The best way to install Gentoo is via the Internet, using the minimal CD installer, and a rather lengthy manual install process. The minimal CD carries only enough software system to boot the system, prepare the hard disk, get on the Internet, and grab the rest of Gentoo on line. According to most people, it is the best way to install Gentoo. I didn't do so well with it, but I admit I skimmed more than I read. My bad.
I used the LiveCD to install it this time around, and it actually worked. Now, mind you, it worked because it's last year's model. This year's model seems to only work if you want to transfer it to a USB stick drive. The version I used, 2006.1, while buggy itself, did get the job done. At long last, and after much hell, I finally had a stable, functional Gentoo setup on one of my computers. Oh, happy day!
Now, a few days have passed since I installed Gentoo. In that time, I have slowly turned the machine on which it is installed into a do-it-the-way-I-want system. That would have been impossible without something that Gentoo has in abundance: documentation.
If what you are looking for is support and how-to instructional articles, Gentoo has them on everything from setting up a print server using Samba and CUPS to working with their package installation system, and a lot in between. Anyone who has a bit of techno-savvy, the ability to read, patience or a really fast system, and a certain type of fearlessness can get Gentoo up and running...and even running well the vast amount of documentation.
And then there are the forums. I have yet to post a problem with the forum because it seems that every problem I have found has been found (and mostly) fixed long ago by someone on the forum.
And the tone of the forums is different as well. In many forums I have read, there is a lot of people troubleshooting from the hip. They really don't know what to do, but they make suggestions just to be helpful. Sometimes they are right. Most times, well, let's just say not too much. The most often suggested thing is "reinstall " and try that. Most often, that doesn't work.
In the Gentoo forums, the people who answer questions know what they are saying. While there are some who shoot from the hip in the Gentoo forums, that isn't the norm. Moreover, because Gentoo is such a nuts-and-bolts system, what you learn working with Gentoo carries over to many other different distros.
If you can get Gentoo to run, you can get any Linux distro to run. If you can tweak Gentoo and get it to hop up and dance, you can install ANY installable Linux distro, well, except perhaps for Yoper.
Gentoo is still not for everyone. It has a really steep learning curve. No, it's not rocket science, but it is balls-to-the-wall computer science. Rare indeed is the Gentoo newbie (n00b) that hasn't had prior experience with Linux, jumped directly into the fire, and didn't get crisped. However, they do exist. I can only sit in awe of the kind of courage it takes to start out with the roughest distro in existence.
Given the availability of resources, the complete virgin n00b could really make some serious headway into having the kind of system that he or she would be proud to show off to their geek pals. That said, I admit I am not that kind of person. I had to play with Slackware for some time now before I was actually ready to dig in my heels, and see what I could make happen with Gentoo.
The story continues...
I had a realization that perhaps a Pentium II 450 isn't the best machine on which to install Gentoo. Oh to be sure, the living digital fossil of which I speak runs Gentoo, and it's running as a print and file server. Technically, I could remove all the GUI stuff, and still be able to have the machine run just fine on a diet of Gentoo.
However, now flushed with a bit of success as far as the world of Gentoo is concerned, I realized that just a taste isn't enough. Oh no, not even close to enough for me. So, I decided to move on to the next machine in my herd, the old Toshiba laptop. It's a bit faster, even if it doesn't have as much memory installed. Considering the amount of memory used by Gentoo, at least on the fossil, I don't think I am going to have a problem. Besides, as soon as I can shake a few dollars free, I'm going to buy a couple more systems just like it, so I can have lots of spare parts.
Goddess knows, tonight proved that it needed some. Gen-tosh, as it is now known, was acquired from a friend who traded it for a reinstall of Windows 2000. Now, as I am sure you are all aware from what you have read, I know a bit about computers. It stands to reason if I can install something as complex as Gentoo, Windows 2000 isn't even close to a challenge. Seriously, all you do is stick in the disk and let it install everything. Where's the challenge? Where are the bragging rights?
I can now say that I have completed a full manual install of Gentoo. Oh yes, I decided that if I was going to run Gentoo, I was going to do at least one manual install. Now I have done it...and it was a nightmare.
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