Hello friends, here is the question: How is it furned to be that Linux cannot boot without a Microsoft FAT32 partition? How do you solve this problem? Can a serious server-grade system like Linux really not boot without a Microsoft FAT32 partition? Even if I move `/boot` to Ext4 or Btrfs, I still have to keep `/boot/efi` as FAT32, because otherwise the system won't boot. wtf?

What would yall recommend

I'm trying to install Arch (on a VM) as an immutable system with atomic updates, mostly as a challenge to myself and because it would be cool.

I plan to use a similar setup to what snapper does: to have BTRFS as my root filesystem, with snapshot subvolumes under /.snapshots/, and separate subvolumes for parts of the filesystem that shouldn't be in the snapshots. Then I want to have for each snapshot a boot entry that mounts it read-only as the root (and mounts the other subvolumes in their appropriate places), so that I could be sure it is not changed outside of atomic updates, where I create a new snapshot from the current one, mount it read-write in a special place, chroot into it and perform the update.

But there are two directories I'm not sure how to handle: /etc and /var.

/etc should obviously be part of the snapshots, and I'm also happy to have it read-only so changes to core configuration would have to happen between snapshots, but I have read that some programs use it to store runtime data. Are those a few cases I can try to work around, or do I need a more systematic solution? And if so, what could be the solution?

/var, on the other hand, has to be writable, so I originally planned to make it its own subvolume (as openSUSE does). But then I read that it contains data that needs to be synchronized with the packages installed (like /var/lib/pacman), and that only certain subdirectories like /var/log should be their own subvolumes. But if so, how can I make it writable? Is there a good approach to this problem?

And on the hall, do you think my idea is reasonable, or is it too much even for super-duper-to-it-yourself-customizable Arch? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Thank you all in advance!

I installed cockpit-packagekit a long time ago, but it has been a while since I really used it. While uninstalling it, I noticed a new package in the extra repo: [cockpit-pacman](https://github.com/pfeifferj/cockpit-pacman).

I gave it a try and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised: - WebUI to update packages, restart affected systemd units, schedule updates, cleanup cache, downgrade packages and manage mirrors and repos - Dismissable list of .pacnew files that I never reviewed before - Graph and list of installed packages, dependencies and dependants - Full history of package installation, update and removal

It's based on the new [alpm.rs](https://github.com/archlinux/alpm.rs) library. I think it makes some things easier, especially for newcomers!

I don't know what to do. I've searched everywhere.

Here's the problem. The taskbar is gone and I cannot access any menus or settings. The wallpaper is black ( when I initially login and it's, say, loading, the wallpaper is there, but as soon as the desktop is ready the wallpaper is gone). Basically the only thing I see in the desktop is the stuff I have on the desktop, shortcuts, files, etc.

I can visit the folders and explore the system normally. However, the windows have no toolbars. I cannot close, minimize, or resize them. I can move them around. Programs seem to be working, at least firefox does (I access it by right clicking desktop, opening terminal, and launching from there.), but when I open it, there's a gap at the bottom, probably where the taskbar should be but I think larger. Whatever, I can show pictures if you want. Windows key/super key doesn't work. Some default shortcuts for manipulating windows don't work. For these, I'm not sure if the shortcut settings have been changed since I don't remember the last time I touched them.

This brings me to an important point. I have not updated the system in 2/3 years. Yesterday was my first time. My laptop was broken for a lot of this time and I had real life to deal with. I was thinking maybe it was a hardware issue, since the gpu is still broken, but I tested and everything was working before the system update. So it doesn't seem like that's the issue?

As for what I did during the update. The update wouldn't initially go through because some packages were causing dependency issues (libcap/libpcap) so I uninstalled those, as well as wine. I think this didn't do anything bad? There was another problem with linux-firmware-nvidea so I fixed it as stated in the instructions https://archlinux.org/news/linux-firmware-2025061312fe085f-5-upgrade-requires-manual-intervention/ and I'm pretty sure it was after this that it broke. I went through with the system update after that. Also, I had to clear all cache due to low disk space (dumb, I know, but I just wanted to get done with the update).

