MANJARO LINUX

USER GUIDE

THE MANJARO DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Copyright 2017 the Manjaro Development Team.

Licensed under the Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (the Licence); you may not use this
file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the Licence at:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the Licence is
distributed on an as is basis, without warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied. See
the Licence for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the Licence.

The source code for this documentation can be downloaded from:

https://github.com/manjaro/manjaro-user-guide/
 user guide 5

The Manjaro Development Team

Core Team
Philip Mller Owner, Project Leader, Project Management and Co-
ordination, Mirrors Manager, Server Manager, Packager, De-
veloper, Web Developer

Guillaume Benoit Developer, Moderation

Ramon Buld Developer, Packager

Stefano Capitani Maintainer, Packager

Bernhard Landauer Community Manager, Packager, Maintainer, Mod-

eration, News

Rob McCathie Maintainer

Marcus Developer, Packager

Teo Mrnjavac Developer

Alexandre A. Arnt Developer, Moderation

Ringo de Kroon Community

Hugo Posnic Developer

Artwork
David Linares Designer

Documentation
Jonathon Fernyhough Editor of the User Guide 0.8.9-0.8.13, 15.09-15.12,
Community Management, Cover art of the User Guide

Sabras Wiki

Manuel Barrette Editor of the User Guide 16.08-16.10, 17.0

Alumni
Roland Singer Founder, Designer, Developer, Web Developer, Admin-
istrator

Carl Duff Community, Documentation and Wiki Management, Script-

ing and Configuration

Cumali Cinnamon and Gnome Community Editions Maintainer

6 manjaro linux

Dan S. Openbox Editions Maintainer

Handy Global Moderator, Wiki Contributor, Community Support

Joshua Strot Developer, Graphics Developer

Acknowledgements

The awesome community on forum.manjaro.org and #manjaro

 user guide 7

A note about Manjaro and Arch

Manjaro is based on another distribution called Arch Linux. As

such, it is also able to draw software packages from the community-
maintained Arch User Repository (AUR). However, please note that
Manjaro is not Arch, and any enquiries about the Manjaro operating
system should be directed towards the Manjaro forums and Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) channels alone. For example, although Ubuntu is
derived from Debian - and therefore shares some similarities with its
parent - there are still substantial differences between these operating
systems and how they work. Such is the case with Manjaro, which
is far from just being an easy to install or pre-configured Arch
operating system. Here are some of the key differences between the
Manjaro and Arch operating systems:

Manjaro is developed independently from Arch, and by a com-

pletely different team.

Manjaro is designed to be accessible to newcomers, while Arch is

aimed at experienced users.

Manjaro draws software from its own independent repositories.

These repositories also contain software packages not provided by
Arch.

Manjaro provides its own distribution-specific tools such as the

Manjaro Hardware Detection (MHWD) utility, and the Manjaro
Settings Manager (MSM).

Manjaro has numerous subtle differences in how it works when

compared to Arch.

To reiterate, although Manjaro is indeed an Arch-derivative, it is not

Arch!
Contents

Introduction 11

I Getting Manjaro 13

Downloading Manjaro 15

Checking a downloaded disc image for errors 19

Writing a disc image 23

II Installing Manjaro 29

Booting the Live environment 31

Some useful definitions 33

Assisted installation on a BIOS system 37

Manual installation on a BIOS system 49

Assisted installation on a UEFI system 61

10 manjaro linux

Manual installation on a UEFI system 73

Dual-booting with Microsoft Windows 10 87

Encrypting your partitions 95

III Welcome to Manjaro 99

The Manjaro desktop 101

Getting help 107

Maintaining your system 111

Index 133
Introduction

About Manjaro

Manjaro is a user-friendly GNU/Linux distribution based on the in-

dependently developed Arch Linux. Within the Linux community,
Arch itself is renowned for being an exceptionally fast, powerful,
and lightweight distribution that provides access to the very latest
cutting-edge software. However, Arch is also traditionally aimed at
more experienced or technically-minded users. As such, it is gener-
ally considered to be beyond the reach of many, especially those who
lack the technical expertise (or persistence) required to use it.
Developed by a worldwide team, Manjaro aims to provide all of
the benefits of Arch Linux combined with a focus on user-friendliness
and accessibility. Available in both 32- and 64-bit versions, Manjaro
is suitable for newcomers as well as experienced Linux users. For
newcomers, a user-friendly installer is provided, and the system it-
self is designed to work fullystraight out of the box with features
including:
Pre-installed desktop environments

Pre-installed graphical applications to easily install software and

update your system

Pre-installed codecs to play multimedia files

Pre-installed access to the latest games

Features

Manjaro shares many of the same features as Arch, including:

Speed, power, and efficiency

Access to the very latest cutting- and bleeding-edge software

A rolling release development model that provides the most up-

to-date system possible without the need to regularly install a new
operating system release
12 manjaro linux

Access to the Arch User Repositories

The versatility to be shaped and moulded in every respect to suit

personal taste and preference.

However, Manjaro boasts a few extra features of its own, including:

A simplified, user-friendly installation process

Automatic detection of your computers hardware (e.g. graphics

cards)

Automatic installation of the necessary software (e.g. graphics

drivers) for your system

Dedicated software repositories that deliver fully tested and stable

software packages

Support for the easy installation and use of multiple kernels

1: Welcome to Manjaro!
 Part I

Getting Manjaro
Downloading Manjaro

Manjaro editions

There are three official editions of Manjaro available for download,

as well as a number of unofficial community editions. They come To download Manjaro go to this
web address:https://manjaro.org/
complete with a pre-installed desktop environment and a selection
get-manjaro/
of popular software applications, and either of these would be a
great choice for anyone who wants to try out Manjaro on a Live-CD When you purchase retail software it
generally comes on a disc, whether
without having to install it first. If you have the time its worth taking
a CD or a DVD. A Live-CD has
each for a test run to see which you like best! a version of the operating system
that will run without needing to be
Xfce The Xfce desktop environment is designed to be lightweight installed. This is a feature of most
GNU/Linux and BSD-based operating
while retaining a familiar desktop interface. If youre not sure systems.
which edition to choose, this one is a good bet. Xfce edition disc
image files start with manjaro-xfce.

KDE This version includes the K Desktop Environment. It offers a

highly integrated environment with plenty of functionality and
options. It is also highly customizable and offers a slightly differ-
ent feel than the other editions. KDE edition disc image files start
with manjaro-kde.

GNOME This edition of Manjaro includes the GNOME desktop,

which is part of the GNU project. It offers an unconventional but
intuitive desktop aiming to help productivity. It comes with a very
complete and aesthetically coherent set of applications to fill the
most common needs. GNOME edition disc image files start with
manjaro-gnome.

Each edition of Manjaro is available as 32- and 64-bit versions. Disc

images available for 32-bit systems will end in i686.iso and images
for 64-bit systems will end in x86_64.iso. A 64-bit operating system
wont run on a 32-bit system, and although a 32-bit operating system
will run on a 64-bit system it wont be able to make full use of its
resources. Try to make sure that you download the appropriate disc
image for your system!
16 manjaro linux

Xfce edition

KDE edition GNOME edition

 user guide 17

Manjaro community editions

In addition to the three main Manjaro editions, there are a number

of editions that have certain software or desktop environments pre-
installed. This user manual assumes you are using the Xfce version,
and all screenshots will be from this. However, the installation pro-
cess and other software works in exactly the same way!
The edition names should give a clear indication of the desktop
environment (or window manager) they install. Unless you have a
strong preference, we suggest you stick with the Xfce version. You
can of course change later, or install other desktop environments too!
There are many community editions to choose from, includ-
ing: Cinnamon, Lxqt, i3, Deepin, Budgie, MATE, Enlightenment,
JWM and many others! The complete list is available at https:
//sourceforge.net/projects/manjarolinux-community/files/.

Downloading a disc image

Every release of Manjaro is available for download, whether the

current stable release, upcoming test builds, or previous versions for
historical interest. When you visit the download page you will find a
link to each of the three main editions in both 32- and 64-bit versions,
as well as a checksum file for each. A checksum can be used to check
the integrity of the disc image file you download to make sure it
hasnt been corrupted during the download. This will be covered in
the next chapter.

Stable releases of Manjaro are intended to be used by the general

public, so this will be the appropriate choice for the majority of
users. The current Manjaro release can always be downloaded
from the Get Manjaro page.1 1
https://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/
Other stable releases, starting from 16.06.1, can also be down-
loaded from the Stable Release section of the Sourceforge website.2 2
https://sourceforge.net/
projects/manjarolinux/files/
release/
Development releases of Manjaro give you a glimpse of what is to
come soon in the stable release. Do keep in mind that it is not as
solid as the stable release and should not be used on a production
machine. It is mainly intended for testing purposes. The latest de-
velopment release available can be downloaded from the Manjaro
Preview Releases page.3 3
https://manjaro.org/
manjaro-preview-releases/
Test builds of Manjaro are intended to be used by developers and
testers to identify any bugs or issues during the development pro-
cess. These are not suitable for use as a main operating system
by the general public. However, should you wish to try out a
18 manjaro linux

test build (preferably in a virtual machine), each current release

can be downloaded from the from the Test Build section of the
Sourceforge website.4 4
https://sourceforge.net/
projects/manjarodev/files/
testbuild/
Checking a downloaded disc image for errors

Before burning your downloaded disc image (or using it as a virtual

disc in VirtualBox5 ) we strongly recommend that you first check that 5
https://www.virtualbox.org/
it hasnt been corrupted. The potential result of not checking first,
especially if you want to install Manjaro as your main operating sys-
tem, should be obvious. In the best case, the installation will fail. In
the worst case a corrupted image will result in a corrupted installa-
tion.
To verify the integrity of the disc image you have to download
the appropriate checksum file. This will be available at the same
place where you downloaded the disc image file. For example, the
file manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1 contains the SHA-1
checksum hash for the Xfce disc image and will have content similar
to this:

360d69fe4fac31ee91fb1e7d7ad4c03321e1ebf1 manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso

SHA-1

SHA and others like MD5 are different types of hashing algorithms;
the sha part of the checksum file name stands for Secure Hash Al-
gorithm. These algorithms are used to generate a hash code unique
to the disc image file. The checksum file itself is just a text document
that contains hash codes that should match the code generated by
the MD5 or SHA algorithms. Copies of the file can be checked to
make sure they are exactly the same - if the file is changed in any
way, either intentionally or by corruption, the code generated will be
different.
Whilst MD5 is commonly used, SHA-1 and SHA-256 are newer
and more secure and are beginning to replace MD5. For the pur-
pose of checking the integrity of the downloaded file MD5 is good
enough but SHA-1 is a better solution. The checking process is the
same for both algorithms. For more about hashing algorithms Wiki-
pedia has lots of information.6 6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Secure_Hash_Algorithm
20 manjaro linux

If the code generated from the disc image matches that contained
in the checksum file, then the disc image file is fine. If the two codes
dont match then it means that the disc image file has changed in
some way, most likely due to being corrupted. You can think of it like
someone using a password to identify who they are: if they provide
the wrong password, then something is probably wrong.
From this point on well assume you are using the file manjaro-
xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1.

