Installation of GNU/Linux on the new system

9 June 2022

Spoiler: I ended up installing and using Arch Linux again

So, after some months away from home, I had the possibility to install GNU Guix system on the new machine. Since I was using the openSUSE live USB with persistence as daily driver on the new PC and I had everything already configured there, I decided to install GNU Guix (the package manager) in openSUSE, and then install GNU Guix System (the distro) using the package manager. As I discovered later, this wasn’t a good idea since the USB pen drive space (16 GB) filled during the installation process and it was impossible to complete the installation. After this first try, I used the Nonguix installation media and everything went fine. However, using the system a bit, I didn’t like it very much. Installation of packages is slow and often requires a lot of dependencies. For example, I installed GParted in a Gnome environment and it required libraries with different versions with respect to those already installed. Furthermore, desktop services (I used Gnome) contain too much software that I don’t need.

For the moment, I’m using Arch Linux that I installed in a second partition. I installed the base system and KDE Plasma and now I’m installing other applications when I need them. Everything simple and fast, KISS. I’m sure Guix is a good system and has its use cases, but currently I don’t think I’m gonna use it. It’s still installed on my computer, however, so, maybe in the future I’ll give it another try.