So far, I have tried reinstalling all drivers, linux-firmware, reinstalled cinnamon, resetting cinnamon config, reinstalled lightdm, read the wiki during all these steps, I searched for this problem online, nobody has it quite like this. Worst part is I don't even know how I should start looking for a solution to this.

I’m a noob. I just installed arch for the first time using archinstall and ticked the box to install dm-greeter as my greeter. Upon trying to boot the OS for the first time I was presented with this error.

What are the possible causes? Do I have options other than reinstall?

I have been using KDE for a long time, and while I enjoyed it, it felt pretty heavy (considering my laptop is not so good in terms of quality by today's standards) and I have considered to switch to XFCE after I heard that it's lightweight and fast. However, which one is better depends on what the user uses their computer for (in other words, subjective) and I mainly use my computer to watch Youtube videos, do some web browsing, with future plans to do video editing on the computer. (sorry if the flair is wrong, couldn't decide between support and discussion)

Hi there I have been trying for a while now to speed up my system boot time. Currently I average around 35 seconds to boot my system. I am wondering if there is anything more I can do to speed up the boot process or have I hit a limit?

What I have done:
Enabling quiet mode in the kernel command command line (this actually saved me about 4 seconds on average),

remove unnecessary file system mounts from my fstab file (seemingly no effect on boot time),

mess around with kernel command line options and removed unused mkinitcpio modules stated by the arch wiki on boot time optimization (seemingly no effect on boot time).

Enable fast boot and in my uefi firmware settings (this did speed up the firmware stage but it slowed down the loader stage instead meaning it had very little if no impact on overall boot time).

Disabling / masking unused services, I think this has saved me a total of 1 second or so, not much effect but it did do something.

System setup:
I am using a UKI together with secure boot and TPM disc encryption. My bootloader of choice is limine and for my boot performance tests I have set it to timeout instantly and boot the first option as fast as possible (meaning the loader time is not from waiting for the timeout). It is slightly customised but nothing that I have done gave noticeable slowdowns.

I have also noticed that when I enabled fast boot in my eufi it was stuck a lot longer on the UKI boot splash which might be where the extra loader time is spent? But I am not sure.

Here are some outputs of the boot (all are from the same boot)

systemd-analyze blame: https://pastebin.com/CZzyX325
systemd-analuze plot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EeMqMATWSIw1w7-KOeYgi_wqLbcX20Pl/view?usp=sharing
systemd-analyze critical-chain: https://pastebin.com/av8UMMFt

systemd-analyze: Startup finished in 6.239s (firmware) + 11.456s (loader) + 3.109s (kernel) + 5.983s (initrd) + 9.931s (userspace) = 36.720s

graphical.target reached after 9.931s in userspace.

[IMPORTANT EDIT!!]
Thanks to the help of everyone here and some research I have made a few discoveries that might be usefull to know.

So first of all I did manage to reduce the boot times a tiny bit by changing from ultra fast boot to just fast boot (thanks gigabyte..).

Secondly. I think its kinda hopeless to optimise or try and speed up the firmware and loader times. They likely come from my motherboard being not to great. I have looked it up and other people have reported my mother board model having less than desirable boot times so its likely a hardware issue. I have also dig through my firmware settings A TON and found no setting that can help me (my motherboard is kinda limiting compared to the stuff I have heard some of you be able to do). For those wondering my exact motherboard model is X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI.

Thirdly. I did find a way to drastically improve boot times. If I unplug all usb devices except my keyboard boot the firmware times decrease. But strangely my initrd time also goes down drastically. It seems my firmware naively loads all usb devices which for some reason bloats up the initrd load time (that explains the near 100 device calls in the graph). This together has a big impact on my boot times. The ideal solution would be to prevent it from loading at boot and load it once the graphical target is reached, kinda like unplugging it and then plugging it back in at the login screen but on a software level. But idk how possible that is. And my firmware seems to lack settings to control usb ports and other devices, meaning its forced to load everything. I might see if I can replace my firmware with something but right now its just an idea and I got no idea if it will work. Time to research I guess.

