unit=multi-user.target nowatchdog vm.swappiness=10 net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0 cgroup_no_v1=all
LABEL archfallback
MENU LABEL Arch Linux Fallback
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
INITRD ../initramfs-linux-fallback.img
APPEND root=UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e rw vga=895 acpi_osi="!Windows 2015" acpi_osi=Linux nowatchdog vm.swappiness=10 net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0
LABEL archfallback-rescue
MENU LABEL Arch Linux Fallback (rescue mode)
LINUX ../vmlinuz-linux
INITRD ../initramfs-linux-fallback.img
APPEND root=UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e vga=895 systemd.unit=multi-user.target nowatchdog vm.swappiness=10 net.ifnames=0 biosdevname=0
#LABEL windows
# MENU LABEL Windows
# COM32 chain.c32
# APPEND hd0 1
## These do not work with UEFI
#LABEL hdt
# MENU LABEL HDT (Hardware Detection Tool)
# COM32 hdt.c32
#LABEL reboot
# MENU LABEL Reboot
# COM32 reboot.c32
#LABEL poweroff
# MENU LABEL Poweroff
# COM32 poweroff.c32
mkinitcpio preset file
Custom /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset file is recommended for this setup. Each time you run mkinitcpio -p linux or update Linux kernel or systemd configuration, proper initrd and kernel files are automatically generated in proper location (/boot_efi/ in this setup) without additional hassle.
> cat /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux.preset
# mkinitcpio preset file for the 'linux' package
ESP_DIR="/boot_efi/EFI"
ALL_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
ALL_kver="${ESP_DIR}/vmlinuz-linux"
PRESETS=('default' 'fallback')
#default_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
default_image="${ESP_DIR}/initramfs-linux.img"
default_options="-A esp-update-linux"
#fallback_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
fallback_image="${ESP_DIR}/initramfs-linux-fallback.img"
fallback_options="-S autodetect"
mkinitcpio configuration file
The following /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file works in this setup. The file is used to configure initial RAM disk files (initramfs.img, initramfs-fallback.img). Not all modules listed in MODULES array are required, but they have been left for Optimus/Intel GPU passthrough setup I once had.
# vim:set ft=sh
# MODULES
# The following modules are loaded before any boot hooks are
# run. Advanced users may wish to specify all system modules
# in this array. For instance:
# MODULES=(piix ide_disk reiserfs)
MODULES=(vfio vfio_iommu_type1 vfio_pci vfio_virqfd vhost-net pci-stub)
# BINARIES
# This setting includes any additional binaries a given user may
# wish into the CPIO image. This is run last, so it may be used to
# override the actual binaries included by a given hook
# BINARIES are dependency parsed, so you may safely ignore libraries
BINARIES=()
# FILES
# This setting is similar to BINARIES above, however, files are added
# as-is and are not parsed in any way. This is useful for config files.
FILES=()
# HOOKS
# This is the most important setting in this file. The HOOKS control the
# modules and scripts added to the image, and what happens at boot time.
# Order is important, and it is recommended that you do not change the
# order in which HOOKS are added. Run 'mkinitcpio -H <hook name>' for
# help on a given hook.
# 'base' is _required_ unless you know precisely what you are doing.
# 'udev' is _required_ in order to automatically load modules
# 'filesystems' is _required_ unless you specify your fs modules in MODULES
# Examples:
## This setup specifies all modules in the MODULES setting above.
## No raid, lvm2, or encrypted root is needed.
# HOOKS=(base)
#
## This setup will autodetect all modules for your system and should
## work as a sane default
# HOOKS=(base udev autodetect block filesystems)
#
## This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
## No autodetection is done.
# HOOKS=(base udev block filesystems)
#
## This setup assembles a pata mdadm array with an encrypted root FS.
## Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H mdadm' for more information on raid devices.
# HOOKS=(base udev block mdadm encrypt filesystems)
#
## This setup loads an lvm2 volume group on a usb device.
# HOOKS=(base udev block lvm2 filesystems)
#
## NOTE: If you have /usr on a separate partition, you MUST include the
# usr, fsck and shutdown hooks.
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems keyboard fsck)
# COMPRESSION
# Use this to compress the initramfs image. By default, gzip compression
# is used. Use 'cat' to create an uncompressed image.
#COMPRESSION="gzip"
#COMPRESSION="bzip2"
#COMPRESSION="lzma"
#COMPRESSION="xz"
#COMPRESSION="lzop"
#COMPRESSION="lz4"
# COMPRESSION_OPTIONS
# Additional options for the compressor
#COMPRESSION_OPTIONS=()
Additional hints
Retrieving UUIDs
Run blkid command as root or with sudo.
