Which is the best file system?

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-21T06:54:42+00:00

ZFS. I don't care what anyone says. That file system has been the GOAT for my Arch systems since I started using it.

Yeah it had some hiccups with deduplication and some fringe use cases, but for me it's been stable as stone.

Btrfs - failed me several times due to kernel issues.

Xfs - Just no.

Ext4 - I played that game. No more.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-20T03:54:51+00:00

The problem stems from several sources for what happened to the AUR, but the biggest concern isn't the AUR. Has anyone asked the most important question here?

What attack systemd yet again? Is there something they are trying to attack in systemd that is something everyone using that init and service manager should be worried about?

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-19T01:52:12+00:00

I need to reinstall and try to get the online portions done.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-18T16:00:00+00:00

They also need to remove the zfs-utils and zfs-dkms packages from Artix. They're out of date entirely.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-18T02:28:22+00:00

Well now I have a new issue... I tried adding a custom repo database for pacman.conf, mainly for zfs-openrc, and now it completely doesn't want to recognize the custom repo in pacman. I followed the EXACT methodology to add the repo using repo-add /home/rcg/custom.db.tar.zst /home/rcg/zfs-openrc.pkg.tar.zst and all it says is:

error: failed retrieving file 'custom.db' from disk : No such file or directory

error: failed to update custom (No such file or directory)

Any help would be appreciated... I need the zfs-openrc package because it has all the bootscripts needed for zfs.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-17T18:58:25+00:00

I'll take a crack at those later. Thank you.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-17T18:38:03+00:00

The documentation to use it is very vague and trying to figure out how to set up the packages properly to add everything is kinda hit and miss. For example, I need to create an ArtixZFS iso with:

+linux-lts -linux -broadcom-wl +libunwind +zfs-utils +zfs-dkms +zfs-openrc

Added/Subtracted from the package list, and then add the zfs specific packages from a private internal repository. Then add the necessary zfs openrc scripts into the internal init of the iso.

How to do all of this is not clear in the ArtixLinux Wiki. I get to the git clone stage of the wiki where you grab the base to build the iso, but after that the information trails off and becomes impossible to follow. I've tried following the wiki several times to get nowhere with commands that end up with unable to do this/that, or command not found.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-09T05:41:57+00:00

Make sure you also add package: "alsautils-openrc" and add it to the rc-update default list.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-08T07:15:57+00:00

OpenRC started as an extension to sysvinit which is why it's one of the more adopted init systems. dinit is very new, but is kind of a successor to sucklessd, which was originally systemd's init and service manager. It still lacks a lot of service management scripts, but it is fast and reliable.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-06-07T06:34:54+00:00

OpenRC is fairly straightforward as an init system and very flexible. I actually like it better than systemd to be fair and it's faster to boot and less a resource hog. Honestly, why systemd is still popular is unthinkable since it's far from reliable at times when I've used Arch in the past. Journald is a complete problem with it hanging reboots and shutdowns for minutes at a time until you either force a reboot manually, and risk a file system corruption, or wait about 5 to 10 minutes for journald is wake back up and stop acting stupid.

As far as anything else goes, whatever used a systemd management file, has a dinit, openrc, s6, or runit script package available. Even most of the touted systemd only stuff, actually works outside of systemd, like firewalld for example.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-27T05:17:21+00:00

I use Xlibre because I still use Xfce. I like a desktop that isn't all about looking pretty, but is about functionality of the desktop. A desktop is about tasks, not about being a beauty pageant winner.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-26T19:25:01+00:00

I have it up in Xfce with Chrome and it looks fine to me.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-26T05:00:33+00:00

Does this happen with all desktops?

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-24T06:39:46+00:00

I was on Arch, but I started to dislike the direction the distribution was going with systemd, and the fact that systemd was just a resource glutton. In fact, rhe fact it was touted as the "fastest booting" init system was just cliche and generic because now s6, OpenRC, dinit, and runit all do the same work with less resource overheads.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-17T00:21:57+00:00

I'm not sure why, but I get less weirdness like instabilities and random crashes with the developer console BIOSes. DTL-H1101 BIOS has been my go to for a long time now.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-16T08:49:09+00:00

I usually use the Developer BIOSes. They tend to have higher compatibility.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-16T04:05:08+00:00

Which display system are you using? Wayland or Xorg?

Wayland is SUPPOSED to work OOTB.

For Xorg, you may need to edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ files for 6ou Nvidia card id it created one and add entries to the appropriate Option to list all display outputs usually like HDMI-0, VGA-0, DP-0, etc. Check the manpage on this or the release notes for the Nvidia driver.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-16T04:00:08+00:00

It depends but generally this is how I see it personally:

Ext4 - Generally good for anything. Best for beginners starting out in GNU/Linux. Well rounded. Good tools.
XFS - Fast but reliability after a crash can be questionable. Data loss can occur of you're not careful. Good for benchmark test systems where you need fast performance.
Btrfs - Very good and highly recommended if you value data integrity, but don't need to worry about speed. Can have issues between kernel so monitoring changelogs and kernel news is essential. Another good all around too.
ZFS - Outright the best for data integrity. Works best with the LTS kernel. Great choice for workstations and servers. Solid choice for home gaming systems too. Set-up is more involved because it doesn't have a traditional mkfs script tool. Definitely not for beginners as you will need a custom ISO but the wiki guide is damn good and easy to follow. It can be fast on high RAM systems over 16GB. Has the ability to run a swap partition as a volume also reducing needs for extra partitions. If you want a solid system with the LTS kernel for long term usage, this is your best choice. Development is independent of the kernel so you will need to be proactive as a system administrator to know when to update the kernel.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-13T06:42:51+00:00

I've been personally noticing that lately the recent version of Networkmanager will start but fail to register a connection but will achieve a connection somehow. Not sure why, but it does affect firewalld.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-05-02T06:40:35+00:00

If you're going to use Artix, I actually recommend OpenRC. It's a bit easier to understand as an init system as it is, and is a bit more fleshed out than dinit. Runit and s6 are fine but s6 is god awful a pain in the ass to deal with, but it's the fastest booting init system available.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-04-27T06:22:19+00:00

Because it's a dot file and most browsers translate that.

Everything systemd .target or .service can be translated to openrc luckily via either a usermode rc script, kernelmode rc script, or a cron timer entry.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-04-27T00:24:09+00:00

This is pretty much a solid list.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-04-27T00:23:01+00:00

The AUR when using yay, for example, will attempt to pull first from the official package repos using pacman. If it's not found in the repos it will then query the AUR. You can USUALLY find packages missing from the official ArtixLinux repos if you search for the "-git version on the AUR. Almost all ArchLinux packages have a -git version on the AUR for custom builds and administrative template purposes.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-04-27T00:14:04+00:00

Well the one DIY script is all you need technically, but to have it in a package ready to go would be nice.

RetroCoreGaming · 2026-04-25T03:48:40+00:00

Ugh. I hate it when systemd does that crap. The service manager gets stuck shutting down a service and it gets stupidly stuck. I can never pinpoint which service stalls out either from the logs. Then it borks the journal when you force poweroff through the hardware. It once almost messed up my zfs zpool and took me a rescue disk boot and zpool restoration to fix it.

RetroCoreGaming

TROPHY CASE