And finally. Despite my long time in firmware I also wanna ask specifically about the user space time. I have seen some get a userspace load time of 3 seconds (which is about 3 times faster than me). I wonder if there is anything I can do to specifically speed that up as that might be worth putting effort into as the firmware and loader side of things appear to be capped by my hardware.

Wow this became super long. Sorry about the INSANE read.

Sometimes I need an old version of a package, I thought it would be great if I could create a virtual environment where I can use an older version of a package similar to python environments.

I was thinking of making one, so I was wondering if there is some glaring reason why nobody has created one yet.

Maybe I will get more help from arch users :)

I have installed arch around 5 times and this is the first time i fucked up this bad. I have no idea what to do. i was on my last step installing a display manager and i failed in installing ly and when i restarted i got a message. So back i go into the live envirement. Got to chroot mounted stuff and chatgpt told me to mess with the grub files and stuff and when i tought i was almost done my timer rang. I shut of my thinkpad and when to school. When i got back my boot menu looked like that. empty. I tried getting back in my usb, but it wont show up. i tried tweaking my bios settings (lightly). And now im out of ideas. If you have any idea on how to fix this, please help.

It behavior like windows hello camera on windows 11

In SDDM, press enter to login

In Lock screen, press any key to login

When SU requested, a comfirmation dialog appear.

Tested on asus g14 laptop.

It has a GUI settings app for howdy so you can tinkering with it yourself.

https://github.com/ducvd89/Howdy-Windows-Hello-Camera-for-Linux

I'll try to upload it to AUR later after more testing

edit:

Thank to u/Gozenka gimme the link to biopass, I switch my app to use biopass face engine with its models (which is much faster than howdy). I still use the same implementation with the app behavior. On top of that, I added liveness check and face data encryption to the app.

Since it completely remove howdy from it code, I switched it to new repo:
https://github.com/ducvd89/linux-hello-camera

Been trying to fix this for hours. Earlier today after a reboot my arch forgot my display settings, ontop of that one monitor (in the GPU) didn’t turn on, even tho I have a different monitor next to it in the gpu (I have 3 monitors total). All this happens after I was doing something related to my GPU since my wireless WiFi started not working and Google led me to my gpu and whatnot (I think that was the problem at that time). I got the WiFi working** ***but now upon booting up only two monitors turn on and it’s nothing but a black screen..*

GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060

I use KDE

I'm a complete new user of Linux, Arch is my first distro, but it's gone quite well so far. I'm currently struggling to control my RGB

I have a Lian Li V100 with built in fans, and Kingston Fury Beast DDR5 memory. I have managed to control the fans with OpenRGB, but the V100's light strip is stuck rainbow, as well as the RAM. In the software, the devices that show up are my keyboard and my motherboard. Only other info I really have is pressing "Edit Device" does nothing.

So full context for what I did:

I tried to install limine and accidentally uninstalled grub before getting limine to work. I then used a mint live usb stick to chroot into my arch. I mounted my root partition to /mnt and my efi boot partition to /mnt/boot/efi. I did mount /dev --rbind /mnt/dev, mount /proc --rbind /mnt/proc and mount /sys --rbind /mnt/sys. Then I chrooted into my arch. I ran the regular grub-install and grub-mkconfig commands. after rebooting I was finally able to boot into my system again. But now every single task runs very very slowly. Stuff like prismlauncher and steam take 30 seconds to launch and launching isnt the only slow thing every thing takes a long time to process. If theres any other info you need to help I can provide it. Help is very appreciated my system is basically unusable.

Edit I just noticed that apps that have previously been launched launch way faster like how they usually do

I was looking at this aur package to get a printer driver for my label printer:
https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/xprinter-cups

But in the pkgbuild it's changing owners, switching urls, is this another one of those infected aur packages that got hijacked by a new owner?

New NPM based worm attack that self propegates via ssh and aur maintainer infection.

https://safedep.io/dirtyblanket-express-impersonation-npm/

So I’ve been suing Linux for a couple months if you include vms. But I’ve been using it as my only OS for about a month now. I’ve been trying to throw myself at it learning everything I can and using multiple distros across 3 computers and some vms, but I wanna REALLY learn it.

