How to Install CachyOS Linux

CachyOS: Arch-Based Linux Distro Targeting Performance 

How to create a CachyOS USB:

Equipment Preparation List

  • A working computer (can be laptop or desktop, Windows, MacOS, Linux, or even Raspberry Pi¸ with some workarounds) with no restrictions
  • A USB with a minimum of 8GB storage capacity (note that the USB will be wiped during the process, so it is recommended to move your important files to another disk)
  • An internet connection 
  • The target computer (can be the same one as point 1 if you are planning of switching the operating system) 
Note that your system will need the following specs in order for CachyOS to run: 
    • 3GB of RAM - 8GB is recommended
    • 30GB of storage (Solid State Drive or Hard Disk Drive) - 50GB is recommended
  1. For Windows/MacOS, go to https://etcher.balena.io/ and click "Download Etcher".
  2. The page will automatically scroll down, and you will be presented with several options. Click "download" beside the option that you represents your operating system.
  3. Open the .dmg file that has been downloaded, and Balena Etcher should be installed after a few straight-forward steps.
  4.  Open https://cachyos.org/ in your web browser and click the big, blue "Download" button.
  5.  You will be redirected onto a sub-page, where you simply have to select "Download Desktop Edition", and then easily click "Direct".
  6.  A .iso file will be downloaded onto your disk, and all you have to do is open Balena Etcher, which you previously installed, press "Select image" and select the .iso file (in my case it is called cachyos-desktop-linux-260124.iso, but it will be different for you if you are reading this post a few months after it was published).
  7. Plug in your USB drive into your working system and when it detects it, click "Select drive" in the Balena Etcher user interface. Choose your plugged in USB, and then press "Flash!" at the right of "Select Drive".
  8. Balena Etcher will begin "writing" the CachyOS ISO onto your USB drive, reformatting and wiping it in the process.
  9. When the process is complete, safely eject and unplug the USB drive from your system and plug it into the target computer's USB port. Open the BIOS of that computer, which is usually accessed by restarting and continuously spam pressing the Del/Backspace key (for some computers it will be F5 or F12).
  10. Inside the BIOS, select your USB drive from the options and choose it as your boot option.
  11. Restart your computer and you should enter your very own CachyOS install! While the setup isn't fully complete yet, you can still explore the system and the internet. CachyOS isn't fully installed yet, and if you restart the computer you will be back at BIOS (I learnt it the hard way).
  12.  Select the install CachyOS option in the "CachyOS Hello" program that greeted you. Once there, choose which type of desktop environment and which packages you want. If you want customisation freedom, choose KDE Plasma, and if you want the simplest desktop as possible, choose GNOME.
  13.  You will be guided through options regarding your keyboard bindings and languages. Once you are pleased, select the install button to finish your installation. 

I hope that you will enjoy your new Linux desktop! Check out my other posts for more guides. To start customising your desktop environment, go to this page and follow the highlighted text. 

On this website, I upload weekly blogs about my experience using the unique Linux operating system. Feel free to check it out every once in a while, it's free and fun!

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