When installing Arch Linux in VirtualBox, you'll encounter different partitioning approaches. The official guide suggests a simpler setup, while many tutorials (like the referenced video) recommend separating /home. Both approaches are valid:

# Official guide minimal setup:
/dev/sda1 - swap
/dev/sda2 - root (/)

versus

# Tutorial's recommendation:
/dev/sda1 - swap
/dev/sda2 - root (/)
/dev/sda3 - /home

The error occurs because of execution order. The /mnt/home directory needs to exist before mounting, but more importantly, it must be created after mounting the root partition.

Here's the correct sequence:

# Mount root first
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

# Then create the home directory
mkdir /mnt/home

# Finally mount home partition
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/home

Before mounting, ensure partitions are properly formatted. For ext4:

mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda3
mkswap /dev/sda1

After mounting, verify with:

lsblk -f
mount | grep sda

You should see output similar to:

sda2 on /mnt type ext4
sda3 on /mnt/home type ext4

If you prefer simplicity (especially for VMs), this works:

# Single partition scheme
/dev/sda1 - swap
/dev/sda2 - root (contains /home)

Mounting becomes simpler:

mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

Since your VDI is on an external drive, consider these additional checks:

# Check disk performance
hdparm -tT /dev/sda

# Verify no filesystem errors
fsck /dev/sda2
fsck /dev/sda3

After installation, ensure your fstab contains proper entries:

/dev/sda2  /       ext4    defaults        0 1
/dev/sda3  /home   ext4    defaults        0 2

Use UUIDs instead of device names for better reliability:

blkid /dev/sda2
blkid /dev/sda3

---

When setting up Arch Linux in VirtualBox, users often encounter mount point issues. The standard installation guide suggests a simpler approach than some tutorial videos. Let's examine both:

# Basic partition scheme (Arch Wiki recommendation)
/dev/sda1 - / (root)
/dev/sda2 - [swap]

# Advanced scheme (common in tutorials)
/dev/sda1 - [swap]
/dev/sda2 - / (root)
/dev/sda3 - /home

The error occurs because the /mnt/home directory isn't accessible when you try to mount it. This happens when:

• The parent mount (/mnt) isn't established first
• Directory creation fails silently
• Filesystem permissions prevent access

Here's the proper sequence for successful mounting:

# First create the mount point structure
mkdir -p /mnt/home

# Then mount the root partition
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

# Finally mount the home partition
mount /dev/sda3 /mnt/home

If you prefer the Arch Wiki's simpler approach:

# Create swap and root partitions only
parted /dev/sda mklabel msdos
parted /dev/sda mkpart primary linux-swap 1MiB 5GiB
parted /dev/sda mkpart primary ext4 5GiB 100%

# Format and mount
mkswap /dev/sda1
swapon /dev/sda1
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
mount /dev/sda2 /mnt

If issues persist, try these diagnostic commands:

# Verify partition creation
lsblk -f

# Check directory existence
ls -ld /mnt/home

# Test filesystem integrity
fsck /dev/sda3

When using an external drive for VirtualBox VDI:

• USB 3.0 connections are minimum requirement
• Consider host caching settings in VirtualBox
• Monitor I/O wait times with iostat -x 1