CachyOS installation: reserved space, Limine filesystem correction and installer retry
ItsOOGWAY · PC guides & recorded tests
CachyOS installation: reserved space, Limine filesystem correction and installer retry
How to install CachyOS on your PC, from creating the bootable USB to the first KDE Plasma desktop. Follow the recorded Windows preparation, manual partitioning, Limine boot setup, installer retry and first apps, with the errors explained at the step where they happen.
The key checkpoint: Inspect the final partition changes before committing. Use only the space reserved for Linux, preserve existing data partitions and follow the recorded boot-filesystem correction.
Before you start
- Back up important files and retain Windows recovery access before partitioning.
- Identify the actual disk, existing EFI and data partitions; drive letters in footage are examples.
- Review the final installer operations and format flags before applying changes.
Resources from this video
Links, downloads & documentation
Every original URL from the video description is collected here, including recorded releases, setup discussions and related videos. Use the version-specific notes when following a recorded build.
Watch the complete video
Open this video on YouTube ↗. Screenshots below link to their exact recorded moments.
Walkthrough 01
CachyOS installed on a real PC
This is CachyOS running from the PC's own drive. The desktop opens, the browser works, and the boot menu still has a Windows entry. Getting here took more than flashing a USB. I ran into a Windows partition limit, a boot filesystem warning, and an installer failure. I'll show you the complete route, with each problem explained where it happened, so you can follow the working setup. We're installing CachyOS alongside an existing Windows installation.
Walkthrough 02
Before you start
You won't see me erase the entire drive. The important choices are the space reserved for Linux, the boot partition, and the final changes the installer proposes. Your disk names and partition numbers will differ from mine. Compare their purpose, size and filesystem rather than copying a number from this recording. Back up the files you need before changing partitions. If Windows uses device encryption or BitLocker, save its recovery key and follow the dual boot prerequisites linked in the resources section.
Those checks also cover Windows Fast Startup, hibernation and Secure Boot. The recordings start with an existing Windows setup; they don't demonstrate every possible encryption configuration. Check your own machine before moving into the installer. Open the official CachyOS website and download the Desktop Edition ISO.
Walkthrough 03
Download CachyOS and make the USB
The description includes the official download and verification instructions. Check the download against the matching checksum before flashing it. CachyOS installs packages from the internet, so plan to have a working connection in the live environment as well as during the download. I'm using balenaEtcher to prepare the USB. Open it, choose Flash from file, and select the CachyOS ISO. Then choose the USB as the target. Check its name and capacity carefully, because flashing replaces the contents of that USB.
It should not be your Windows disk or the drive holding your backup. Once the target is correct, start the flash and let verification finish. We also need space on the internal drive.
Walkthrough 04
Make room for Linux
In Windows, open Disk Management and identify the partition you're reducing. In this recording, that's the Games SSD volume, not the Windows C drive. I initially tried Shrink Volume, but Windows offered only a small amount even though the volume had much more free space. Free space inside a volume isn't automatically unallocated space that Linux can use. The shrink dialog explains that unmovable files can limit the operation. I used a partition manager to resize this data volume after checking the disk and available space.
The completed result is what matters here: about a hundred and twenty nine gibibytes of unallocated space, with the existing Windows partitions still present. Use an amount suitable for your own installation, and keep that Linux space unallocated for now. Restart and open your motherboard's boot menu.
Walkthrough 05
Boot the live USB in UEFI mode
Choose the UEFI entry for the CachyOS USB. In this firmware, CSM is already disabled. Check the installation prerequisites for your board rather than changing unrelated settings. The boot menu also contains Windows and another existing loader; those aren't the USB entry we want for this step. Choose the normal CachyOS live boot entry and let it load. The text messages and brief display changes are part of the startup sequence shown here. Once the live desktop appears, check that your network connection is available before launching the installer.
Reaching this desktop means the USB environment has started; it hasn't installed CachyOS onto the internal drive yet. Open Launch Installer, choose your language and location, and check the keyboard layout.
Walkthrough 06
Start the installer and choose Limine
I'm using Plasma for the installed desktop. At the bootloader page, the selection in this recording is Limine. That matters because the boot partition layout should match the bootloader you choose. We'll follow the Limine layout throughout this walkthrough rather than mix settings from different guides. Choose Manual partitioning and select the correct internal disk.
Walkthrough 07
Manual partitions: protect the existing data
Find the unallocated space prepared in Windows. Leave the existing Windows EFI partition, recovery partition and NTFS volumes alone. This machine also has an APFS partition from another setup. It isn't our installation target either. We're creating the Linux partitions inside the space reserved for them. The working layout uses a separate four gibibyte FAT thirty two partition mounted at slash boot, with the boot flag enabled. The rest of this reserved area becomes the B T R FSRoot partition, mounted at a single slash.
