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  • Installing GENTOO 2008.0 on a QEMU DISK IMAGE (and KDE4).

    Qemu/KVM, KDE4 and Gentoo 2008.0.


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    A couple of years ago, I wrote a script to automatically install Gentoo 2006.0 from the Gentoo LiveCD. Recently, I trimmed the script to install Gentoo 2008.0 on a Qemu (virtual) hard-disk. I used the KVM version of Qemu, but everything should be the same for non-KVM Qemu. This guide was written for those using an AMD64 system, but other systems should be similar. Most of the necessary changes are obvious.

    Download the following:

    qemu-gentoo-2008.sh.bz2
    livecd-amd64-installer-2008.0-r1.iso (696M)
    portage-20080721.tar.bz2 from distfiles.gentoo.org (31M)

    Although, I recommend the 2008-07-21 version of portage, because it has been checked and is known to compile KDE 4.0.5, you may wish to use the latest portage version which can be found here:

    portage-latest.tar.bz2 from distfiles.gentoo.org (31M)

    Code:
    mkdir /b
    The directory /b will be seen by Qemu/KVM as the hard-disk /dev/hdb.

    Code:
    mv qemu-gentoo-2008.sh.bz2 portage-20080721.tar.bz2 /b 
    bunzip2 qemu-gentoo-2008.sh.bz2 
    chmod +x qemu-gentoo-2008.sh 
    /sbin/modprobe kvm-amd 
    qemu-img create -f raw gentoo.img 10G 
    qemu-system-x86_64 -boot d -m 256 -soundhw es1370 -usbdevice tablet \ 
          gentoo.img -cdrom livecd-amd64-installer-2008.0-r1.iso -hdb fat:/b &
    Although the Gentoo LiveCD recognizes the Qemu Cirrus Logic video card and sets the correct driver in the xorg.conf file, the X-server is unable to start the graphics environment (it turns out that the cirrus drivers have not been compiled). The screen flashes a few times and a window appears asking if you wish to see the X log. Say no, then OK and hit return a couple of times to get to the console. Once at the console, enter the command:

    Code:
    vi /etc/X11/xorg.conf
    Search for the string cirrus and replace it with vesa.

    Alternatively, you can also use the following commands to edit the xorg.conf file:

    Code:
    mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf-old 
    awk '{print gensub(/cirrus/,"vesa","g")}' /etc/X11/xorg.conf-old > /etc/X11/xorg.conf
    After editing xorg.conf, start the window manager Xfce4 with:

    Code:
    startxfce4
    Open a terminal window in Xfce4. Then mount the first (and only) partition of /dev/hdb and run the script:

    Code:
    mkdir /b 
    mount /dev/hdb1 /b
    (the script assumes /dev/hdb1 is mounted on /b)
    Code:
    /b/qemu-gentoo-2008.sh
    (run the script)

    The script will partition the virtual hard-disk /dev/hda and set up Gentoo 2008.0 on /dev/hda3. Of course, these days you no longer need a swap partition and you never needed a boot partition. However, to keep in step with Gentoo we will have both.

    I would have usually formated /dev/hdb3 with the Reiser3 filesystem, however, this usually extremely reliable filesystem, has been deliberately sabotaged. This sabotage causes massive corruption of files after a short time. By comparison, I have used the Reiser3 filesystem for nearly ten years now and have never had any corruption, at all, on any of my many Reiser3 boxes.

    When the script finishes, you should:

    Code:
    Shutdown the LiveCD.
    Then boot up Gentoo 2008.0 from the hard-disk, with:

    Code:
    qemu-system-x86_64 -m 256 -soundhw es1370 -usb -usbdevice tablet gentoo.img &
    At this point you have a functional Gentoo system which uses the Xfce4 desktop.

    The sound does not work because (since at least 2005) Gentoo has refused to compile the LiveCD kernel with the ALSA OSS emulation option. This means that the sound does not work for a few (very popular) older cards. The symptom of this problem is that the device /dev/dsp does not get created. This old, well-known problem, is easily fixed by recompiling your kernel with the following options:

    Code:
    Device Drivers  --->
        Sound  --->
            Advanced Linux Sound Architecture  --->
                <M> Sequencer support
                <M> Sequencer dummy client
                <M> OSS Mixer API
                <M> OSS PCM (digital audio) API
                    [ * ] OSS PCM (digital audio) API - Include plugin system
                    [ * ] OSS Sequencer API
                    [ * ] Support old ALSA API
    A new kernel will also stop the system loading every pata and sata module it can find.

    The script adds 8139too and snd_ens1370 to /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6 which causes the correct ethernet and sound kernel modules to be loaded at boot. To connect to the internet using Qemu's default networking, you need to connect to Qemu's DHCP server, which you do with the command:

    Code:
    dhcpcd eth0
    Adding the KDE desktop to your Gentoo system.

    First, you must uninstall the QT 4 libraries on the LiveCD with (you may ask why they are there):

    Code:
    emerge -C qt:4
    If you used the script, then this has been done for you.

    If you want KDE4 (version 4.0.5), then hide the package.mask file (only for KDE4) with:

    Code:
    mv /usr/portage/profiles/{package.mask,hide-package.mask}
    If you want KDE3 (version 3.5.9), then do not hide the package.mask file.

    Now you should check what happens in a dry run:

    Code:
    emerge -pv mesa 
    emerge -pv kde-meta
    Then you should download all the source files with:

    Code:
    emerge -f mesa
    emerge -f kde-meta
    KDE 3.5.9 is chosen automatically if you did not hide the package.mask file and KDE 4.0.5 is chosen if you did.

