This article is going to document my attempt at an Arch Linux install, without using install media. That's right, no CD, no DVD, no USB.

I am currently working on my laptop, which is an old HP G60 that I bought just over 4 years ago. It still has its original harddrive (no problems) and memory (3GB). I am running Linux Mint right now, although for years I was using the various latest stable versions of Ubuntu. The only thing that I've had to replace is the VGA cable.

I've decided to start with the bootstrap image, as I want to get the process started before I have to leave for class! I think that that might be a problem later on, as I am connected to the wifi at my school. I need to be able to connect with LEAP. I won't know for a while, but you'll find out shortly if the bootstrap was a problem.

Here is the URL that I'm working from: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Install_from_Existing_Linux#Replacing_the_Existing_System_without_a_LiveCD

Method 1: Bootstrap Image

I've done the download exactly as specified. The option on the curl command "-O" is a capital o, in case it's not clear on your display.

To extract the image, I moved it into a temp folder and used the tar command. The source page suggests "xzf" after tar, but I found that that doesn't work for me so I used "xvf" with success.