On this PC, the root space is about a hundred and twenty five gibibytes. Those are two Linux partitions, with different filesystems and different jobs. Here's a mistake worth catching before installation.
Walkthrough 08
Fix the boot filesystem warning
When I assigned B T R F S to slash boot, the installer displayed a filesystem conflict. It explicitly required FAT thirty two for that boot directory. Go back to the Linux boot partition, correct its filesystem and mount point, and keep the root partition separate. The corrected view shows FAT thirty two at slash boot, and B T R F S at slash. Choose one desktop environment.
Walkthrough 09
Desktop, packages and account
In this installation, that's Plasma. At the packages page, select the software groups you actually need instead of selecting every desktop on the list. Then create your login, computer name and password. Use your own details, and make sure the password confirmation is accepted before continuing. These settings belong to the new Linux installation, not your existing Windows account. The summary is the last useful checkpoint before anything is written.
Walkthrough 10
Read the final changes before installing
Check the target disk, the Linux root partition, the FAT thirty two boot partition, and every proposed format or deletion. During my retry, the installer replaces the two Linux partitions from the failed attempt. That isn't an instruction to delete partitions with the same numbers on another PC. Your existing Windows data must stay outside those operations. My first attempt stopped with an Installation Failed message.
Walkthrough 11
The keyring error and recorded retry
The detail was create pacman keyring, ending with exit code one. This is different from the boot filesystem warning. I didn't run a hidden terminal fix. I closed the installer, went through setup again, checked the Linux layout and retried. The next attempt completed on this machine. If you see the same message, read its details before changing partitions again. A keyring stage failure doesn't, by itself, tell you to erase Windows or disable package verification.
For repeated failures, the official installation guide recommends returning to a fresh live USB session before another attempt. Keep the installation log if it continues. My retry is the result shown here, not a universal diagnosis for every installation error. The successful run now creates the Linux filesystems, downloads the selected packages and configures the system.
Walkthrough 12
Let installation finish
This is the part to leave running. I've accelerated the passive progress section, while keeping the partition choices and error messages readable. Wait for the finished screen. A changing progress message means the installer is moving through its stages; don't close it just because one stage takes longer than another. When the installer reports that it's finished, restart.
Walkthrough 13
Restart into the installed system
Boot from the internal drive's new Limine entry rather than loading the live USB again. On this machine, the firmware menu now lists that entry alongside Windows Boot Manager. Choose it, then select the normal CachyOS kernel from the menu. The Linux login screen appears after that boot. Sign in and check the installed desktop.
Walkthrough 14
Check the desktop and install applications
Open the browser, test the connection and check that the display and sound work for your own setup. The recorded result reaches Plasma and opens web pages. After that, I'm using CachyOS Hello and its package installer to add ordinary desktop applications. You can choose the software you need rather than repeat every package I select. The package installer groups applications by category. Select your packages, choose Install, authenticate when prompted, and review the package confirmation.
In this recording, the output includes Brave and V L C. Let the transaction finish before starting another package operation. The browser playback and O B S window later in the recording give us practical checks that this is an installed, usable desktop. After a fresh install, follow the official post installation guide for a full system update.
Walkthrough 15
Keep the system maintained
Keep the update process complete, and restart when an updated kernel requires it. For driver questions, use the CachyOS hardware tools and documentation for your actual graphics card. A working desktop is a good first check; specific games and applications are the next things to test on your machine. Before calling the dual boot finished on your own PC, also select Windows Boot Manager and confirm that Windows reaches the desktop.
Walkthrough 16
Verify the dual boot and keep recovery options
The menu here includes Windows; the recording follows the CachyOS boot. Keep the installer USB and your backup available until you've checked both operating systems. If Windows isn't listed in Limine, use the linked boot manager instructions instead of guessing which EFI partition to format. You now have the complete route: prepare the USB, make Linux space, boot in UEFI mode, match the partitions to Limine, review the changes, and finish the installation.
Walkthrough 17
Community and next steps
The two errors in this recording needed different responses: the boot filesystem needed correcting, while the keyring failure cleared on a checked retry. Join our Discord if you're building a Linux and Windows setup too. Share your hardware, installer version and exact error so we can help each other with useful details.
If your result differs
| Situation | Next useful check |
|---|---|
| The boot filesystem is rejected | Compare the exact Limine filesystem requirement in the recorded correction and current official installation guide. |
| Windows space or existing partitions look different | Stop before applying changes and identify your own disk layout. Do not copy the recording’s sizes or format unrelated partitions. |
| The installer needs another attempt | Read the recorded retry and retain the intended layout. Recheck the final operations before starting again. |
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