After our Artemis Neo 22.8 release that only addressed the Grub issue for the offline installer, we are proud to present, Artemis Nova, a release that next to the regular upstream refreshes also ships with some additional changes under the hood.
The improvements and system refresh described in this announcement are for the benefit of the ISO live environment and the installation process, so existing EndeavourOS users don’t have to reinstall since we are a rolling distro. We do have some additional info for running installations in this announcement, so make sure you keep yourselves updated on this.
But before I go on with the release announcement I want to give a big shout-out to the forum and Reddit moderators, the entire Telegram admin group and our entire community on all of our official and unofficial channels for helping each other during the recent Grub issue. You all put your shoulders together and did an incredible job. Thank you so much for this stellar achievement, we love you for giving EndeavourOS that extra special touch.
Artemis Nova 22.9
This release is still operating under the major Artemis release flag, so it doesn’t ship with major new features, those are still in progress by the development team for our upcoming major release, Cassini.
The refresh package versions are:
- Calamares 3.2.61
- Firefox 104.0.2-1
- Linux kernel 5.19.7.arch1-1
- Mesa 22.1.7-1
- Xorg-Server 21.1.4-1
- nvidia-dkms 515.65.01-2
- Grub 2:2.06.r322.gd9b4638c5-4
Community editions improvement
- ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols changed to ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols-2048-em due to upstream package changes.
EndeavourOS repo moving
Historically, the endeavouros repo has been below the Arch repos on the list of repos in /etc/pacman.conf. This presents a couple of challenges:
- When we have to create custom versions of packages, we then make our tools depend on the custom versions as is the case with
eos-yad. This creates dependency challenges as has been seen in the past. - If we need to temporarily override something from the Arch repos, we can’t. For example, if we could have temporarily held back grub until we figured out what was going on, we could have greatly lowered the impact of that issue.
We want to be clear, we are just moving our existing small repo to the top and it does not mean we are planning to grow the size of our repo or start overriding critical packages with custom versions. This is consistent with what many other Arch-based distros are doing.
This does create an interesting challenge for us, the nature of the change requires that we will need to modify existing installs. Generally, modifying existing installs is something we don’t do. However, in this case, having a portion of our installs with the repo in different spots will create breakages which we also don’t want. As a result, very soon, we will be pushing out an update which will move the repo to existing installs. We strongly recommend letting this script run. However, if you don’t want your installation to be modified, you can opt-out by adding # EOS do not modify to your /etc/pacman.conf. The script will look for that before making changes.
Grub
As part of the recent challenges with Grub, it has come to light that running grub-install is required when updating grub. Unfortunately, this is difficult for a distro like EndeavourOS to safely automate. This is because EndeavourOS is a distro where we view our installation as a starting point from which we encourage our users to customize it to meet their individual needs. As a result, we have no control over the configuration of the bootloader on existing systems.
We have been considering what to do about that going forward. For Nova, we have decided to take a conservative approach. As a result, we are now shipping a mostly vanilla Grub experience by taking the following actions:
- Removing
grub-tools(This will also be removed from the repos shortly after this release). os-proberis no longer enabled for new installations (It is still installed by default).- The custom grub theme has been replaced with a background image.
- Installation doesn’t use a random number for the
bootloader-idanymore.
What this means for new installations
- If you want grub to automatically detect other OSes, you will need to enable os-prober by setting
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=falsein/etc/default/grub. - When you install or remove kernels, the Grub menu will no longer be updated. You will need to run
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg. Alternatively, you can installgrub-hookfrom AUR if you are comfortable with automating this on your own install. - When Grub is updated, you will need to run
grub-install. There is a message that will inform you of this as part of the update process. - Other grub-tools functions, such as fixing the results of os-prober for other Arch-based installs, have been removed.
- Also, the grub entries will now look “EndeavourOS Linux, with Linux linux”. It might appear like that is a bug but that is how it ships from upstream. The Linux, with Linux part is basically hardcoded in
/etc/grub.d/10_linuxand the final linux is the name of the kernel.
What this means for existing installs
- We are not modifying any configuration on existing installs related to Grub.
- You will start seeing messages about
grub-toolsbeing missing if you update with an AUR helper. - We recommend that you remove
grub-toolsbut ultimately the decision is left to the individual.