    Now you should compile everything. This took somewhere between 12 & 16 hours on my box. I think that is good, considering that the compilation is being done in a virtual system. For KDE3 the following commands were necessary:

    Code:
    emerge mesa 
    emerge flex 
    emerge kde-meta
    For whatever reason, kdepim-meta-3.5.9 and related packages did not compile. Everything else did. If you need kdepim 3.5.9, you should use a version of portage different from portage-20080721.tar.bz2.

    For KDE4 these commands were necessary:

    Code:
    emerge mesa 
    USE="mdnsresponder-compat" emerge avahi 
    USE="-doc" emerge glib 
    emerge kde-meta
    Without the proper USE-variable KDE4's compositing is disabled at compile time. The stated reason is that the X-org development headers are missing. However, this is not true. You need USE="xcomposite" and even with this, compositing is not possible for older graphics cards, like the Cirrus Logic. The script qemu-gentoo-2008.sh now sets some USE-variables, like xcomposite, for you. You should check /etc/make.conf and see if you approve of the choices. Remember that the default USE-variables are listed in:

    /usr/portage/profiles/targets/desktop/make.defaults

    and your current configuration can be seen by typing:

    Code:
    emerge --info
    Now you need to configure KDE.

    This is done by changing a line in your /home/gentoo/.dmrc file.

    For KDE4, change the line Session=xfce to Session=kde-4.

    You should save the downloaded files so that you can trash your virtual Gentoo system without losing them.

    First, shutdown Gentoo. Then mount the image gentoo.img with:

    Code:
    mount -o loop,offset=$((1124550*512)) gentoo.img /1
    1124550 is the number of sectors to the start of the 3rd partition. It comes from:

    Code:
    fdisk -lu
    Disk /dev/hda: 10.7 GB, 10737418240 bytes
    255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1305 cylinders, total 20971520 sectors
    Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
    Disk identifier: 0x934947c5
    
       Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
    /dev/hda1   *          63      128519       64228+  83  Linux
    /dev/hda2          128520     1124549      498015   82  Linux swap / Solaris
    /dev/hda3         1124550    20964824     9920137+  83  Linux
    Now you can copy files to and from the image. To save the downloaded files:

    Code:
    mkdir /gentoo 
    cp -r /1/usr/portage/distfiles /gentoo
    Don't forget to unmount your Gentoo disk image before booting Gentoo 2008.0.

    Code:
    umount /1
    So, what did I think of KDE4. Well, the main selling feature of KDE4, compositing, is turned off for older graphics cards like the Cirrus Logic. The system complains that: Required X extensions (XComposite and XDamage) are not available. KDE4 has more polished graphics, but it is missing some of the little features that made KDE3 so useable. The start "menu" is awful and it would be hard to use KDE4, if one was forced to use this grotesque feature. Thankfully, SuSE 11.0 has the old menu as an option. Things like the taskbar icons cannot be moved and some configuration options are poorer. Hopefully, KDE4 will catch up with KDE3 soon. However, at this point, KDE4 is definitely a regression.

    If I get time I will write an article on how to transfer your virtual Gentoo 2008 system to a system using your real hardware.

    For further information I recommend the Gentoo installation manual.
    Last edited by Jade; 18 August 2008, 09:27 PM.

  • #2
    Also see: Gentoo Linux 2008.0

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

    Comment


    • #3
      And the discussion on Gentoo Linux 2008.0 at:

      Comment


      • #4
        Any suggestions for improvements?

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Jade View Post
          If you want KDE4 (version 4.0.5), then hide the package.mask file (only for KDE4) with:

          Code:
          mv /usr/portage/profiles/{package.mask,hide-package.mask}
          If you want KDE3 (version 3.5.9), then do not hide the package.mask file.
          It's much cleaner to create an /etc/portage/package.unmask/kde4 file. I've seen forum posts with bash commands to copy only the right lines out of package.mask - something like that would be ideal.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by StringCheesian View Post
            It's much cleaner to create an /etc/portage/package.unmask/kde4 file. I've seen forum posts with bash commands to copy only the right lines out of package.mask - something like that would be ideal.
            StringCheesian, do you have a link to such?

            Comment


            • #7
              Why is it that administrators here, always delink my articles from the front page? This happens (almost) everytime I post a new thread.

              These articles should show up in the "Popular In The Forums" column like everybody else's.
              Last edited by Jade; 19 August 2008, 08:13 AM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Jade View Post
                StringCheesian, do you have a link to such?
                I can't find it now, but I figured out this:
                Code:
                grep -A 300 "Mask KDE 4.0.x for testing" /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask | grep -B 300 kmldonkey > unmask_kde4
                Then the user can copy that to /etc/portage/package.unmask/ folder, or append it to their /etc/portage/package.unmask file as appropriate.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by StringCheesian View Post
                  I can't find it now, but I figured out this:
                  Code:
                  grep -A 300 "Mask KDE 4.0.x for testing" /usr/portage/profiles/package.mask | grep -B 300 kmldonkey > unmask_kde4
                  Then the user can copy that to /etc/portage/package.unmask/ folder, or append it to their /etc/portage/package.unmask file as appropriate.
                  Thanks StringCheesian.

                  By the way, nice use of grep options to cut a section from the file.
                  Last edited by Jade; 20 August 2008, 08:27 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Why is this still delinked from the front page?

                    Comment

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