3. Installing Arch

The goal here is a minimal system with a user, networking and a bootloader. install.sh takes care of everything else.

3.1. Console prep

setfont ter-132b      # bigger font on 2K/4K screens (optional)

Wi-Fi (wired works out of the box):

iwctl

device list                        # adapter name, usually wlan0
station wlan0 scan
station wlan0 get-networks
station wlan0 connect "NetworkName" # asks for the password
exit

ping -c 3 archlinux.org          # you should get replies
timedatectl set-ntp true
pacman -Sy archlinux-keyring     # fresh keys, otherwise signature errors

Survey your disks — snap a photo of the output with your phone:

lsblk -f

What you see	What it is
nvme0n1 / sda without ├─	the whole disk
vfat, 100 MB – 1 GB	EFI — the bootloader
ext4 / btrfs	old Linux (/, /home)
ntfs	Windows — don't touch
swap	swap partition
~8–64 GB stick	the installer, ignore it

See ntfs and want to keep Windows? Use option C below. Option A erases the whole disk, Windows included, and nothing brings it back: on an SSD the format also wipes the old blocks (TRIM).

3.2. archinstall menu

archinstall

Controls: arrow keys, Enter to select, / to search, Space to toggle, Esc to go back.

Option	Value
Archinstall language	English
Locales	Keyboard us, Language en_US.UTF-8 (install.sh adds ru_RU.UTF-8)
Mirrors and repositories	region — your country; Optional repositories — multilib
Disk configuration	see 3.3 below
Swap	True (zram)
Bootloader	Grub (can show Windows)
Unified kernel images	False
Hostname	anything, e.g. arch
Authentication	root password; a user (e.g. zilero), superuser Yes
Profile	Minimal
Applications	Bluetooth Yes, Audio Pipewire
Kernels	linux
Network configuration	NetworkManager
Additional packages	git vim
Timezone	Europe/Moscow (or yours)
Automatic time sync	True

The username can be anything — the configs aren't tied to it. But if you're keeping your old /home, it must match the old one, or the old folder will belong to someone else.

3.3. Disk partitioning

You have	Option
an empty disk, or nothing on it to keep	A
Arch already, reinstalling it	B
Windows you want to keep	C

Option A: whole disk for Arch

Use a best-effort default partition layout → disk → ext4 → separate /home: No.

Everything on the disk is wiped, Windows included. Keeping Windows? Stop here and use option C.

Without a separate /home, Timeshift snapshots share the / partition with the system; to keep them elsewhere, pick another disk in timeshift-gtk.

Option B: reinstall over existing partitions

Manual Partitioning → disk. For each partition:

Partition	Mountpoint	Format	FS	Flags
EFI (vfat, ~1 GB)	/boot	yes if no Windows; otherwise no	fat32	boot, esp — already set, leave them
old root	/	yes	ext4	—
old /home	/home	no — keeps your files	ext4	—
ntfs (Windows)	—	no, don't touch	—	—

You don't need the xbootldr flag (that's for systemd-boot).

Before Confirm and exit, check the Status column: / should say format/modify, and the /home you're keeping should say existing.

No "Mark to be formatted" option? Delete the partition (Delete partition) → select the resulting free space → Create new partition → default size → FS and mountpoint as in the table. For a new EFI partition, mark it bootable and ESP after creating it.

Option C: next to Windows, dual boot

You need the unallocated space you freed in Windows (2.3). Manual Partitioning → disk, then:

Partition	What to do
Windows EFI (vfat)	at least 500 MB: mountpoint /boot, format no. Windows' default 100 MB is too small for the kernels: leave it alone
free space	Create new partition: 1 GB fat32 for /boot, marked bootable and ESP, only if the Windows EFI is too small
free space (the rest)	Create new partition: ext4, mountpoint /, format yes
ntfs, Microsoft reserved, recovery	don't touch: no mountpoint, no format

Before Confirm and exit, check the Status column: every Windows partition must say existing. If one says delete or format, press Esc and start over.

After the install GRUB lists Windows: install.sh turns on os-prober (4.1).

3.4. Install

Install → confirm → 5–15 minutes → answer No when asked about chroot.

reboot      # pull the stick out once the screen goes dark

3.5. First login

Pick Arch in GRUB and log in as your user:

nmtui                 # Activate a connection → network → password
sudo pacman -Syu

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Next: 4. Running install.sh →