I want to thank the entire dev team for this release and for your hard work. Even though Nova is an interim release, the obstacles you endured in creating this one were challenging at the least. In-between server migrations and offering the community help you were able to bring these significant changes in a very short time frame. This is a paramount achievement considering how small our team is. You genuinely can be proud of what you have achieved because you went far and beyond the definition of what an enthusiasm-driven distro is…
EOS is the best distribution I have ever used! Thank you.
Thank you!
It is a great distribution, but it lacks out of the box pamac as if Antergos had it. That’s why I use Manjaro and non Endeavour.
Samba, gvfs and Google Accounts still doesn’t work OTB.
You have to install and configure it yourself. Just explore this very same website about what this distro is about.
I’m typing this from a “Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016)” tablet, so please bear with me. (It’ll also be impossible for me to “scroll up” to look for the technical-lingo I am asking-about, while I type this (I’m typing this utilizing the on-screen–keyboard of the tablet)).
First of all,
A short introduction about how I used Linux (beginning with my Introduction to the GNU+Linux operating-system as my daily-driver):
———————————
I have a Asus P43E-XH31. It came with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.
One day, [unfortunately], it refused to boot into Windows.
I don’t know-why.
It was working like-a-dream the day before.
I press F8 upon boot (because the instruction-manual says to press F8 to go to the [preinstalled/preconfigured] Recovery partition).
Nothing happens.
I manage to create a LiveUSB of a Linux distribution, on a friend’s laptop, and in that laptop, I go to the Help chatroom for that distro to try to get help installing Linux in a empty unused “D”-partition that came in my laptop straight from the factory.
I get assistance installing the-Linux-distro in there.
After I do all the steps counseled by the Linux-distro helpers, I restart my computer and what-do-you-know?: The “G.R.U.B.”-Bootloader immediately-detects my Windows-7 “C” partition, the Recovery partition, and the partition where I installed the-Linux-distro. The “G.R.U.B.”-Bootloader even allows me to select [and go to] the Recovery partition if I want to.
Linux basically saved my computer and made it usable again.
P.S. I have since been-able to go to Windows again, without any problems, and if Windows doesn’t boot-up, I just go to Linux (which *ALWAYS* boots-up-on-me without any problems), and I access through-The-File-Manager the Windows-partition and get my files that I need (pictures, videos, music-files, Word documents, etcetera), and continue to work [/do my job] from Linux.
———————————
I have heard that that “OS-Prober”-thing is very important (and that it, among other things, is what was responsible for detecting if my laptop’s hard-drive already-had a operating-system in it).
I’d like to know, with this and future-versions of EndeavourOS (my CURRENT daily-driver), what I have to do to make-sure that “OS Prober” thing works the way its supposed to. I would also like-to-know how to activate it but thus-far the search-results in Google, Duckduckgo, Startpage dot com, etc, haven’t been much help. 🙁 .
Also: I have been updating EndeavourOS utilizing the “Update Operating-System” in the “Welcome”-window that opens-up on a fresh install of EndeavourOS (I haven’t utilized the “make this stop automatically-appearing”-option yet, and I’m not going-to).
The occasions that there is an update I just try-to-follow as-best-I-can what the instructions-given-in-the-Terminal are, but the “Diff to show?” doesn’t say much and/or is-not “self-explanatory”, and Linux is-supposed-to-be “case sensitive” but when the-Terminal asks “Y/n ?” there is no-indication what would happen if you were to put-in “y” instead-of “Y”;
and likewise, the-Terminal doesn’t tell you “what would happen if?” you press “enter” on the keyboard without-typing-anything-first when the Terminal asks-you “Diff to show?” and/or “Y/n ?”, or why some of the options given after the-question “Diff to show?” are in Dark-Green and the other options are in White
(sometimes, after analyzing the possible options, it looked-like the options in one colour were the “default options” and the OTHER options were the “NOT–Default options”, but i don’t really-know for sure.
and this is coming from a guy who, despite being computer-savvy and all,
attempting to do spring-cleaning on his computer, (this was back in 1997), moved all the contents of his “C”-drive (files, folders, etcetera) from the “C” drive to the “Desktop”, thinkimg that it would be fine (because as far as i knew, the “Desktop” was still-part of the “C”-drive), and after doing that, it made the computer really-really-slow, so i rebooted the computer, thinking that would fix the problem (ie. the slowness), and what ended-up happening is that the computer didn’t even boot-up into the operating-system O_O !),
etcetera.