Checking in Linux

Automatic verification
The program sha1sum can automatically compare the checksum of
the disc image you downloaded against the value in the text file. The
process should be very straightforward!
For this example, I first open a terminal and change to the direct-
ory where I downloaded the disc image file and checksum file. I use
the command ls to check which files are present:

jonathon@box:~$ cd download
jonathon@box:~/download$ ls
manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1 manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso

As you can see I have downloaded the 64-bit Xfce edition. Next, I run
the sha1sum program to check against the value in the checksum file:

jonathon@box:~/download$ sha1sum -c manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1

The line below shows the result of the checks. In this case, it shows
that sha1sum has successfully verified the disc image I downloaded
against the checksum value in the file.

manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso: OK

If it failed, Id need to download the image again...

Manual verification
To manually check the integrity of your downloaded file, first open
the downloaded manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1 checksum
file using a text editor such as Gedit. Once the checksum file has
been opened, and the code is visible, open up your terminal and
change to the directory where your downloaded disc image is stored.
For example, if your disc image file is located in a directory named
download, you would first change to that directory:
 user guide 21

jonathon@box:~$ cd download

Then you can generate an SHA-1 hash code for the disc image using:

jonathon@box:~/download$ sha1sum manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso

This command generates a hash code for the 64-bit Manjaro Xfce disc
image which can then be manually compared to the code contained
in the checksum file.

Checking in Microsoft Windows

Unlike Linux, Microsoft Windows does not have any suitable built-in
tools so you will need to download and install a checksum utility
application. A web search will turn up several examples of free soft-
ware, or you can look on the Download.com website.7 Another free 7
http://download.cnet.com/
checksum utility which has positive reviews is Raymonds MD5
& SHA Checksum Utility.8 This is the program we will use in the 8
https://raylin.
wordpress.com/downloads/
following example.
md5-sha-1-checksum-utility/

1: Verifying the checksum in

Microsoft Windows using Ray-
monds MD5 & SHA Checksum
Utility.

Once you have downloaded the checksum utility, the checking

process is very straightforward. Simply Browse to the downloaded
disc image, select it, and click Open. The program will then calculate
the checksums for the disc image file. To verify if the checksum is To speed up the process its probably
a good idea to deselect the hashes you
correct, open the manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso.sha1 file in a
are not verifying.
text editor such as Notepad, copy the checksum for the disc image
file you have downloaded, and paste it into the Hash verification box.
Then click Verify. If there are no problems with the disc image file
the program will inform you that the hash matched.
Writing a disc image

A disc image is not a copy-and-paste duplication of files: its a bit-

for-bit copy of the raw data that makes up the files and folders of
that disc. This is why just copying a disc image file to a disc (or USB
flash drive) to begin installing wont work: youll need to use a disc
burning or image writing application to translate that raw data into
the files and folders. There is an exception to this rule. If you
intend on installing Manjaro in a virtual
Once converted, the files can be used to run Manjaro in Live-
machine environment using Oracles
CD mode without having to install it to your system, and/or install VirtualBox, then there will be no need
Manjaro on your system. Its important to note Manjaro will not have to burn the image as VirtualBox will
be able to read from the disc image file
full functionality when run in Live-CD mode. For example, you will directly as a virtual disc.
not be able to save any changes to the system.
Due to the amount of software included on the full edition disc
images you may need to use a DVD instead of a CD. Check the fol-
lowing table as a guide if youre not sure:

Edition Filename Size Media

KDE manjaro-kde-17.0-stable-i686.iso 2.0 GB DVD Table 1: Manjaro Edition disc
manjaro-kde-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso 2.1 GB image file sizes
Xfce manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-i686.iso 1.4 GB DVD
manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso 1.5 GB
Net manjaro-net-16.08-stable-i686.iso 630 MB CD
manjaro-net-16.08-stable-x86_64.iso 670 MB

Many people routinely use a DVD rather than a CD even for the
smallest disc image files. Not only is a DVD faster to burn but they
allow higher data access rates so the Live-CD loads faster and the
installation completes sooner.
However, with the increasing capacity and decreasing cost of USB
flash media this presents an even more attractive method than the If your system will boot from a USB
traditional burning process; it is far faster and more flexible than device, and you have one of sufficient
capacity that you can erase, we recom-
using optical media. Both CD/DVD burning and USB flash media mend the use of a USB flash drive over
installation methods are covered in this guide. traditional CD/DVD media.
24 manjaro linux

Burning to a CD/DVD in Linux

If not already installed, several different software burning applic-

ations should be available for installation from your distributions
Software Center / Software Manager / Package Manager / repos-
itories. Popular burners include XFBurn, K3b, and Brasero. Which Xfce environments tend to include
one you choose is entirely down to personal choice, though your XFBurn. KDE environments tend to
include K3b. GNOME environments
operating system will usually install one suitable for your desktop tend to include Brasero.
environment. To simplify things a little, the following steps for burn-
ing your downloaded Manjaro disc image use Brasero.

Burning using Brasero

1. Insert a blank CD/DVD. Its a good idea to use a rewriteable disc

(e.g. CD-RW or DVD-RW). Although
slightly more expensive individually
2. Start the Brasero software burner. than a write-once disc you can reuse the
disc again and again, for example when
the next version of Manjaro is released!
3. Click the Burn Image - Burn an existing CD/DVD image to disc
button to open the Image Burning Setup window.

4. Click the button beneath the title Select a disc image to write to
open up your file manager. Locate and double-click the down-
loaded disc image file to load it. Upon automatically returning to
the Image Burning Setup window, note that the disc image file is
now listed as the disc image to write.

5. The blank CD/DVD you inserted should be automatically lis-

ted underneath the title Select a disc to write to. If not, click the
button to select it manually.

6. Click the properties button to open the properties window, and

then click the button beneath the title Burning Speed. We strongly
recommend you select the slowest speed available. Once selected,
click the Close button. We strongly recommend you select the
slowest speed available when burning
to disc in order minimise the possibility
7. Click the Burn button to start the burning process. If necessary, of corruption during the burning
follow any on-screen instructions provided. process.
Its also a good idea to avoid using
any applications which make intensive
use of system resources while burning,
Burning to a CD/DVD in Microsoft Windows and in particular avoid heavy disc
access. If the burner software cant read
the disc image file quickly enough the
Newer versions of Microsoft Windows (Windows 7 and later) include burning process can be interrupted.
a disc image burner. If you do not have a newer version of Microsoft
Windows you will need to download one of the many free disc burn-
ing software utilities.
 user guide 25

Burning using Windows Disc Image Burner

Selecting the disc image file and clicking on Burn disc image will
start the Windows Disc Image Burner program. This makes the
process of burning to a disc very straightforward:

1. Insert a blank CD/DVD into your disc drive.

2. Start Windows Disc Image Burner.

3. Select your CD/DVD in the Disc burner menu.

4. Click Burn.

1: Windows Disc Image Burner

in Microsoft Windows 10

Burning using a third-party application

For versions of Microsoft Windows earlier than Windows 7 (e.g.
Windows XP) you may need to download and install third-party disc
burning software. There are many free examples available that will
be found by a web search, but here are some of the most popular:

Name Website Video tutorial

Imgburn http://imgburn.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihCQgmeGV4
CDBurnerXP https://cdburnerxp.se/en/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxYkFdwn1qI
InfraRecorder http://infrarecorder.org/

The burning process for each of these applications is similar, with Table 2: Third-party disc burn-
small differences in user interface. The websites listed above will ing software for Microsoft
Windows
26 manjaro linux

provide information about features and screenshots of the applica-

tions themselves. Of course, it might also be worthwhile to take the
time to read around and choose one for yourself!

Writing to a USB flash drive in Linux

To take advantage of the faster access times and much quieter nature
of a USB flash drive, there are a number of methods of writing the
disc image file. One of the easiest is to use SUSE Studio Image-
writer.
SUSE Studio Imagewriter should be available for installation from
your distributions Software Center / Software Manager / Pack-
age Manager / repositories. Once SUSE Studio Imagewriter has 2: SUSE Studio Imagewriter
been downloaded and installed, ensure that your USB flash drive https://en.opensuse.org/
is plugged in before starting the application. SDB:Live_USB_stick
The process of using SUSE Studio Imagewriter is very straightfor-
ward:

1. Click on the centre icon.

2. Navigate to where you downloaded the disc image file, and select
it.

3. Ensure that your USB flash drive has been selected from the drop-
down menu.

4. Click on the Write button.

5. Once it has finished, reboot your system, making sure to select the
USB flash drive as the boot device in the BIOS menu (or its UEFI
equivalent).

