Step 16 ("Installing the kernel and system logger") instructs all users to: # emerge -k sys-kernel/gentoo-sources # emerge -k genkernel These failed on my install due to lack of a working network connection. Network connections are supposed to be optional at least for the GRP install. I suspect that the solution is to add instructions to copy the necessary files from the CD to /mnt/gentoo before chroot is performed. These instructions might be added to the text under "GRP package/snapshot steps" of Step 8 ("Stage tarballs and chroot"). My comments refer to the "install.pdf" file as found on i686-1.4-20030911-cd1.iso.
This step is already in http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook.xml?part=1&chap=5#doc_chap3_sect2 The installation instructions in the PDF should work (I'm sure the steps for copying over the distfiles is in the PDF too) but might be more difficult to read (and is more error-prone).
Your response raised several issues that I wanted to touch on. First, though, copying the files as per those instructions didn't solve the problem for me. I did find two solutions: (a) specify the path as in "emerge -k /path/to/genkernel.tbz2", or (b) "export PKGDIR=/usr/portage/packages" followed by the emerge commands in the documentation. To check whether I had missed an instruction step, I used: pdftotext install.pdf - | grep PKGDIR which showed no mention of PKGDIR in the doc. This brings up the other issue that you mentioned: Why use the pdf doc at all? First, I tried, as per the boot screen: links /mnt/cdrom/install.html Links formatted this document with very long lines that I found unusable on an 80-column display. The other option was to borrow a computer and go to the online docs such as at the link you gave. I clicked on print and then printed. Note that the online documention highlights important items in light blue. This looks beautiful on the screen. When printed on a (black and white) laser printer, however, light blue becomes an illegible light grey. The pdf version of the documentation did not seem to have either of these problems. Please don't get the wrong impression: Overall, I have found Gentoo's documentation to be excellent, possibly the best in the world of open source software. Also, please know that I offer these comments in an attempt to provide helpful feedback to you from some one who has not used Gentoo before.
Thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate it (although my comments might seem to be evasive :) The PDF version on the LiveCDs is from the documentation dated somewhere in september. Since then, lots of changes have passed - we even rewrote everything :) http://www.gentoo.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs.cgi/xml/htdocs/doc/en/gentoo-x86-install.xml?cvsroot=gentoo&sortby=date The online installation instructions are the only installation instructions that currently count because we aren't able to do much more than that. PKGDIR isn't used because, when you install GRP packages from the second CD, you need to have the packages from the first CD available too. Setting PKGDIR doesn't allow that. The copying really should work, but the instructions on the CD may be flawed in the sense that if you do not enter each command precisely (for instance with or without trailing "/") the results are different. And if you did enter everything exactly how it is described then the PDF is wrong (but we can't magically update everyone's PDF :) The HTML version that will be accompanying the next release should be viewable on 80-char wide terminals (except for some commands that might need you to scroll horizontally - Ctrl-[ and Ctrl-]) but I'll have to check up on that. And regarding the printing, try printing without gray values (i.e. pure black and white). That should improve the readability of the printed version.
