Step 4 - Setting up the base system

Now that we have downloaded our stage 3 archive and extracted it plus configured the compile options, we are now ready to actually start installing our system.

Copying DNS info and entering the new system

First of all, we will copy the DNS info to our new system:

Now, we "chroot" into the system:

Now we will add a note to our prompt to remind us that we are in chroot:

Preparing Portage

Once this done, we are going to install a Gentoo ebuild repository snapshot from the Internet:

Now you can read Portage's news items. First, list them:

Then you read them (note: you can add the new's number from the list to read just a specific new item):

Selecting the right profile

It is now time to select the correct profile you want for your installation. List the profiles:

Then select the profile you want, let's say we want option 8:

Creating the CPU Flags' file

Most architectures, when using Gentoo, require a special file listing all of the CPU flags. We will use a tool to create this file. First install the tool:

Running the tool using cpuid2cpuflags should output your CPU flags. Now let's create the required file:

Creating the Video Cards' file

Gentoo also requires another special file which specifies which GPU(s) you have in your system. Create, using nano, the /etc/portage/package.use/00video_cards file. Here is what the content of the file should look like:

Here is a table showing what you should put as GPU driver names.

Note: If you have, for example, an Intel iGPU in addition to your NVIDIA dGPU, put both the NVIDIA and Intel driver names.

Updating the @world set (optional but recommended)

We are now going to run a full update of our newly installed system. This step is optional but I highly recommend doing it: it has to be done at some point or another anyways, and it will give us the latest packages matching the profile we selected. Run the following command, which should take a while to complete:

Here is a screenshot of the initial @world update in action:

Once this is done, we will remove the obsolete and unnecessary packages:

Timezone

Now we are ready to set the timezone. Browse /usr/share/zoneinfo to find your timezone and create a symlink to set it (for example, here, US Eastern is chosen):

If your PC does not have Windows, it is recommended to set the system clock to UTC with the following command:

Configuring locales

Now is time to set up the locales for the system. First of all, uncomment the locale(s) you want in the /etc/locale.gen file using nano and save. Then generate the locales:

Now we will select the locale we want using eselect. List the available locales:

Then choose the locale to use, in this example locale 4:

Now reload your environment:

We are now ready to proceed with the next step.