Using the CLI

If you dont want to install extra software, and you are comfortable
using the command line, theres an even easier way of writing a disc
image to a USB device.

1. Connect the USB flash drive to your PC, open a terminal and cd to
where you downloaded the disc image.

2. Check the device identifier with: sudo fdisk -l.

3. Write the image with:

sudo dd if=manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso of=/dev/(Device
identifier from above) bs=4M

My USB drive is at /dev/sdc so I would use:

 user guide 27

sudo dd if=manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdc

bs=4M

To view how the writing process progresses, use the option status=progress:
sudo dd if=manjaro-xfce-17.0-stable-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdc
bs=4M status=progress

4. Once completed reboot your system and boot from the USB drive
by selecting it as the boot device in the BIOS menu (or its UEFI
equivalent).

Writing to a USB flash drive in Microsoft Windows

For Windows users using USB media, Rufus9 is highly recommen- 9

https://rufus.akeo.ie/
ded. Rufus should use the following settings:

Device: "choose your USB" (Attention: choose correctly, the device

selected here will be formatted!)

Partition scheme: MBR partition scheme for BIOS or UEFI

File system: FAT32 (Default)

Cluster size: 4096 bytes (Default)

Volume label: MJRO1610

Format Options: Quick format. Create a bootable disk using ISO

Image (Click on the DVD icon to select your downloaded disc
image). Create extended label and icon files.

Click Start, and you are done (though it takes between around two
and five minutes to complete)!
3: Rufus with recommended
settings
 Part II

Installing Manjaro
Booting the Live environment

Booting the Live environment, whether from CD/DVD or USB flash

drive, will give you an overview of the Manjaro Linux environment
and let you test how well it will run on your machine. This is very
useful to check before committing to install a new operating system!
For best results you should be connected to the Internet. If you
have a wired Ethernet connection, and plug in before booting the
Live environment, Manjaro will automatically set up a connection.
If you have a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection you can set up the wireless
network once you have reached the Manjaro desktop.
The method of selecting the boot device varies considerably across
machines. You may need to hold one key, for example <Esc>, <Del>,
or <F10>, to select the boot device. Or, you may need to set the op-
tion in your BIOS. If youre not sure, your machines user guide will
have detail of the method you need, alternatively a web search will
also quickly turn up the answer.

The boot menu

When you boot from your installation media (CD/DVD or USB flash
drive) you should be presented with the Manjaro boot screen. This
screen provides several options to help get the best experience from
the Live environment.
It is possible at this stage to set your preferred language and key-
board layout before using Manjaro. This means that you will be able
to use and install Manjaro in your native language straight away.
1: Boot menu
Setting your language and keyboard layout

First, set your preferred language by pressing the<F2> key. The op-
tions available can be highlighted for selection by using the arrow
keys on your keyboard. In this instance, English (UK) has been high-
lighted for the user.
Once selected, press <Enter> to confirm and to be taken back to
the boot menu.

2: Language selection
32 manjaro linux

Selecting the language will also set a keyboard layout appropriate

to that language, for example it will select QWERTY for English and
AZERTY for French. If this doesnt match your layout, or perhaps
you have a US layout but speak German, press <F2> again, but this
time select Keyboard. Pick the language that matches your keyboard
layout, and press <Enter> to confirm and return to the boot menu.

Choosing the drivers

There are two main sets of drivers that can be used by Manjaro: Free
and non-Free. The differences are not minor, and your choice can
depend on your computer hardware. Some of the drivers are used for
display. The one associated with your graphics card will be selected
in both of these categories. If in doubt, choose Free drivers. If you
want to play games, choose non-Free
Free drivers are open-source, like Manjaro itself, written and updated drivers.

by a large community. For older hardware and that with Intel-

based integrated graphics, this is the best choice.

Non-Free drivers are closed-source, written and updated only by

the hardware manufacturers. This is generally the best choice for
newer hardware with AMD or Nvidia dedicated graphics. At the
time of writing, non-Free drivers are the best choice for Nvidia
graphics and AMD graphics newer than the 8000-series. For older
AMD and Nvidia hardware the Free drivers work very well. For
AMD graphics older than the HD5000-series Free drivers are the
best choice.

To start Manjaro with Free drivers, choose Start Manjaro Linux from
the boot menu.
To start Manjaro with non-Free drivers, choose Start (non-free
drivers) from the boot menu. 3: Start Manjaro Linux

Welcome to Manjaro

Once you select Start, Manjaro will boot up. You may see a lot of
scrolling text - dont worry, this shows the system is working! After
a little while, assuming your hardware is compatible, you will be
presented with a Live desktop environment and a nice friendly wel-
come screen.
The welcome screen gives some links to common tasks, document-
ation and the support channels. There are also links to the install-
ation programs. Dont worry if you close the welcome screen: you
can load it again, and all the links are also present elsewhere in the 4: Welcome to Manjaro!
menus.
Some useful definitions

If you sometimes feel like saying What do these words mean, is he just
making them up?, this chapter is for you. Installing a new operating
system may force you to face some concepts you have barely even
heard of before, such as partitions and file systems. This can be a bit
overwhelming at first, but do not despair, as this short chapter is
here to help you! Most of these terms will only be important if you
choose to manually install Manjaro. In the three different assisted
installation options, the installer will do almost all the work for you.
First of all, installing a new operating system will require you (or
the installer) to perform some disc management tasks in order to free
some space on your drive to be able to install it. You will most likely
encounter the following terms.

Partition A partition is a portion of a drive which stores data (files)

using a certain format named file system. It may be part of an
operating system installation, or simply be used for storing files. A
drive may be split into multiple partitions, each acting as its own
separate entity and using its own file system. All drives, be they
hard drives or flash drives such as USB keys, contain one or more
partitions. An example of a partition is the famous C: drive used
by Microsoft Windows.

File system A file system is a format used to write files in a partition.

Some popular file systems are ntfs (used by Microsoft Windows),
ext4 (used by Linux), fat32, btrfs and xfs. Each one is used in a
different context and has its own strengths and weaknesses. For
instance, fat32 can be read by about any operating system, but
each file stored must be smaller than 4 GB.

Partition table A partition table is a list of all the partitions existing

on a drive. The two main types are Master Boot Record (MBR)
and GUID Partition Table (GPT). Different partition tables allow
for different types of partitions on them, such as primary and ex-
tended. MBR partition tables are generally used on older BIOS
systems and can only contain a limited number of primary parti-
34 manjaro linux

tions, while GPT is generally used on newer UEFI systems and do

not have such a restriction. This is not always the case though.

Directory A directory is what is often called a folder on Windows.

You can treat them as one and the same.

Directory Tree The directories on Linux are arranged in the form

of a tree, originating from the / directory, called the root dir-
ectory. Each one has a specific use. For example, the /home
directory stores the users personal files, while the /etc direct-
ory stores system-wide configuration files. A complete descrip-
tion of the directory tree can be found on Wikipedia: https:
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard.

Mount point A mount point represents the directory from which a

partition is accessible. Just like clicking on the C: drive in your
file manager on Windows allows you to see the contents of this
partition, clicking on a directory where a partition is mounted will
allow you to view its contents.

Moreover, several programs are used when booting your computer,

from starting the hardware to logging in the operating system.

Live CD A Live CD is a version of an operating system that runs in

the computers memory, without needing to access the hard drive.
It is generally loaded from a CD, DVD or USB key that was used
at boot. Changes made to the Live environment are not saved.
Live CDs are often used to give a preview of an operating system
and include tools to install it. They can also be used to manage the
hard drives partitions and rescue lost data.

BIOS The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is a firmware used

when booting to initialize hardware. It offers various settings
in menus accessible when pressing a specific key during boot.
Systems using BIOS often have a MBR partition table. It can be
used to boot on a USB stick, start a Live environment and install
Manjaro.

UEFI The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is the suc-

cessor of the BIOS. It is often used on newer computers. It still has
BIOS-like menus and often has a legacy mode, which uses BIOS.
The partition scheme used by operating systems on a computer
using UEFI is slightly different from the one used on a BIOS sys-
tem. For instance, a small fat32 partition is needed to contain some
files used when booting. Systems using UEFI often have a GPT
partition table.
 user guide 35

Boot loader A boot loader is a program which enables you to choose

which operating system to boot when you turn on your computer.
At boot, a list of all detected operating systems on the computer is
displayed. One of the most widely used boot loaders is GRUB. It
is the one installed by Calamares, the installer used by Manjaro.

Feel free to come back to this short list if you ever need it! Some links
are scattered throughout the guide for quick access.
Assisted installation on a BIOS system

The graphical installer used by Manjaro is called Calamares. It offers

a choice of three different assisted installation options, which we
will cover here one by one. The manual installation is presented in
chapter Manual installation on a BIOS system.

Erase disk and let Calamares set up the partitions

The simplest installation method is to overwrite the entire hard drive

and let the installer suggest you a partition scheme for your new
operating system. This is a suitable method if you want to start from
scratch, since you will lose all data stored on your disk. If you want
to preserve your data, you can back it up on an external hard disk
before the installation and copy it back after. The other two assisted
installation methods also enable you to preserve your data.

Choose your language

1: This screen is the first one

you will see when starting the
installer. You can select your
language from the Language
menu. Also, if you differ from
the recommended settings,
such as not being connected
to the Internet or not being
plugged in, this is where you
will receive a warning.
38 manjaro linux

Choose your location

2: You can select your time

zone by either clicking on the
map close to your location or by
browsing the Region and Zone
menus.