I’d like-to-know where-and/or-how to update Grub (the Grand Unified Bootloader (I took the “Introduction to Linux”-course that the-Linux-Foundation mentioned; it helped SOME but not alot [in terms of all these technical–instructions that i’m now seeing)), now that the EndeavourOS release-notes are-saying that Grub will-not be updated–by-default anymore.
I would-also like-to-know what-exactly does “Grub tools” *do*, and, why is it necessary (IF there is ANY reason *why* it is necessary; perhaps by knowing what “Grub tools” is, i can find-out if it is necessary and/or NOT necessary).
I would-also like-to-know how-exactly to “set GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false in /etc/default/grub” (as written in the instructions “If you want grub to automatically detect other OSes, you will need to enable os-prober by setting GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false in /etc/default/grub”).
It sounds like i need to modify a text-file or something, but i’m not-exactly sure.
(and, like i said before,
from prior experience,
i rather not-mess with stuff that i don’t know. because the consequences could be DISASTROUS. (as very-clearly-seen before)).
i honestly have no-idea (in this particular case, at-least) what you mean-by “custom Grub theme”. Grub’s always looked fine to me. It showed the option to select “EndeavourOS LTS kernel”, “EndeavourOS LTS kernel” with something-else i don’t recall right-now what it was, “EndeavourOS” regular kernel, “EndeavourOS” regular-kernel with something-else i don’t recall right-now what it was, Windows 7, Windows 7 recovery environment, and the “hidden” recovery-partition that came preinstalled by Asus from the factory
(my laptop came with a “hidden” 25-gigabyte “Recovery” partition, a 200-gigabyte “OS”-labeled “C”-partition, and a 225-gigabyte “DATA”-labeled *EMPTY* “D”-partition, straight–out-of-the-box, from the factory).
Many–thanks-so-much for helping me out with all these issues and questions 🙂
i have been enjoying EndeavourOS IMMENSELY ever-since i started using-it in its “Atlantis”-version, and my intent has been that in the next 3 computers i get (Thinkpad T470p. Thinkpad X230. Thinkpad T420) to replace its “preinstalled “Windows 10 for Refurbished computers” “-OEM-installation with EndeavourOS (and likewise [do the same thing] with a T470S and a X140E & X130E, if i ever get those), and likewise with any new laptop i get, and also when i build my tower computer (i’m planning on using EndeavourOS as my “daily driver”; it’ll have Windows 98, Windows XP, and Windows 7, *each* in its own separate hard-drive, for old computer-games i have that work in only those respective operating-systems).
Once-again many-thanks for helping-me-out with the previously-mentioned questions 🙂 .
And also: Continued-Kudos to all of you for making such an AWESOME operating-system 🙂
Reading-back my post after I read it & posted it,
I should probably also-mention something-else:
I was told by the helpers of the first distro I used to use Gparted to delete the empty “D”-partition that was labeled “DATA”, and in its place create a empty “Extended”-partition with all of the newly-created available space, and inside that “Extended”-partition create:
● a 30-gigabyte partition in the “EXT4”-file-system for the “system” install,
● a 8-gigabyte partition in the “linux-swap” file-system for the “swap”,
and a ● “EXT4”-file-system with the REST-of-the-space, for the “Home” / “Home” partition / “Home” folder.
I have been doing it that way since, on any Linux distro that I install in my computer that I want to “daily drive” with another operating-system on
(except that right-now I am using a 100-gigabyte “EXT4”-file-system partition for the “System” install,
after out-of-the-blue, in my PREVIOUS Linux-distro (Debian-based by the way; and came Preinstalled with the program called “Timeshift”), i started getting alerts that “you are running-out of disk-space”, despite the fact that in the Timeshift setup wizard, i set the backups to be “RSYNC” and “WEEKLY” and-only “1 time per week” AND “save only the most-recent 3 backups/timeshifts/restore-points/whatever-they’re-called” (so i have *NO*-IDEA why it** was telling me i was running-out of disk-space).
**(whatever it was that was telling me i was running-out of disk-space; the operating-system or the Timeshift-program itself. i dunno. i’d just get a pop-up notification saying i was running-out of disk-space)
I just did an update and when running grub-install I get an error saying “install device isn’t specific”, what am I supposed to do from here?