Hi KaOS Forum,

my name is Nick and I am a long time Arch Linux user.

I came to try KaOS, because I love Plasma 5 and Arch Linux and always use Btrfs for Snapshots and Rollback and you have a extra section „Install KaOS on SSD using Btrfs“ on your website.

The problem I found with your default installation is, that it just won‘t boot, if you use EFI + Btrfs.

I am writting this to show you how to solve this and I think some of your developers should have a look at this:

If you use EFI + Btrfs, the system will fail to boot, because the boot loader you are using is systemd-boot and it will NOT AUTODETECT YOUR SUBVOLUME for root.

Please take a look at the Arch Linux systemd-boot Wiki, you have to manually configure „rootflags=subvol=@“ in the configuration file.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Systemd-boot

You could switch to Grub2 which can autodetect Btrfs subvolumes or just don‘t use a subvolume for your root filesystem.

I made a video, which makes it easy to reproduce the problem and shows the solution:

https://youtu.be/33-sT6TGyoM

There are two related discussions on this forum:

https://forum.kaosx.us/d/1834-error-root-device-mounted-successfully-but-sbin-init-does-not-exist/7

https://forum.kaosx.us/d/1788-cannot-boot-in-fresh-install-on-a-btrfs-partition/6

Kind regards, Nick

Just to be clear, if you are looking for Arch, KaOS is not your choice, it is not Arch based.
https://kaosx.us/about/based/

The problem I found with your default installation is, that it just won‘t boot, if you use EFI + Btrfs.

Btrfs is not used as default, only possible to use in advanced, manual install.

I am sorry, please delete this discussion, because it seems I can't.

Farewell KaOS.

Don't edit your post, please just delete this!!!

It just seems to me a person who wanted to help, I did not understand the hostility, this would still confirm perhaps the cause of my problems in the past with installation in btrfs

    @bequimão#10870

    I was surprised, because I usually know that @demm is always helpful and kind, so I did not understand

    No hostility intended or as far as I can see posted, just making sure it is understood KaOS is not Arch. Far too many are confused about what KaOS is, install it thinking it is an easy way to get Arch, then being disappointed it is not. Same for using the manual option to install, there are no defaults for manual, user can do all kinds. And as pointed out, to use Btrfs, some understanding how to use it will be needed. But that is the same for using EFI manual, or GPT on BIOS. All those will fail if not doing some steps correctly.

    This thread will not be deleted since it does contain some valuable info for anyone wanting to learn options to install with Btrfs.

    I'm a bit confused why so many think KaOS is Arch based?! On the very first page it says "KaOS is an independent distribution". So why the confusion?!

      zynex Probably because some people just download the ISO, see it's a rolling distro and certain similar things like pacman and don't, or refuse, to read what KaOS is about. They just don't think or look further, so they miss the point that a package or application that's included doesn't make a distro being based on another one. So they asume it's Arch.

      • demm replied to this.

          He did only refer to the Arch Wiki. Where is the problem?

          In fact, for how I understand it, he simply said, after he presented himself, that he is an Arch user who loves kDE so he wanted to try Kaos (ok, he is independent and different but certainly more like Arch of a Debian based : D),
          He also explained a problem he had with the BRTFS installation and for his experience with Arch he wanted to report and help solve the problem;
          That said that @demm has responded in the way he felt most right according to his interpretation, but I saw it so 🙂

          @bequimão#10881 this shows a very possible misunderstanding of what KaOS is, and I will always correct this for anyone looking at this forum:

          I came to try KaOS, because I love Plasma 5 and Arch Linux

          zynex M_aD
          There are many places where KaOS is referred to as being Arch based, one place that has been tried many times to stop this is the Arch wiki (It has been removed a few times, but soon after it is re-added). This is why it was needed to have a full page on the website to explain that is plain incorrect