Kernel updates may break the setup. How to avoid?
Kernel updates (package linux on Arch Linux) tend to break this setup because vmlinuz-linux file is installed at /boot by default. Because EFI partition is FAT-formatted, you can't create a simple symbolic link from /boot/vmlinuz-linux to /boot_efi/EFI/vzmlinuz-linux either. Thus, after each kernel update (before rebooting!), you must copy /boot/vmlinuz-linux to /boot_efi/EFI/ folder either manually or automatically.
RewriteFS
RewriteFS is a solution to force writing of all hidden dot files into $HOME/.config location. Of course, this is just a default setup and can be configured further.
RewriteFS is available in AUR as rewritefs-git package.
WARNING: Using rewritefs may increase your HDD usage in heavy file operations.
RewriteFS - installation
1) Install RewriteFS (AUR: rewritefs-git)
2) Move all your dotfiles and dotfolders from $HOME to $HOME/.config/ folder (excluding .config, .cache & .local folders). Remove the dot prefix from the names of those moved dotfiles/folders. You should end up of having only three dotfolders in your $HOME directory: .cache, .config and .local (and no dotfiles at all). All your previous dotfiles/folders are now in $HOME/.config, without the dot prefix in their name. Right? Good. Go ahead.
3) Add file /etc/rewritefs.conf with the following contents:
m#^(?!\.)# .
m#^\.(cache|config|local)# .
m#^\.# .config/
4) Uncomment user_allow_other in /etc/fuse.conf. According to the rewritefs author, you must do it:
The files are owned by the user of the process that create them, which is rewritefs, not your applications. You have to run rewritefs as [user], not root.
5) Configure your fstab. Use /etc/fstab example below as a configuration reference.
NOTE: It is important to set <user> UID and <user> GID bits in /etc/fstab. Otherwise you may end up creating new files which belong to group root instead of your actual primary group in $HOME.
6) Log out, switch to another TTY and login as another user or alternatively unmount the partition where your $HOME locates at.
7) Reboot the system
RewriteFS - fstab example
> cat /etc/fstab
#
# /etc/fstab: static file system information
#
# <file system> <dir> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
#
#########################################
# NVMe: M.2 - FILE SYSTEM PARTITION
# Root system
UUID=9148225b-d661-4e4a-801c-f5bdc48f509e / ext4 defaults,noatime,discard 0 1
#########################################
# Boot files - FAT32 partition, needs mask values
UUID=927D-38E4 /boot_efi vfat defaults,dmask=0022,fmask=0133 0 0
#########################################
# RAM & SWAP
# temporary folders
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs nodev,nosuid,size=20480M,nr_inodes=500k 0 0
# Swap memory file (optional)
/mnt/hdd/swap /swap none bind 0 0
/swap/swapfile none swap defaults 0 0
#########################################
# HDD: SATA - USER FILES PARTITION
UUID=fba31569-c25c-4e30-b117-9ea83c41a8bd /mnt/hdd ext4 defaults,discard 0 2
#########################################
# Bind folders
# /var folder
/mnt/hdd/var /var none bind 0 0
# Home folders
/mnt/hdd/home/root /root none bind 0 0
/root /home/root none bind 0 0
/mnt/hdd/home/<user> /home/<user> rewritefs config=/etc/rewritefs.conf,allow_other,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0
#########################################
# Optional: mount your cache folders to RAM
NOTE: When rewritefs is being used, mount order must be /tmp and then /home folders. This is because contents of user's .cache folder is written to /tmp/user_cache folder
#tmpfs /home/<user>/.cache tmpfs size=15%,mode=0777,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0
> stat -c "%A %G:%U %n" /etc/rewritefs.conf
-rw-r--r-- root:root /etc/rewritefs.conf
Common syntax for RewriteFS fstab entry is as follows (not related in this setup):
/mnt/home/<user> /home/<user> rewritefs config=/etc/rewritefs.conf,allow_other,uid=<user UID>,gid=<user GID> 0 0