3: When clicking on one of

the Change... buttons, a menu
will pop up, allowing you to
respectively choose the system
language and the format of the
numbers and dates. Choosing
the ones corresponding to your
language and country is best.
 user guide 39

Choose your keyboard layout

4: Next, you will be able to

choose your keyboard layout.
Choose your language in the
list to the left and then the de-
sired subcategory in the list
to the right. This will ensure
the characters you type are the
same on the screen as they are
on your keyboard.

5: You can also choose your

keyboard model from the Key-
board Model menu. The list
is very extensive, so yours will
likely be listed there!
40 manjaro linux

Select the partitioning method

6: It will then be time to de-

cide which method to use to
partition your hard drive. The
selected hard drive is displayed
at the top of the window. Left
of it is an indication stating
if it uses BIOS or UEFI. This
chapter covers systems using
BIOS. UEFI systems are covered
in chapter Assisted installation
on a UEFI system. The parti-
tion table type, MBR or GPT,
is indicated at the right of the
disk. The current state of your
The first option will install Manjaro alongside your existing op- drive is displayed at the bottom
erating system by shrinking a partition to make room for Manjaro. of the window. Several parti-
The second one will install Manjaro on an existing partition, erasing tioning options are available.
all data stored on it. The last one allows you to create, modify and This section will focus on the
delete partitions yourself so your system is exactly the way you want third option, which erases all
it to be. The latter option will be covered in chapter Manual install- data on your drive and auto-
ation on a BIOS system. For a refresher on partitions, see chapter matically creates a partition
Some useful definitions. scheme that will suit Manjaro.
 user guide 41

7: When selecting the option

Erase disk, the bottom of the
window will change to display
your current hard drive setup
and the one proposed by the in-
staller, which will be applied at
the very end of the installation
process, when accepting the
summary shown in subsection
Look back at your choices and
confirm.

You can also choose to encrypt your Manjaro partition. That way,
anyone trying to access to the data it contains will have to enter a
password of your choosing. The Boot loader location menu allows
you to choose whether or not to install a boot loader, and if so where
to install it. A boot loader is a program which enables you to choose
which operating system to boot when you turn on your computer.
If you are unsure what to do, we recommend keeping the default
choice.
42 manjaro linux

Set user information

8: Next, you will be asked

for your name, which will be
used by some programs to
greet you, a username to log in
the system, the name of your
computer as it will be seen by
others on the same network as
you, and a password. The pass-
word must be entered twice to
make sure there are no typos.
Finally, you can decide whether
or not you want to be asked
your password when logging
in and if you want to use the
same password for the admin-
istrator account. Recommended
settings are already selected.
Unless you really prefer it an-
other way, we suggest you leave
Look back at your choices and confirm it as is.

9: As the last step before the

installation takes place, you
will be presented with a short
summary of all the choices you
made in the other sections.
Make sure the partition scheme
is to your liking, as this is the
point of no return. Once you
click Next, you will no longer
be able to edit the partition
scheme and all data stored
on the partitions you chose to
overwrite will be lost. If you
changed your mind, you can
go Back a few times to choose
another setup. The information
stored in other filled fields will
be kept, so you will not need to
write it again. Once you are sat-
isfied with the summary, click
Next to start the installation.
 user guide 43

Installation...

10: You can now kick back and

let the installation proceed!
While the installation takes
place, a slideshow will present
you some key features of your
new operating system, Manjaro.
The installation should take but
a few minutes. The progress
bar will fill up slowly at first
but it will soon pick up speed.

... complete!

11: The installation is now

done! To restart your system
immediately and boot into your
new operating system, select
Restart now and then click
Quit. If you want to continue
exploring the live version of
Manjaro, click Quit without
selecting Restart now. When
restarting, if you changed the
boot order to boot on the live
media, you will need to put it
back as it was to boot on your
hard drive.
However, overwriting the whole hard drive may not always be
the desired installation method. More control can be achieved by
using the other options offered in the installer, which do not erase the
whole hard drive.
44 manjaro linux

Install alongside an existing operating system

Another available option is to shrink an existing partition to make

room on your disk and used the freed space to install Manjaro. This
is a suitable method if you want to dual-boot two operating systems
but do not want to go through the hassle of partitioning your disk
yourself. This part will be handled by the installer.

1: When selecting the option

to install Manjaro alongside
another operating system, the
bottom of the window will
display a bar representing the
current state of the hard drive
and another representing its
state after modifications, which
at first is identical.

2: When clicking on a partition

in the bar representing the cur-
rent state, the bottom bar will
change to show this partition
split in two.
 user guide 45

3: Click and drag the separa-

tion between the two parts to
change the amount of space
that will be freed to install
Manjaro. On this picture, Man-
jaro will be installed on the part
indicated in red. Please note
that you cannot shrink the ex-
isting partition to a size smaller
than the space needed to store
the data on it. This limits how
much the separation can be
moved to the left. However, you
must also free enough space to
be able to install Manjaro. This
limits how much the separation
can be moved to the right.

4: The rest of the process is

similar to the one presented
earlier in section Erase disk
and let Calamares set up the
partitions. You will once again
enter your user information and
get a summary of your choices.
Once you click Next, the install-
ation will begin. This is your
last chance to make changes.
46 manjaro linux

Replacing existing partition

Another option would be to select an existing partition and overwrite

it to install Manjaro. This could be useful if you are already dual-
booting two different operating systems and want to replace one
of the two instead of installing a third one. You may also wish to
prepare an empty partition yourself beforehand and select it during
the installation. This will be covered in section Using GParted to
create, delete and modify partitions.

1: When selecting the option

to install Manjaro on an ex-
isting partition, the bottom
of the window will display a
bar representing the current
state of the hard drive and an-
other representing its state after
modifications, which at first is
identical.

2: When clicking a partition in

the bar representing the cur-
rent state, the bottom bar will
change to show this partition
overwritten by Manjaro.
 user guide 47

3: The rest of the process is

similar to the one presented
earlier in section Erase disk
and let Calamares set up the
partitions. You will once again
enter your user information and
get a summary of your choices.
Once you click Next, the install-
ation will begin. This is your
last chance to make changes.
Manual installation on a BIOS system

The last option is the one that gives you the most control. You will
get the chance to adjust yourself the partition scheme of your hard
drive using the built-in partition manager and make it exactly the
way you want it.

Setting everything from within Calamares

1: Unlike in other scenarios,

selecting Manual partitioning
will not change the information
displayed at the bottom of the
window. Click Next to start
partitioning.
50 manjaro linux

Free some space

2: The next screen displays the

disk being edited and its state,
both in the form of a bar and
a list of partitions. Both rep-
resent the same thing, only in
a different form. You can use
whichever form you prefer! The
button New Partition Table
allows you to create a new par-
tition table, either of type MBR
or GPT. This will erase all data
and destroy all partitions on the
drive. You can also keep your
existing partition table and only
For a refresher on partitions and partition tables, see chapter Some edit the partitions on it.
useful definitions.

3: Clicking on a partition either

in the bar or in the list will
highlight it. The options to Edit
or Delete the partition will
become available.
 user guide 51

4: Clicking on Edit will bring

up another window indicating
information about the partition,
such as its size, what to do with
its content, its file system, its
mount point if you want to use
it for your Manjaro installation
and its flags. The portion of the
partition that has data on it is
located on the left side of the
bar and has a slight 3D effect.

5: Click and drag the edges

of the partition to resize it. It
cannot be made smaller than
the size required to store the
data on it. Clicking OK will
close the window and update
the diagram and the list of
partitions. Please note that no
actual modifications to your
hard drive will take place until
you accept the summary later
on.
52 manjaro linux

Create partitions

6: You can then select the space

freed and click on Create to
create a new partition using all
of the empty space, or just a
fraction of it.
 user guide 53

7: A new window will pop up

here as well with information
about the partition you wish
to create. Adjust its size as you
wish and choose a file system.
For Linux, ext4 is usually a
good choice. Then, choose a
mount point for the partition.
This represents under which
directory each partition will be
accessible. The only obligation
is that you must have a parti-
tion mounted under /, which
is the root directory of the
Linux directory tree, to which
all others connect directly or
indirectly. You can arrange
the rest to your liking. For a
refresher on file systems, see
chapter Some useful defini-
tions.

8: Here I chose to create a sep-

arate partition for the /home
directory, which is used to
store user files such as mu-
sic, pictures and videos. Once
everything is done, take a mo-
ment to verify if the setup is to
your liking. All partitions that
have a mount point specified
will be used during the in-
stallation of Manjaro. You can
abandon all changes by clicking
the Revert All Changes at the
top right of the window. The
Install boot loader on menu
at the bottom of the window
allows you to choose whether
or not to install a boot loader,
and if so where to install it. Not
installing one is useful if you
already have one installed and
you wish to keep using it.
54 manjaro linux

In this case a swap partition was already created. This partition

will be used if you ever run out of RAM to complete operations. If
you want or have to create a new one, create a partition as was done
for the other ones and choose linuxswap as the file system. You do
not have to select a mount point for it.

Look back and confirm

9: The rest of the process is

similar to the one presented
earlier in section Erase disk
and let Calamares set up the
partitions. You will once again
enter your user information and
get a summary of your choices.
Once you click Next, the install-
ation will begin. This is your
last chance to make changes.
 user guide 55

Using GParted to create, delete and modify partitions

GParted is a graphical program used to modify partitions on drives.

It is very powerful and yet has a very user-friendly interface. GParted
allows you to create and delete partitions, as well as change their
attributes, such as their size, their location on the disk and their file
system. It can also create partition tables of type MBR and GPT. For a
refresher on partitions and partition tables, see chapter Some useful
definitions.
In this section, we will demonstrate how to reduce the size of an
existing partition and use the freed space to create two new parti-
tions, which will be used to install Manjaro later on!

