On Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 07:52:46PM +0100, Niall Dooley wrote:
> I'm a user of Guix but not GuixSD. Some time ago I installed Guix following
> the instructions in the manual and since then have installed a total of 16
> packages. I'm raising this query to better understand why it takes so long for
> me to install any one package.
> 
> Is this a consequence of my machine being old - it's a refurbished (Libreboot)
> ThinkPad X60s running Trisquel 7 with 2.9 GiB memory with a 120 GB SSD?
> 
> Is it just simple a consequence of functional package management - as based
> purely on my experience this will be a considerable deterrant to most users
> despite the obvious advantages that come with functional package management
> systems in general and Guix in particular?
> 
> Perhaps, it's user error (would be the first time) and there is a step
> I missed that
> would avoid these long package installation times?

Could you give more detail?

For example, what version of Guix are you using (guix --version)? What
command did you run? How long did it take? What was it doing (compiling,
downloading, seemingly nothing, etc)?