I’m going to install manjaro-cinnamon-21.2.2-minimal-220123-linux515.iso. I have my reasons to install that one.
However, I also want specific version of the kernel and of the nvidia driver which Manjaro doesn’t seem to have. I have ALL the necessary packages to achieve that (gcc, gcc-libs, binutils, linux, linux-headers as well as these packages: lib32-nvidia-utils libxnvctrl dkms nvidia-dkms nvidia-settings nvidia-utils), so basically the packages I have are completely independent.
The $1 mil question is: which packages exactly I should remove from Manjaro, after the OS installation is completed? I want specific kernel and driver versions (which I have - downloaded from the Arch repository), so answers like “update everything like a crazy person” don’t work for me.
That already sounds very much like an XY problem — looking for a solution for a perceived problem, not for the actual problem. You will be getting more helpful advice if you were to tell us what exactly you wish to achieve, and why.
That said…
Well, it’s the minimal edition, so there will be very little — if anything at all — to delete.
I can understand that you’d want a more recent kernel than 5.15 — which is the kernel on that ISO — and then maybe you can remove that kernel (and whatever Nvidia modules it comes with) after installing the newer kernel (and associated Nvidia modules), but that’ll be about it, I think.
Do however bear in mind that you may run into conflicts while upgrading regarding certain package versions that do not correspond to the versions in the Manjaro repositories.
Also note that custom kernels will not automatically get updated by pacman or pamac.
I am sceptical how good this will function on a rolling release distro. How will you update that thing? Or if you do not want to update, why Manjaro/Arch/Rolling release. Definitely an XY problem, since that does not make sense.
I wanna install kernel 6.11.9 and nvidia-dkms 555.58. As I already said - I have all the necessary packages to do it. I just need to know which pre-installed packages are in conflict with these:
Even if I install them “as explicit”, that would still leave the pre-installed packages to hang unused as bloatware. I prefer to remove them and “pacman -Rdd” should do the job.
I’m sorry, but I don’t find that a credible claim. I’ve been around long enough to know that’s not true.
No, they would be overwritten by your custom packages, since you are installing with “-U”, and “--asexplicit” has nothing to do with that. It simply makes sure that your custom packages would not get removed because of dependency issues when removing other packages.
I’m afraid your request is not supported by a rolling release distribution such as Manjaro.
Kernels 6.6 (LTS) and 6.1 (LTS) remain available and supported for another year (6.6), and two years (6.1), respectively, if either of these are an option.
Otherwise, I can only suggest that a point release distribution such as Debian might be more forgiving toward unsupported customisations.
I don’t understand what your problem is to tell me what I wish to know. That experiment will either be succesful or it won’t be. I have my reasons to want an older version of Manjaro and of kernel/driver. It’s my computer, it’s Linux and I’m starting to wonder where did the freedom of Linux to do whatever you want it went. That freedom clearly isn’t present in Manjaro, cuz you’re defending with claw and teeth an outdated version which I’m going to experiment with.
As for the security, I have other measures in places that prevent a remote attack, but I don’t feel the need to explain myself about something irrelevant to the main question.
You can do whatever you like with your machine, but what you propose will not be supported by Manjaro. That’s all that was said, and remains true.
I note that @linux-aarhus has provided a link to information that might be useful for your experiment. Whether it is sufficient for your needs, or not, I can’t say.
What I can say, and already have said, is that it will not be a supported configuration; no support will be generally/officially offered via the forum for unsupported customisations.
The freedom is certainly present, but what you are seeking to do is beyond the support scope of Manjaro. We can only offer support for Manjaro as Manjaro was conceived and intended to be used, i.e. as a curated rolling-release distribution that is kept up-to-date.
Experimentation — and especially with such great emphasis on secrecy regarding the motives, along with the “Trust me, I know best” attitude — of which we know from experience that you most certainly won’t — is beyond the scope of the official Manjaro support forum.
Your experiment by definition puts your system in an unsupported state, and unsupported means unsupported — including by us. Please respect that.