1: First things first, lets fire it

up! You can find GParted in
the menu of the live version of
Manjaro. It can also be found in
the repositories of most Linux
distributions.
56 manjaro linux

2: After authenticating, a win-

dow similar to the one presen-
ted on the picture will appear.
A bar shows a diagrammatic
representation of your drive,
which is indicated on the
button at the top-right of the
window. If you have multiple
drives, you can select another
by clicking on this button. Each
partition is represented by a
rectangle in the bar. The col-
oured part shows the portion
that contains data. All parti-
tions are also presented in the
form of a list with information
about them.

3: Clicking on either a partition

in the list or the rectangle in the
bar representing it will select it
and offer options as to what to
do with it.
 user guide 57

Shrink an existing partition

4: In the top panel are several

buttons each representing a
different action. The first one is
disabled for now as it creates a
partition from empty space, the
second deletes the selected par-
tition and the third one allows
to resize the selected partition.
This is the one we are interested
in.

5: Clicking it will bring up

another window showing the
partition up close at the top as
well as the size of the partition.
To reduce the size of the parti-
tion, click and drag the edges
of the rectangle. Alternatively,
you can write how much space
you want to free on each side
of the partition in the fields be-
low. Once some space has been
freed, you can also drag the
partition around to position it
in the space it used to fill. Click
the Resize/Move button once
you are done. Before resizing a
partition, it is strongly sugges-
ted to back the data stored on
it.
58 manjaro linux

Create new partitions

6: Once some space has been

freed on the drive, you can use
it to create a new partition!
Select it and click on the first
button in the top bar.

7: In the window that pops up,

you will get the chance to set
the size of the new partition
you will create. By default, it
takes all of the available free
space, but you can change
that in the same manner as
when resizing the partition
earlier. You can also, among
other options, choose the file
system used by the partition.
For Linux partitions, ext4 usu-
If your new partition does not take all of the available space, you ally works fine, though other
can repeat this step to create other partitions. choices such as xfs and btrfs
are also available. You can also
give a label to your partition,
which will make it easier for
you to identify it. Clicking the
+ Add button will close the
window. For a refresher on
file systems, see chapter Some
useful definitions.
 user guide 59

Apply changes

8: After all of this work, still

no actual changes have been
made to your drive. Instead,
your modifications have been
recorded into a list, visible at
the bottom of the window. To
apply the changes, click the
checkmark button at the top of
the window. This is your last
chance to make changes. Once
you click the checkmark but-
ton, the modifications will be
applied to the drive.

9: A new window will pop up

indicating the operations being
worked on...
60 manjaro linux

10: ... and at the end if the

modifications were applied
successfully!

11: Congratulations, you have

now successfully created new
partitions which you will be
able to use to install Manjaro!
This is especially useful when
partitioning manually or when
replacing an existing partition
(Replacing existing partition ).
Assisted installation on a UEFI system

UEFI is the commonly agreed on name for both the EFI & UEFI stand-
ards which merged. It does not include the old EFI v1, or Apples own
non-standard version of EFI.

Some newer hardware do not use the well-known BIOS to manage

boot options. Instead, a new one named UEFI (Unified Extensible
Firmware Interface) is used. It still has BIOS-like menus and often
has a legacy mode, which uses BIOS. UEFI often goes hand in hand
with the infamous Secure Boot option that makes it more difficult
to boot operating systems outside of a select few. If your computer
came with Microsoft Windows 8 or later installed, your computer
uses UEFI and probably has Secure Boot enabled by default. How-
ever, the Linux community reacted to this and developed means to
install and boot Linux on those systems as well. Some installers, such
as Calamares, can even automate the process so it makes virtually no
difference to the user whether their machine uses UEFI or BIOS.

Booting in UEFI mode

The most important step is to ensure that your machine does not
have Secure Boot enabled. Only a very limited number of operat-
ing systems will boot with this enabled. You must disable Secure
Boot in your BIOS before proceeding; if you dont know how to do
this please refer to your computers user manual, as it differs for all
computers.
Once you have booted the system from the Live CD/USB you will
be presented with the Manjaro boot selection screen. It has two main
options for the drivers it will use (either Free or non-Free). The main
difference compared to the case with a BIOS system is the lack of any
option for language or keyboard layout. This is actually not that big
of a problem, since these can be set up in the live environment and
in the Calamares installer, which will make them permanent on the
installed system.
62 manjaro linux

1: In UEFI mode the Manjaro

boot selection screen looks
quite different. However, the
two main installation options
are still there.

Change the keyboard layout

 user guide 63

2: The keyboard layout can be

changed in the Calamares in-
staller. However, you can also
change it in the Xfce settings.
They can be found through the
applications menu.

3: In the window that opens,

choose the Keyboard settings.
64 manjaro linux

4: Once there, go to the Layout

tab, select the English (US)
language and click on Edit.

5: Find your language in the

list, select it and click OK. Once
this is done, you can close the
window. The layout of your
keyboard has been changed!
 user guide 65

Change the language of the Live environment

Some more steps are required if you want the Live environment to
be in another language than English on a UEFI system. The keyboard
layout can be set in the Calamares installer as shown earlier. Please
note that these steps are not required for Manjaro to be installed
in another language. They are only useful if you want the Live
environment, before installing Manjaro, to be in another language.

6: In order for the Live environ-

ment to be displayed in another
language, this language will
need to be added in the Man-
jaro Settings Manager. It can
be found in the applications
menu.
66 manjaro linux

7: Once the Manjaro Settings

Manager is launched, click on
Locale Settings.

8: A list of installed languages

will then be displayed. If the
one you want is not listed, click
the Add button.
 user guide 67

9: Then, select the desired lan-

guage in the list on the left, and
if necessary the appropriate
subcategory in the menu on the
right. The Locale menu allows
you the choose the encoding.
Once you are satisfied, click
Add.

10: The added language will

then be in the list. Right-click
on it and choose Set as default
display language and format.
68 manjaro linux

11: Finally, Apply these

changes. You will be prompted
for an administrator password.
On the Live CD, the password
is manjaro. You can now
close the window.

12: However, the newly made

changes will only take effect in
the next desktop session. To log
out, click the icon at the bottom
right of the screen.
 user guide 69

13: Select Log Out in the win-

dow that pops up.

14: You will then be presented

with the Live CD login screen.
Click on en_US.utf8 at the
bottom right of the screen and
select the language you want to
use. You can then log in. The
desktop will now be in the new
language! On the Live CD, the
username and password are
both manjaro.
70 manjaro linux

Differences in the partition setup

The key difference in the way the partitions are arranged compared
to the case with BIOS is that a small partition of a few hundred MB
must be created to house some of the files used when booting the
system. This partition must use the fat32 file system. Luckily, in all
assisted installation options, Calamares handles the creation of this
partition if it does not already exist and writes the necessary files to
it. If the partition already exists, it is detected and used to write the
files.

15: Once the Calamares in-

staller is executed, the first
noticeable difference compared
to the case with a BIOS is at the
top of the screen, where EFI is
specified instead. In this case, a
GPT partition table is also used
instead of the MBR partition
table more commonly found on
BIOS systems. The bottom of
the screen displays the current
partition scheme, with the sda1
partition storing the files used
when booting. No matter which
method you choose to install
Manjaro, you wont be asked
whether you want to install the
GRUB boot loader or not. It
will be installed automatically.
 user guide 71

Assisted installation

The installation using the three assisted installation options does not
change much from the case with a BIOS. Calamares takes care of the
differences for you. For specific instructions about dual-booting with
Windows, see chapter Dual-booting with Microsoft Windows 10.

Erase disk

1: The Erase disk option sug-

gests a EFI partition at the
beginning, a root partition for
Manjaro and a swap partition at
the end.

Install alongside

2: When selecting the Install

alongside option and click-
ing on the partition to shrink,
the suggested partition setup
will mention if an existing EFI
partition was detected.
72 manjaro linux

Replace a partition

3: When selecting the Replace a

partition option and clicking on
the partition to overwrite, the
suggested partition setup will
also mention if an existing EFI
partition was detected.
Manual installation on a UEFI system

The manual installation option is the one that changes the most if
you are using a UEFI system. The following steps will walk you
through the process of creating a partition scheme suitable for your
system in three different scenarios. The first one (Creating partitions
from scratch) will show you how to create your partition scheme
from within Calamares without using existing partitions. The second
one (Using GParted to create partitions beforehand) will show
you how to create the partitions with GParted. Finally, the third one
(Using an already existing EFI partition ) will show you how to use
previously created partitions during the installation, including a EFI
partition used by another operating system. These partitions can
have been previously created with GParted.

Creating partitions from scratch

This scenario will assume that you do not wish to use a single exist-
ing partition. We will thus start with a completely empty hard drive.
This will also be the case if you are using a brand new drive or are
using a virtual machine.

Create a partition table

74 manjaro linux

1: Once you select the Manual

partitioning option and click
on Next, the first thing to make
sure is that the partition table
is of type GPT. To create a new
partition table, click on the
New Partition Table button
and select GUID Partition
Table (GPT). For a refresher
on partitions and partition
tables, see chapter Some useful
definitions.

Create the EFI partition

2: Then, select the empty space

and click on Create to make a
new partition. The first one we
will create will be the EFI par-
tition, which will house some
files used when booting.
 user guide 75

3: In the window that appears,

select a size of a few hundred
MB. Here I chose 500 MB. Then,
select fat32 as the file system.
For a refresher on file systems,
see chapter Some useful defini-
tions.

4: Next, choose /boot/efi as the

mount point. The contents of
the partition will be accessible
from this directory once Man-
jaro is installed. Be careful not
to accidentally choose /boot!
76 manjaro linux

5: Finally, select the boot and

esp flags from the list. Once
this is done, click the OK but-
ton.

