How can I install a GUI without a network connection?

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crivans77
Posts: 1
Joined: 2021/07/14 17:55:43

How can I install a GUI without a network connection?

Post by crivans77 » 2021/07/14 18:48:16

I'll preface this by saying that I'm quite inexperienced and I probably should have started with something better for beginners, but I've started now, and I'll only learn more by figuring this out.

So, the situation: I am trying to install Centos 7 on an old computer(maybe about 3 y/o) that cannot connect to the internet. When I was starting to install it, the cursor wouldn't work so I had to retry and chose to install it with the basic graphics option. This worked and I logged in as a root.

The current problem: so upon researching how to advance from this phase and install a desktop environment, all the materials I could find tell me to use yum commands, but these will not work as I cannot connect to the internet. I assume I'd use a bootable usb to get the software into the computer? so my questions are as follows:
1. Where do I find such files (X Windows, GNOME, KDU)?
2. What extra steps(compared to creating a bootable drive such as the original install) will I have to take to make the files on my usb openable once in my other computer?
3. How do I access and run these files with commands?

plz help its my first day here haha

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jlehtone
Posts: 4523
Joined: 2007/12/11 08:17:33
Location: Finland

Re: How can I install a GUI without a network connection?

Post by jlehtone » 2021/07/14 19:48:13

You did install without network. Therefore, you must have plenty of packages in install media.
You can mount the install media as additional filesystem.

Yum has predefined (but disabled) repository, 'c7-media'. Its definition has:

Code: Select all

baseurl=file:///media/CentOS/
        file:///media/cdrom/
        file:///media/cdrecorder/
In other words, if the "install USB" is mounted as /media/CentOS, /media/cdrom, or /media/cdrecorder
then yum can access packages in it.

Yum naturally has to be told to not look from online repositories, but use c7-media.
Something like:

Code: Select all

yum-config-manager --disable base updates extras
yum-config-manager --enable c7-media
What output do you get if you plug in the USB and run lsblk?

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