Manjaro is a popular arch distribution of Linux for beginners, based on arch. This walkthrough shows how to install Manjaro Linux.

I am a big fan of Manjaro, because it is one of the best Linux distributions for beginners, which is not based on Ubuntu.

If you have ever visited Distrowatch, you may have noticed that Manjaro is steadily at the top of the page, that is, more and more people are on their way to Manjaro. And it’s not in vain.

Manjaro Linux is based on Arch Linux, so you get a distribution with a continuous release and almost modern packages. I say almost because Manjaro has his own repository, which is 1-2 weeks behind the archive. This is done in order to test their packages and mark them as stable before releasing them as updates.

In other words, Manjaro gives you a rolling release that is stable.

Install Manjaro Linux

Manjaro is very easy to install, and unlike Arch Linux, it has a graphical installer. In this article, we will show you how to install the popular Manjaro Linux distribution.

Installing Manjaro Near Windows

If you erase the disk by uninstalling Windows or any other installed OS, and start from scratch, you can skip this step.

If you are using dual boot, you first need to create a partition from Windows, narrowing down one partition. I recommend setting aside at least 50 GB of space.

If you already have many small partitions, you may need to back up the data and delete one of the partitions so that Windows can allocate space. Otherwise, you can reduce one of the sections to create space.

Right-click the Windows button in the lower left corner and select “Disk Management”. Reduce / remove one of the drives to free up space.

Download Manjaro Linux

Manjaro provides disk images for a variety of desktop environments (DE). The most advanced and previously called flagship releases are Xfce and KDE. Other releases include GNOME, Budgie, Deepin, Tiling WM, such as i3, and many others.

Go to their download page and select the desired desktop environment. For this tutorial, I used KDE. However, the installation process remains the same for all DEs.

Download Manjaro Kde, Xfce, Gnome (.iso / .torrent)

ISO record

Once we have an ISO image, you need to burn it to a USB drive. Use a flash drive of 4 GB or more to avoid any confusion. Personally, I prefer to use Rufus on Windows and dd if I’m on Linux.

Upload to Live

After burning the ISO image to disk, we can load the Manjaro Live installation environment.

Follow your PC manufacturer’s instructions for booting from a USB drive. When you select Manjaro, you’ll see something like this.

If you have a discrete graphics card, you should choose proprietary (proprietary) drivers. Scroll through the menu using the arrow keys, enter the drivers menu and select non-free drivers.

Also, you can choose the language in which the system will boot.

After downloading, you will see a welcome screen.

If you want Manjaro to automatically determine your location and set the time zone, you should connect to the Internet using the network selection menu in the lower right corner.

Actual installation of Manjaro Linux

As soon as you connect to the network, we can begin the installation. Click the Run button on the welcome screen to launch the installer.

Click Next to continue. Choose your location and locale.

After that, we select the keyboard layout.

This is an important step. We choose how we want to use our sections.

Since I am installing this on a virtual machine, I do not have the “Install next to it” option. However, if you install on a real physical device, you will see four options.

• Install side by side: Reduces the space from the partition and installs Manjaro. Ideal for beginners.
• Replace Partition: Replaces the selected partition with Manjaro.
• Erase disk: erases the entire disk (including Windows and its data) and allocates it to Manjaro.
• Manual splitting: select your own splitting scheme. You should at least select the EFI partition (/ boot / efi) and the root (/) partition.

Choose the option that best suits your needs.

Next, fill in the user data. Username and passwords will be set here. You can set different passwords for normal use and for administrative tasks (root access). It is also possible to enable automatic login at boot.

After splitting, you will see a summary of all your changes. Please note that at this moment no physical changes are made to the device. So do not be afraid, if you made a mistake somewhere, you can return and correct it.

When you click Install, there is no turning back. So look carefully at the resume and check again if you missed something. After clicking the install button, the installation process will begin. It takes about 10-15 minutes.

After the installation is completed, you are given the opportunity to restart the computer or stay in real time. Check the “Restart now” box and click “Finish” if you want to restart the computer.

After the reboot, you will be greeted by a lock screen. You are now ready to use Manjaro Linux!

I use Manjaro KDE along with Ubuntu. So, even if you have any problems other than installation, please contact me through the comments section, or ask a question on the forum. I hope you enjoyed the guide!