Create the swap partition

 user guide 77

6: The next partition we will

create is the swap. This par-
tition will be used if you ever
run out of RAM to complete
operations. The suggested size
for this partition is a few GB.
Here I chose 4 GB. Choose
linuxswap as the file system.

7: You can also click and drag

the partition to move it else-
where in the unallocated space.
78 manjaro linux

Create other partitions

8: Next are the partitions used

by Manjaro itself. There are a
variety of possible scenarios.
Here I chose the simplest case
where I only created a single
partition mounted under the
/ directory. Another scenario
with the /home directory being
housed on another partition is
presented in chapter Manual
installation on a BIOS system.

Look back and confirm

9: You can then proceed as

usual up to the summary,
which is the last step before
the changes are applied to your
drive.
 user guide 79

Using GParted to create partitions beforehand

The creation of the partition table and partitions shown above can
also be handled by GParted. The following steps will guide you
through the process.

Create a partition table

1: To create a new partition

table, select Device > Create
Partition Table... .

2: In the window that pops up

you can then choose the type
of partition table to be created.
For a UEFI system, a GPT par-
tition table is recommended.
For a refresher on partitions
and partition tables, see chapter
Some useful definitions.
80 manjaro linux

Create the EFI partition

3: Once this is done, select the

unallocated space and click on
the first button at the top-left
of the window to create a new
partition. The first one we will
create is the EFI partition.

4: Like in the case where Cala-

mares was used to create the
partitions, it is recommended
to choose a size of a few hun-
dred MB. You may notice that
GParted uses a different unit
for the size of the partitions,
namely MiB. MiB are not the
same as MB, but close enough
for what we want to do. It is
necessary to use the fat32 file
system. You can also set a label
to make the partition easier to
recognize. For a refresher on
file systems, see chapter Some
useful definitions.
 user guide 81

Create the swap partition

5: Next, select the rest of the

empty space and create a new
partition. This one will be the
swap. This partition will be
used if you ever run out of
RAM to complete operations.
It is recommended to choose a
size of a few GB. It is necessary
to use the linux-swap file sys-
tem. You can click and drag the
partition to move it elsewhere
in the unallocated space.

Create other partitions

6: Finally, create the partitions

that will be used by Manjaro.
Here I chose to make a single
one that will later be mounted
under the / directory. I chose
the ext4 file system, although
others such as xfs and btrfs are
available.

Apply changes
82 manjaro linux

7: It is finally time to apply the

changes! Make sure everything
is to your liking and then click
the checkmark button.

Set the flags for the EFI partition

8: A bit more work is required

once the operations have been
successfully completed. A few
flags then need to be set so the
EFI partition behaves correctly.
Right-click on the partition you
intend to use as the EFI parti-
tion and select Manage Flags
from the drop-down menu.
 user guide 83

9: In the window that appears,

select boot and esp. Close the
window once this is done.

10: Thats it! Your partitions are

all set up! It is now time to put
them to use in the installer.
84 manjaro linux

Using an already existing EFI partition

You may want to consider this scenario is you prepared partitions

beforehand with a tool like GParted or if you are dual-booting with
another operating system. In the later case, you will probably want
to use the same EFI partition for Manjaro and the other operating
system.

1: Once in the Manual parti-

tioning option and click Next,
select the partition you want as
the EFI partition and click on
the Edit button.

2: In the window that appears,

choose to mount the partition
under /boot/efi. You also have
the option to either keep the
contents of the partition or
format it. Keeping them is
especially important when
dual-booting with another op-
erating system. That way, the
Calamares installer will write
the files necessary for booting
Manjaro alongside those of the
other operating system. Also,
make sure the boot and esp
flags are checked.
 user guide 85

3: Next, select the other par-

titions you want to use and
choose their respective mount
points. If you want to dual-
boot, you may want to shrink
an existing partition and cre-
ate partitions for Manjaro as
illustrated in chapter Manual
installation on a BIOS system.

4: Once everything is set up,

you can proceed up to the sum-
mary. As always, this is the
very last step where you can
go back to make changes. Once
you click the Next button, the
modifications will be applied
to your drive and the actual
installation will begin.
Dual-booting with Microsoft Windows 10

The screenshots in chapter Assisted installation on a UEFI system

used Linux Mint as the already installed operating system. However,
the partition scheme used by Windows is a bit different from the one
typically used by Linux. This section focuses on the differences in the
installation steps between the two cases.

Download the installation media

First, make sure you have downloaded a 64-bit version of Manjaro. It

doesnt matter which edition you choose, but the filename must end
with x86_64.iso.
Next, create the Live media by burning the disc image to a DVD
or writing to a USB flash drive. The process is very similar to a non-
UEFI installation. For Windows users using USB media, Rufus10 is 10
http://rufus.akeo.ie/
highly recommended. Rufus should use the following settings:

Device: "choose your USB" (Attention: choose correctly, the device

selected here will be formatted!)

Partition scheme: GPT partition scheme for UEFI

File system: FAT32 (Default)

Cluster size: 4096 bytes (Default)

Volume label: MJRO1610

Format Options: Quick format. Create a bootable disk using ISO

Image (Click on the DVD icon to select your downloaded disc
image). Create extended label and icon files.

Click Start, and you are done! (though it takes between around two
and five minutes to complete). 1: Rufus with recommended
Once you are done, restart your computer and boot on the USB settings
key as was explained earlier in chapter Assisted installation on a
UEFI system.
88 manjaro linux

Assisted installation

The assisted installation options do a good job of setting everything

up. If you do not wish to bother yourself creating everything manu-
ally, you can rely on Calamares to do the dirty work for you!

2: Using the assisted installa-

tion option to install Manjaro
alongside Windows, select the
partition used as the C: drive
by Windows. It should be the
biggest one. Then, move the
slider as explained in section
Install alongside an existing
operating system to increase
or decrease the size of the par-
tition that will be created for
Manjaro. The Windows EFI par-
tition is detected automatically.
For a refresher on partitions
and partition tables, see chapter
Some useful definitions.
Manual installation

This can also be done in the manual partitioning option. The steps
below are very similar to the ones presented in other sections such as
Manual installation on a BIOS system and Creating partitions from
scratch.

Choose the EFI partition

 user guide 89

3: The EFI partition created and

used by Windows can also be
used by Manjaro. Select the EFI
partition that was created by
Windows and Edit it. It should
be the only one using the fat32
file system. For a refresher on
file systems, see chapter Some
useful definitions.

4: Choose to Keep the content

of the partition. This will make
sure that the files used by Win-
dows are not deleted. If you
choose to format it, you will not
be able to boot into Windows
anymore, so keeping its con-
tent is very important. Then,
select /boot/efi as the mount
point and make sure the boot
and esp flags are checked. The
mount point indicates from
which directory the partition
will be accessible once Manjaro
is installed.
90 manjaro linux

Shrink the C: drive partition

5: Like in the previous section,

but this time using the manual
partitioning option, select the
partition used as the C: drive
by Windows and Edit it. As
previously stated, it should be
the biggest one.

6: Then, use the slider at the

top of the window that pops
up to reduce its size. The left
part of the bar with a slight 3D
effect represents the portion of
the partition that contains data.
You cannot shrink the partition
below this threshold.
 user guide 91

Create a swap partition

7: Next, select the freed space

and click on Create.
92 manjaro linux

8: We will now create a swap

partition, which is used if your
computer runs out of RAM. It
is generally a few GB large and
uses the linuxswap file system.
You do not need to mount it.

Create the other partitions

9: Now you can create some

new partitions for Manjaro!
Here I chose the simplest par-
tition scheme, as I created a
single partition mounted as /
and with the ext4 file system.
No matter the partition scheme
you choose, there must be one
partition mounted under /. The
rest is up to you.
 user guide 93

Look back and confirm

10: You can then continue

through the rest of the installer
up until the summary. As al-
ways, this is your very last
chance to review the changes
you are about to make. If you
are satisfied with them, you can
click Next and proceed with the
installation!

Update the GRUB boot loader, or Where did Windows go?

Sometimes the boot loader GRUB2 does not detect an existing Mi-
crosoft Windows installation when installing. This means that only
Manjaro Linux will appear in the list of installed operating systems
when you boot the machine.
To solve this problem, run the command:

sudo update-grub

in a terminal after booting into Manjaro and it will detect Windows

and add an entry to the boot menu.
Encrypting your partitions

In order to prevent others from accessing the data stored on your

drive, you may want to encrypt your partitions. LUKS (Linux Unified
Key Setup) is a tool developped to that end. Luckily, the Calamares
installer has built-in support for LUKS, which makes encrypting your
system a breeze! To access the data stored on the drive, a passphrase
of your choosing will have to be given. Anyone who does not know it
will be unable to access the data. The process of encrypting your sys-
tem is very similar on both BIOS and UEFI systems. A BIOS system
is used below as an example.

Assisted installation

11: In all assisted installation

options (Install alongside, Replace
a partition and Erase disk), a
checkbox above the two status
bars enables you to automatic-
ally encrypt your system during
the installation. Tick it to enable
encryption.
96 manjaro linux

12: You will then be asked for

the passphrase you want to use.
You will be prompted for this
passphrase every time you boot
your computer, before reach-
ing the GRUB menu. Be sure
to choose something you will
remember!

13: The rest of the installation

is the same as in all the other
cases. The summary at the end
confirms that your new installa-
tion will use LUKS encryption!

14: When booting, a prompt

will appear asking for your
passphrase. Characters wont
show up when typed, so dont
be surprised! If the correct
passphrase is entered, you
will be redirected to the GRUB
menu. Otherwise, you will
be unable to access your sys-
tem. You are given a single try
every time you boot up your
computer.
 user guide 97

Manual installation

15: In the manual installation

option, encryption can be set
up when creating a partition.
A checkbox will offer it to you,
just below the File System menu.