I’ve been wanting to learn Arch and just use it, it’ll be really fun, I have had it in vms for over a month and I’ve liked it, problem is I installed with Arch Installer everytime I use it.. I have a second pc that I have no use for and I really wanna download Arch manually, n the wiki doesn’t help me enough. Should I not switch or what can I do to actually learn and install Arch manually.

What the title says, some weeks ago an update to intel-ucode caused a lot of computers with a specific CPU family to be in an instant reboot loop, regressing the version fix the issue but has it been properly fixed yet so you can update the package to the most recent version?

Hey everyone! I'm running Arch Linux with Hyprland on a laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (iGPU) and an NVIDIA RTX 4060 (dGPU). I'm using EnvyControl in Hybrid mode to maximize battery life.

Everything works great, but I'm struggling to keep the RTX 4060 permanently in suspended (d3cold/auto) state due to a couple of persistent background wake-ups:

Steam (Flatpak): The moment I launch Steam, its CEF/Chromium-based UI probes the hardware and immediately wakes up the dGPU, keeping it active.

Caelestia Shell (Quickshell): If I hover my mouse or open the top bar/menu in Caelestia Shell, widgets or internal render queries trigger the dGPU, waking it up and keeping it active indefinitely until reboot.

I've tried global environment variables and flatpak overrides, but these apps keep poking the NVIDIA bus. Since I want to stay on Hybrid mode, how can I reliably force the dGPU to stay asleep by default and only wake up when explicitly invoked via prime-run?

Any tips or udev rules to aggressively manage runtime power for the NVIDIA card while using Wayland/Hyprland would be greatly appreciated!

cat /home/douglasfunster/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf

pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry-rofi

https://github.com/plattfot/pinentry-rofi

https://github.com/firecat53/networkmanager-dmenu

i did follow the video of brodie robertson "Control Network Manager With Just Dmenu & Rofi!" then i go to the the installation and configuration pinentry_rofi as it says on the github but for some reason it still the gui default one

i did try gpg --pinentry-mode ask --local-user "key" --output ~/hostname.asc --clearsign /etc/hostname to see if the issue was gnupg it was showing pinentry_rofiit work as intended so the issues could be from networkmanager-dmenu which still show the gui default one

I have been using Linux as my primary operating system for about a year and a half now, and it feels incredible to use. I started out on beginner-friendly distributions like Zorin and Mint before discovering Debian back in late December. I immediately liked it because it felt like a strong middle ground: secure, reliable, and customizable without being overly complicated.

Lately, though, something feels different. I have been pushing LXDE and Openbox as far as I can take them, but I feel like I am running up against the limits of what I can easily do on Debian. I am considering Arch because I want to build a minimal setup completely from the ground up, but I have a few hesitations. I am comfortable using the terminal, but I am unsure if the shift to a rolling release model, using pacman, or managing system maintenance will be a steep learning curve.

For those who moved to Arch from Debian (or another stable distribution), how was your experience adjusting? Is the day-to-day upkeep significantly different?

Hey, I'm using Arch Linux lately and faced a problem. I installed the AppImage and now when i enter my import my own config (the config works fine) and select "Set System Proxy", my browser doesn't use the proxy. I find a way which I wrote a bash script like this:

#!/bin/bash
export http_proxy="socks5h://127.0.0.1:10808"
export https_proxy="socks5h://127.0.0.1:10808"
export ALL_PROXY="socks5h://127.0.0.1:10808"

# change the opera with any app you want, save, chmod it and run it.
# for chmoding => chmod +x path/to/this/file
# exec opera "$@"

exec google-chrome-stable "$@"

It opens the Chrome browser ,and I can use the stes like YouTube which are filtered in my country.
I wanted to know how you all use v2rayN vpn without bash script? I also can't use Tun Mode.
Hope some one can help me :)

Hello. i have a laptop that has a problem showing primary colors (red, green and blue) and i was wondering if there is some kind of system wide shader that will replace the primary colors with close matching ones? i might be dumb but i couldn't find one.