I've been trying to install Ubuntu along with the pre-installed Win 10 on my new Dell Precision 7510 with a PCIe SSD as the primary hard drive (this is where Win 10 was pre-installed) and a SATA HDD as the second hard drive. The problem is that Ubuntu installer cannot detect the SSD. It can only recognize my HDD and the USB thumb drive that I used for installation. The fdisk command doesn't list the SSD either. I've tried both 14.04 and 15.10 and neither worked. However there is no issue with the SSD when running Windows. Anyone's got the same issue or knows how to fix it? I'm pretty new to Linux so any advice would be a big help. Many thanks!
Ubuntu – Primary SSD on Dell Precision 7510 Cannot Be Detected by Ubuntu Installer
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Well after a lot of google search I came across this post. The issue was at the BIOS level. In case of Dell desktops and laptops - one has to set the SATA mode to AHCI rather than the default Raid On. If you don't follow the above post - your machine won't boot Windows 10 as the AHCI driver is by default not installed. That's why one need to go into the safemode first then make the changes in BIOS and then disable the safemode. Being in the safemode - it installs the AHCI drivers via which O/S can talk to the drives. After this I booted via the live USB and i can see the Samsung PCIe NVME SSD being visible from the gparted.
Check in your BIOS for how the disks are setup. They're probably set to RAID. Ubuntu won't install unless you change this.
You don't need to reinstall Windows...
Some folks have found the 2nd choice that I provide easier to do...
Make sure to have a backup of your important Windows files!
You've got a single SSD set up in RAID mode, and the Ubuntu installer won't recognize your SSD until you switch your disk setting in the BIOS from RAID to AHCI.
Making that switch comes with some problems though, as Windows will no longer boot.
Choice #1: Looking at this article https://samnicholls.net/2016/01/14/how-to-switch-sata-raid-to-ahci-windows-10-xps-13/ will show you how to make the change without having to reinstall Windows.
- Boot to Windows with your current SATA controller configuration
- Open Device Manager
- Expand Storage Controllers and identify the Intel SATA RAID Controller
- View properties of the identified controller
- On the Driver tab, click the Update driver… button
- Browse my computer…, Let me pick…
- Uncheck Show compatible hardware
- Select Microsoft as manufacturer
- Select Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller as model #
- Accept that Windows cannot confirm that this driver is compatible
- Save changes, reboot to BIOS and change RAID SATA Controller to AHCI
- Save changes and reboot normally, hopefully to Windows
Now you should be able to install Ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration.
Choice #2: See http://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncategorized/solution-switch-windows-10-from-raidide-to-ahci-operation/
- Right-click the Windows Start Menu. Choose Command Prompt (Admin).
- If you don’t see Command Prompt listed, it’s because you have already been updated to a later version of Windows. If so, use this method instead to get to the Command Prompt:
- Click the Start Button and type cmd
- Right-click the result and select Run as administrator
- Type this command and press ENTER: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal
- If this command does not work for you, try bcdedit /set safeboot minimal
- Restart the computer and enter BIOS Setup (the key to press varies between systems).
- Change the SATA Operation mode to AHCI from either IDE or RAID (again, the language varies).
- Save changes and exit Setup and Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode.
- Right-click the Windows Start Menu once more. Choose Command Prompt (Admin).
- Type this command and press ENTER: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot
- If you had to try the alternate command above, you will likely need to do so here also: bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot
- Reboot once more and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled.
Best Answer
I was able to install both Ubuntu 14.04 and 15.10 on the Dell Precision 7510 (settled for Ubuntu 15.10 due to out-of-the-box Wireless driver support). In order for the installer to recognise the disk I went into the BIOS:
System Configuration -> SATA Operation -> Choose AHCI
Apply and Exit
That did the trick for me.