16: When ticking the box, you

will be asked to enter a pass-
phrase. You will be prompted
for it everytime you boot up
your computer, much like in the
assisted installation options.
 Part III

Welcome to Manjaro
The Manjaro desktop

Congratulations on installing Manjaro Linux!

Once you have logged in you will be presented with the Manjaro
desktop. The Manjaro Hello welcome screen will load automatically
and this gives you some useful links to documentation, ways to get
help and support from the Manjaro community, and some ways you
can get involved with the project. Remember that Manjaro is free
and open-source software: it relies on contributions from its user and
developer community!

1: The Manjaro Xfce Desktop

with Manjaro Hello.

If you dont want the welcome screen to load each time you log in,
just set the Launch at start option off at the bottom right of the win-
dow. Dont worry: you can always find it again in the applications
menu.
The applications menu is the easiest way of starting the software
programs that are installed on your Manjaro system. The icon for this
102 manjaro linux

is at the bottom left corner of the screen. Go ahead and click on it

now! You can also press the Windows or
Super key on your keyboard. Handy!

2: Software applications that

are installed will be displayed
in the applications menu.

You can see that the five main software applications have an item
in the Favourites menu. This allows rapid access to software you
most often use. To add or remove an item from the Favourites menu,
just right-click on it and select the option you want.
For now, lets look in turn at these five applications to give an idea
of what awaits you!

3: Add to Favourites

4: Remove from Favourites

 user guide 103

Terminal Emulator

5: Terminal Emulator, or
terminal, allows you to per-
form text-based commands.
Although it initially seems
unfriendly it is incredibly
powerful and allows access to
commands that are difficult to
accomplish with a graphical in-
terface. In this example, I have
listed (ls) the files in my home
directory.
Learning how to use the
terminal is not needed
for running Manjaro. Its
highly recommended, how-
ever; check out sites like
http://linuxcommand.org/
File Manager !

6: File Manager is a graphical

interface for managing your
documents and directories.
Most file managers work in
a similar way; if youve used
another, you can use this one!
104 manjaro linux

Web Browser

7: Web Browser allows you

to visit and view web pages
so you can read news stories,
check the weather forecast, and
all the rest. If you have a par-
ticular preference for a browser
that is not installed by default,
you can easily add another one
as shown in section Installing
new software.

Mail Reader

8: Mail Reader allows you to

read and send email. You will
have to add your email account
when you first run the applic-
ation (in a similar way to all
mail readers) but once that is
set up you should be good to
go! As with the web browser,
there are a range of choices for
mail reader. For example, if
you prefer Claws, Sylpheed or
Evolution you can install it!
 user guide 105

Add/Remove Software

9: The Package Manager allows

you to search for, install, and
remove software applications.
In this example I have searched
for the Chromium web browser,
and am about to install it. Once
Im happy with my selections I
can click on Apply to continue.
There are two main software
managers in Manjaro : Pamac
(installed with the Xfce edition)
and Octopi (installed with the
KDE edition). Installation of
new software is covered in de-
tails in section Installing new
software.
Getting help

There are a variety of ways of getting help and support about Man-
jaro, as well as finding out more about the project. You can just
browse, or register if you want to get involved!
Remember that Manjaro is run by its community. Without a com-
munity there would be no Manjaro!

Whichever method you use, we look forward to meeting you!

1: The Manjaro Hello screen

has links to some excellent re-
sources. Its well worth taking
the time to have a look at each
of them.
108 manjaro linux

Discussion forum

https://forum.manjaro.org/

2: The Manjaro discussion

forum is a great place to find
out more about the project. You
can connect at any time, leave
questions or replies, and come
back to them later.
 user guide 109

IRC channels

https://manjaro.org/irc-channel/

3: Join #manjaro on
irc.freenode.net, whether via
a web or desktop client, and
youll find a very nice bunch of
people ready to chat! To talk on
the IRC channel you will have
to connect first. Hexchat, which
enables you to do so, comes
installed in the Xfce edition.

German, French and Russian IRC channels are also available,

respectively at #manjaro-de, #manjaro-fr and #manjaro-ru.
110 manjaro linux

Mailing list

https://lists.manjaro.org/listinfo/manjaro-general

4: If you prefer to use email

there are several mailing lists
that you can use to stay up-
to-date with announcements
and development, as well as
ask questions. At the moment,
though, most people use either
the forums or IRC. Maybe it
will be you who gets people
using the mailing lists!

Wiki

https://wiki.manjaro.org/

5: The wiki is essentially an on-

line user manual. It has a huge
range of information, hints,
tips, and instructions on getting
the most out of your Manjaro
system. If you need to know
how to do something, chances
are its on the wiki!
Maintaining your system

Changing settings

While the Manjaro desktop comes with a set of defaults that should
work well for most people, you might want to change things like the
desktop wallpaper and colour scheme, or perhaps how your laptop
touchpad behaves.

Xfce settings manager

1: The Xfce desktop is highly

customizable. The settings for
your user account can be ac-
cessed both via the applications
menu and the Xfce settings
manager. Either way, theres
a lot of tweaking you can do!
Dont worry: the changes will
only affect your user account,
not any others you might have
added.
112 manjaro linux

Manjaro Settings Manager

2: The Manjaro Settings Man-

ager provides a set of tools for
changing lower-level settings,
such as those you set dur-
ing installation. System-wide
languages, keyboard layouts,
users, and hardware drivers are
all taken care of from here. It is
available under Settings in the
applications menu.
 user guide 113

Adding a printer

Manjaro comes with excellent printing support. Most printers are

detected automatically, and many others can be configured very
easily!
Depending on which edition you are using, you may have to in-
stall printing support. In that case, install the manjaro-printer
package from Pamac or Octopi (see next section), or from the com-
mand line:
sudo pacman -S manjaro-printer

1: To check on the available

printers, once the package has
been installed, find and open
Print Settings in the applica-
tions menu.
114 manjaro linux

2: Adding a printer to the list

requires administrator rights.
Click on the Unlock button at
the top-right of the window.
You will be prompted for the
administrator password.

3: Then, click Add to begin

configuring a printer.
 user guide 115

4: All detected printers will

show in the devices list. Se-
lect your printer, then click
Forward.
If your printer does not show
up its possible that your
printer isnt compatible with
Manjaro. Due to the vast num-
ber of printers out there you
may need to install drivers
manually - please visit the
forum or IRC channel for help!

5: Manjaro will then search for

drivers that may be compatible
with your printer.
116 manjaro linux

6: If no specific driver is found,

do not despair! You will be
given the opportunity to select
one from a list. If your printers
manufacturer is not listed, you
can choose the Generic driver.
This is the one I chose here.
You also have the option to
choose a driver from a file or
search once again based on
your printer model. Once you
have made your choice, click
Forward.

7: You will then have the choice

to choose from a driver subcat-
egory to refine your choice.
 user guide 117

8: As Manjaro installs your

printer you can change some
settings like its name and loc-
ation. These provide an easy
way of identifying the printer.

9: You will then be asked if

you want to print a test page
before being redirected to the
properties of your printer. The
configuration is done! You can
click the OK button to close the
window.
118 manjaro linux

10: Your printer should now

show in Printer Settings, where
you can view the print queue
and change the printer settings.
To change the settings, you will
once again need to click the
Unlock button at the top-right
of the window. Happy printing!

Updating software

After logging in you may notice a couple of pop-ups informing you

of software updates. This is great! It means your internet connec-
tion is working correctly, and that there is new software ready and
waiting for you!

Pamac

1: Pamacs Update Manager is

available from the system tray
at the bottom right corner of
the screen. In this screenshot it
has an icon with an exclamation
mark, indicating there are soft-
ware updates. An update check
is performed automatically; all
you have to do is click Apply
and enter your password when
prompted and any updates will
proceed automatically!
 user guide 119

Octopi
Octopi is an alternative software manager for Manjaro. It is installed
with the Openbox and KDE editions as it is based on the Qt toolset.
It also has a very funky icon!

2: Octopis update notifier is

available from the system tray
at the bottom right corner of
the screen. In this screenshot
it has a red icon, indicating
there are software updates.
An update check is performed
automatically; all you have to
do is click Yes and any updates
will proceed automatically!

3: Alternatively, you can load

Octopis full interface. The
number at the bottom shows
how many updates there are.
To show what is available, click
on the button with the red icon
and the number of updates. To
install the updates, click on the
arrow next to the button and
then click on Install.
120 manjaro linux

Installing new software

Theres a huge amount of software freely available in the Manjaro

repositories.11 If you are connected to the internet you can download 11
Be careful before enabling the AUR. It
is a community-maintained repository
and install as many of this as you want at no cost! No advertising is
of software so presents potential risks
embedded, no data gathering performed - you get just the software and problems. Make sure you are
application, unlike with some other operating systems. familiar with the build process.

Pamac

1: Pamac is a piece of software

that allows you to install soft-
ware on your computer. You
can find it under the name
Add/Remove Software in the
application menu.

2: Pamac allows easy access to

the available software. All soft-
ware applications in the reposit-
ories are free; no need to worry
about purchase or licensing
costs. To obtain more informa-
tion on a package, right-click on
it and select Details. This will
give you a description of the
package, a link to the official
website of the package, a list of
dependencies and much more.
 user guide 121

3: Once youve found the pack-

age you want to install, right-
click and select Install, then
click on the Apply button that
will appear at the bottom of the
window to confirm.

