I wanted to install the latest Manjaro on my wife’s desktop, but there is no software selection offered during installation. Since my wifi dongle is not supported out of the box, and the ‘make’ utility is not installed I am stuck.
Do you realise I have no internet? I need to compile the wifi driver, without it those commands will not help.
Is it to hard to add a checkbox to allow advanced software selection? I was an active Linux user 10-20 years ago and never had any problem installing them, and there was always an option to select what you wanted during installation. It seems now Linux wants to be so simple to install that it shoots itself in the foot.
I tried a few distros. Mint installs with the ‘make’ command and necessary libraries. This is the only one I can use, and this is what my wife’s computer has, but dpkg has a but, it is trying to stop or start a non-existent mysql service, therefore it returns an error and it cannot be updated. I have not found a way to fix the problem, mysql cannot be either installed or removed. I would prefer KDE, so Manjaro would be a good choice, but it is a dead end without wifi. I installed PCLinuxOS on an USB stick, all went well, but after reboot grub was nowhere to be found. It did not ask me where I wanted grub placed.
For Linux to succeed developers must stop making choices for people
Strangely, it’s considered extremely important that developers make choices as to what they include in the install medium.
The ‘selections’ available on welcome screen are only EXTRA packages - viable if you’re already connected - they will install from your internet connection.
I did use WiFi with my desktop when I lived in an apartment, but never bothered again after getting broadband - surely an ethernet cable would make more sense.
I’m not sure how difficult it might prove to plug in your phone via USB - I can’t remember because I haven’t installed without a connection for too long now.
However, I do agree that the base-devel would be a powerful toolkit to include in the basic installation.
Ben, Linux used to be great because it gave user choices. Where are the choices now? Everything gets installed whether I want it or not. Provide the software selection option. Have an easy, medium and expert level. Which packages do you want? Do you want office? Database? Languages? Which tools? The easy option should install the basic set of packages, but do not take away CHOICES.
I used to have network cable, but I do not want them in the house now. The fewer cables are the better.
Evidence says otherwise. I find WiFi limiting for a desktop…
And yes, you did say you have no internet - something I experienced one time installing Ubuntu in 2007, so I sympathise - but I also collected a few unused ethernet cables which are eaily pulled out of storage if they were required.
And now you’re angry because Manjaro Devs didn’t cater…
There’s some confusion here - as Linux-aarhus doesn’t understand, you want the option to refuse many of the packages included in the download, but have the option to select software options available from the disk - right? You’re really complaining that ‘make’ wasn’t included whilst other things were - that’s something you can ask about.
I’m trying to put myself in your shoes. Faced with a HP desktop and a Ubuntu CD. Networking doesn’t work from the live boot…
So then I make a choice to go out and buy a 15m cable to connect to a router some 10 metres along the hall outside my apartment… or I make a choice to enter Ubuntu forums and berate them because my hardware isn’t compatible and I can’t build drivers.
So I choose a cable, and spent a half day getting connected - throw away that cable, and bingo!
Ben, you do not understand it. I expect Manjaro to have the development libraries and the ‘make’ utility. These should be there by default. Is this too hard? I don’t want to go out and buy anything.
Choices is the magic word that made Linux great. In the past whenever I installed Linux I was presented with the option to select what software I wanted and only those were installed. Now Linux limits choices. Why is is too hard to give people the option of software selection during installation? Why was it removed? Manjaro now does not even ask which office package you want.
Manjaro has no control over your choice of networking. Its your choice to use wifi. Its your choice to not have an ethernet cable.
If you want complete control of all the packages, use Arch. On Manjaro the closest thing would be a minimal iso. But you will have to connect to the internet somehow regardless. The choice of how to do so is up to you.
… and what good would that be to you - not having a working internet connection?
because:
even if those where present, you’d still need to download and compile whatever DKMS driver you need
… you would still be without connection and in the same place as you are now
You need some kind of connection - USB tethering is the easiest (after connecting with a cable).
If you don’t have one - figure out how to have one, to get you to the point where you can use your wifi.
Maybe Ubuntu or whatever supports your adapter out of the box - but I doubt it.
But if they do - why not use that distribution
instead of choosing to not solve a easy temporary problem you have here
but rant about it …
Perhaps you see that granting your wish would not help you very much … but perhaps some time needs to pass and some experience to grow before you can see that.
If you have a smartphone, you can connect it to your wifi
and then use USB tethering to use that connection for your PC.
No need to even use your (probably limited) mobile data for that.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have some basic tools (which ones?) or all (what is the size I don’t know) on all ISO, but if this is the request then probably a thread with all info needs to be reopened Feature Request - Manjaro Linux Forum
I had a similar problem a long time ago trying to help a friend install Ubuntu without a working LAN connection. all the obvious options failed but he borrow a neighbour’s system and a USB stick to get the working LAN driver
I assume from comments that there is at least one other system available to download the driver, transfer to the other system and install locally
Choices is the magic word that made Linux great.
And Linux users still have a choice of different installers from distributions
but many of them can fail for want of the correct WLAN or LAN driver
Manjaro used to have another installer (Architect) that was more like the Debian installer and had options to install any desktop and select packages. But Architect has not been maintained for a couple of years. And even if it was still working, Architect would probably fail with WLAN drivers too
Guys, I do have a working internet connection, but because my wifi dongle is not supported by Manjaro, and I cannot compile it, I cannot connect my Linux desktop to the internet.
I never said I have no internet in the house. I have no internet on the desktop because Manjaro kindly removed the ‘make’ utility.
Linux Mint has the ‘make’ utility. I have to stick with it.
I’m not buying that Manjaro removed that. That would just be a stupid move by ANY distro creator. That said I’m pretty sure someone above told you to install base-devel.
Development packages is not required to have a functional system - thus not a part of the ISO.
No - that is outright wrong. You hav no internet on your desktop because you don’t want to or are too lazy to connect said system using a cable - or to tether your phone’s connection to your desktop.
Then you blame Manjaro - Doh
@moderators - please take a peek at this thread - absolutely non-constructive thread.
As others said, you need to download the driver from somewhere in order to compile, but you also need base-devel, which is a meta-package depending on a bunch of packages aimed at development. You could download all needed packages with another computer, or even your phone, and then transfer and install them in your manjaro computer in order to have a working WiFi. However, it’s much more efficient to find a way a to connect you computer to the internet and use the tools provided by your system:
sudo pacman -Syu base-devel yay linux[xx]-headers, where [xx] is the version of the kernel you’re running.
yay -Sa rtl8821cu-dkms-git
systemctl reboot
I’m closing this topic, since it’s considered fully answered.
EDIT: switched trizen for yay, since trizen isn’t in the repos.