4: The packages to be installed

are listed so you can check if
this is what you want to do. If
additional packages are needed
by the one or those you want to
install, they will also be listed
here. They are called depend-
encies. When you are happy
with the selection, click Com-
mit and the software will be
downloaded and installed.
122 manjaro linux

5: To stop other users from

removing important software
from the system you will have
to provide an administrator
password. If you kept the de-
fault settings when creating a
user during the installation,
your own password will work.
If you dont know it, you cant
go any further. There are meth-
ods to reset this password if
needed; visit the forum or
IRC channel to find out more.
Enter your password and click
Authenticate.

6: The software packages will

be downloaded and installed.
You dont have to do anything
else!
 user guide 123

7: The new software will show

as installed within Pamac and
is available in the application
menu ready for you to use. You
can close Pamac now if you
want.

Octopi
The process of installing new software using Octopi is very similar to
the one using Pamac.

8: Octopi allows easy access

to the available software. Do
note that the search process
is slightly different to Pamac
as you can select whether to
search by package name or
package description. Once
youve found the package you
want to install, right-click and
select Install.
124 manjaro linux

9: Some software will have

other packages it can optionally
use if they are installed. These
optional dependencies can be
selected here or ignored - you
can always install them later if
you want to!

10: A summary of the transac-

tions is displayed at the bottom
of the window. Once you are
ready to apply them, click on
the checkmark at the top-left of
the window to Commit them.
 user guide 125

11: The packages to be installed

are listed so you can check if
this is what you want to do.
When you are happy with the
selection, click Yes, type in the
root (administrator) password
when prompted and the soft-
ware will be downloaded and
installed.

12: Octopi will show a con-

firmation that it installed the
new software. You can close
Octopi now if you want. The
new software is now ready to
use!
126 manjaro linux

Using Pacman

Pacman is the Arch Linux package manager. This underpins Pamac

and Octopi but doesnt have a graphical interface. Instead, it is used
by typing commands on the terminal. The commands allow you to
install, upgrade, configure, and remove software.

Synchronising with the Manjaro repositories

As new packages are added to the repositories you will need to reg-
ularly synchronise the package lists. This is normally taken care of
automatically on a regular basis by the software managers, but to
perform this manually type the following into the terminal:
sudo pacman -Sy

This will only download the package lists if there has been a change.
Occasionally you may want to force the package lists to be down-
loaded. To do this, type:
sudo pacman -Syy

Updating software
Pacman will allow you to perform an update of software already
installed with the command:
sudo pacman -Su

Its a good idea to check whether the package lists are up-to-date at
the same time. To do so, type:
sudo pacman -Syu

You can also force a package list synchronisation before performing

an update with:

sudo pacman -Syyu

Searching for software

1: sudo pacman -Syyu
Finding a package by name is really straightforward. For example, to
search for a text editor called Leafpad, type:
sudo pacman -Ss leafpad

Installing software
Installing a package is equally straightforward. For example, to in-
stall Leafpad, type: Many software applications depend on
other software packages. Thankfully,
sudo pacman -S leafpad Pacman will automatically detect and
install these!
 user guide 127

Removing software
To remove a software package you need to know its name, but the
command is straightforward. To remove Leafpad, type:
sudo pacman -R leafpad

Its also possible to remove a package and any dependencies it re-

quired when it was installed. Assuming those other packages are not
being used by another piece of software, they will become orphan
packages. These serve no function other than taking up space! To
remove a software package with its dependencies, type:
sudo pacman -Rs leafpad

A package may also create configuration files. Normally these are

left in place so your configuration is not lost, and can be reused if
you install the package again. However, if you want to remove these
configuration files too, the command is:
sudo pacman -Rns leafpad

If at a later date you want to remove all orphan packages and con-
figuration files for packages that you removed some time ago, the
following command will do it:
sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

Be warned, though: this is an advanced command!

Other Pacman commands

Its a good idea to become familiar with the Pacman commands. It
can be a very useful tool in case the other software managers refuse
to complete an installation, for example if an installation process is
interrupted. The Pacman manpage is very informational and can be man is short for manual
viewed with the command:
man pacman

To exit, press q.

Updating the mirror list

Manjaro Linux packages are hosted on a number of servers across the

world; these servers mirror the official Manjaro software repository.
When you first install Manjaro it will try to work out which server
is closest to you so that software downloads complete as quickly as
possible.
Sometimes, though, the list of mirrors can get old. New mirrors
can become available, and some mirrors are removed. Updates to
128 manjaro linux

Manjaro will regularly trigger an update of the mirror list, but some-
times its useful to do this manually.
To update the mirror list use the following command:

sudo pacman-mirrors -g

This will test the speed of all currently available mirrors and set your 2: sudo pacman-mirrors -g
machine to use the best for you. Once this command has completed,
you should force a download of the package lists with the command:

sudo pacman -Syyu

Choosing mirrors

If you would like more control over which mirrors to use, run the
command:

sudo pacman-mirrors -i

3: sudo pacman-mirrors -i

This will allow you to select which mirror, or mirrors, to try when
checking for software updates and downloading new packages. Its
normally best to choose mirrors that are geographically close to you,
so if youre in Canada then servers from Canada and the US are
generally a good bet. Of course, youre free to choose whichever you
want!
To reset back to an automatic choice, run this command:

sudo pacman-mirrors -g -c all

Remember to force a download of the package lists to use the new

mirrors!

Updating mirrors from Pamac

Mirrors can also be refreshed from within Pamac. There you can
select the country from which to choose the mirrors. Choosing your
country or one close to yours is generally a good idea.
 user guide 129

4: From Pamac, click the pan-

cake menu at the top right of
the window and select Prefer-
ences. You will be prompted
for your password.

5: In the window that pops up,

go to the Official Repositories
tab. There, you will be able
to choose the location of the
mirrors and refresh them.
130 manjaro linux

Switching branches
When you install Manjaro, unless you specifically installed a preview
version, you will be using the stable branch. This set of packages has
the most testing and so is the best for most users. However, you may
want to help test packages before they move to the stable repository.
To do this, you can switch to the testing branch with the command:

sudo pacman-mirrors -g -b testing

The testing repository has packages that have been checked by the
Manjaro development team to make sure they work correctly. How-
ever, the amount of testing done is much smaller than for the stable
branch - but this is how they get tested!
If you want to live on the bleeding edge, you can switch to the
unstable branch. This is normally used by the Manjaro developers.
Packages from the unstable branch can cause problems, so this is not
something to do lightly. If you ever decide to try it out, the command
is:

sudo pacman-mirrors -g -b unstable

After switching branches you will need to force an update of the

package lists and packages, which can be done with the command:

sudo pacman -Syyu

If you switch away from the stable branch, but want to move back,
its actually pretty easy. You can switch back to the stable branch in
the same way you left it, with the command:

sudo pacman-mirrors -g -b stable

This will leave the newer packages on your system and these will be
replaced as the stable branch catches up. However, if you want to
force a downgrade of packages back to the stable version, use:

sudo pacman -Syyuu

Fixing installation errors

Occasionally, an installation can go wrong. The downloaded file

might be corrupted, or the process might be interrupted if you lose
power. Most of the time its relatively easy to get your system back to
a working state!
The most common error you will be something like:

:: Synchronising package databases...

error: failed to update core (unable to lock database)
error: failed to update extra (unable to lock database)
 user guide 131

error: failed to update community (unable to lock database)

error: failed to update multilib (unable to lock database)
error: failed to synchronise any databases
error: failed to init transaction (unable to lock database)
error: could not lock database: File exists
if youre sure a package manager is not already running,
you can remove /var/lib/pacman/db.lck

This means Pacman thinks it is already running. If it is, and you try
to force an installation or removal of software, the package database
can be left in an inconsistent state. This would be bad. So, the first
thing to check is whether an installer is running. One of the easiest
ways to check is to run a terminal command:
ps x | grep pacman

This might look complicated, but its just two small commands joined
(piped) together. First,
ps x

produces a list of running processes for all users. Second,

grep pacman

searches for the text pacman. The pipe, |, takes the output from
the first and feeds it to the second. To check whether another pro-
gram is running you can just change the text pacman to something
else:
ps x | grep pamac
ps x | grep octopi

Once you are sure an installer is not running, you can delete Pac-
mans lock file with the command:
sudo rm /var/lib/pacman/db.lck

Then try running the install process again!

If a problem persists, there is a series of commands that will fix
most issues:
sudo rm -f /var/lib/pacman/db.lck
sudo pacman-mirrors -g
sudo pacman -Syyuu
sudo pacman -Suu

In order, these commands:

Remove Pacmans lock file;

Update the mirror list;

Forces an update of the package lists and an update of any pack-

ages to bring them in line with the current repository state;

Ensures no packages are left out of line with the current repository
state.
132 manjaro linux

More information

Remember - there is plenty of information on the wiki https://

wiki.manjaro.org/ and discussion forum https://forum.manjaro.
org/. Do not hesitate to use them!
Index

Add/Remove Software, 105 Forum, 108 Pacman, 126

Adding a printer, 113 Pacman-mirrors, 128
Assisted installation, 37, 61 Help, 107 Pamac, 118
Partition, 33
BIOS, 33, 37, 49 Installing new software, 120 Partition table, 33
Boot loader, 33 Introduction, 11 Printer, 113
Branches, 130 IRC, 109
Burning to a CD/DVD, 24 Settings, 111
Licence, documentation, 4
Switching branches, 130
Live environment, 31
Desktop, 101
Downloading, 15
Mail Reader, 104 Terminal Emulator, 103
Mailing list, 110
Editions, 15 Maintaining your system, 111
errors, Checking for, 19 UEFI, 33, 61, 73
Manjaro Development Team, The, 5
Updating software, 118
Manual installation, 49, 73
USB flash drive, 26
Favourites, 102 Microsoft Windows 10, 87
Features, 11 Mirror, 127
File Manager, 103 Mount point, 33 Web Browser, 104
File system, 33 Wiki, 110
Fixing installation errors, 130 Octopi, 119 Writing a disc image, 23