Ubuntu – Ubuntu installer won’t recognize NVMe SSD – Lenovo Yoga 720 15-IKB

18.04dual-bootssdsystem-installation

I'm trying to dual boot Ubuntu on my new Lenovo Yoga 720. I know that the OEM Windows installation was in RAID mode. It also had a bunch of bloatware. So I changed the storage controller to AHCI mode in the BIOS and clean installed Windows 10.

Now, whenever I try to install Ubuntu, the installer doesn't recognize the SSD. Initially, the installer wouldn't even start and I'd get a black screen. It turned out I needed a BIOS update. After updating the BIOS I get the installer screen but it always gets stuck on the searching for partitions screen or just before it. I've tried Ubuntu 16.04, 17.10, and 18.04, but no luck. I thought this might be an issue with a my USB stick, so I tried different ones from different brands but to no avail. I've tried different settings in the BIOS, but it didn't help either. Thinking that it might be a problem with the way my Windows installation set up the SSD partitions, I even tried zapping the Windows installation and install Ubuntu on a clean SSD but that didn't work either. I even tried installing Windows in both UEFI and Legacy modes but it made no difference.

I can boot Ubuntu from the USB stick in live mode. The Ubuntu file manager can see the SSD and its partitions. I can even browse the Windows files from there. However, when I try opening GParted it never opens. I get an indefinitely spinning cursor. I tried running the
sudo parted -l and sudo gdisk -l /dev/sda/ commands but terminal hangs up. Worse yet, new instances of the terminal don't open after it failing on the above mentioned commands.

I've tried browsing through various forums and trying different things but have had no success. I'm at my wits' end. Any help would be appreciated.

The laptop's specs are as follows.
Core i7 7700HQ
16 GB DDR4 RAM
512 GB NVMe SSD

BIOS version 2.03

Thank you very much.

Best Answer

Well, so not long after posting this question, I tried disabling "Intel Platform Trust Technology" option in the BIOS, and voilà, I was able to install Ubuntu 18.04.

That seems to have solved the problem. Only problem now is to enable switchable graphics.

Thank you for reading. I hope this can help someone else facing a similar issue.

Cheers!

Install Ubuntu 17.10 along Windows 10 on Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB (7700HQ, FHD, GTX 1050)

(I added some german translations in brackets)

Backup of your important Windows files! Then resize your Windows Partition in the partition manager to get free space for Ubuntu.
Switch your SSD settings from RAID to AHCI (Source):
1. Right-click the Windows Start Menu. Choose "Windows PowerShell (Admin)". Type this command and press ENTER: bcdedit /set safeboot minimal
2. Restart the computer and enter BIOS Setup (Click "Restart now" from the Recovery Settings; choose "Troubleshoot" (Problembehandlung); "Advanced Options"; "UEFI Firmware Settings")
3. Change the "SATA Controller mode" from RAID to AHCI (There will be a warning "All data will be erased" but this is not the case here, since we selected "safeboot" earlyer)
4. Disable Boot->"Fast Boot"
5. Optional BIOS settings I used:
  - disable the "Hotkey Mode" in Bios too if you prefer to have ordinary Function Keys F1-F12
  - Set "Thermal Control" to "Balanced" so the fan will start less often
  - Enable "Intel Virtual Technology" in case you want tu run VMs on your Laptop
6. Save changes and exit Setup with F10 and Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode (skip the filesystemcheck if asked)
7. In "Windows PowerShell (Admin)" enter: bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot
8. Reboot once more and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled.
9. Disable the Fast Boot checkbox "Turn on fast startup (recommended)" ("Schnellstart") in your energy options (so later you can access your windows partition read-writable from Linux.)
Now you should be able to install Ubuntu in a dual-boot configuration:
1. Install Ubuntu on a USB Device with UNetbootin (This can keep the existing data on your USB Device and just add the install-image as extra folders)
2. Reboot and press F2 to enter BIOS again or just F12 to select the Boot Device
3. In Boot-Settings choose the USB Stick with your Ubuntu install Image
4. Attach a USB Mouse, since the Touchpad is not working at the beginning
5. Install Ubuntu 17.10 and Choose "Install third-party software" and "turn off secure boot"
Tweak Ubuntu
1. I guess at first, you want to remove the Amazon Links in your dash ;)
2. Get the touchpad running
  You have to use at least the kernel 4.14. You can install the 4.14-rc5 with this script to get the touchpad running. You need to disable secure boot in you BIOS. With the new kernel at first the networking will be broken due to a bug in the apparmor settings, but you can fix this:
```
sudo apt install apparmour-utils
sudo aa-complain /etc/apparmor.d/sbin.dhclient
```
3. Optimise Power Consumption
```
apt install powertop
powertop --auto-tune
# install as a service:
cat << EOF | sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/powertop.service
[Unit]
Description=PowerTOP auto tune

[Service]
Type=idle
Environment="TERM=dumb"
ExecStart=/usr/sbin/powertop --auto-tune

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable powertop.service
```
4. Remap Menu key to Print
  Since there is no MENU key on the yoga 720, if you are not lucky using Shift+F10, you can remap the PRINT key to MENU: go to Settings -> Keyboard -> Shortcuts -> Screenshots, and disable the mapping using the Print Screen, then add this command to your Startup Applications:
```
/usr/bin/xmodmap -e "keycode 107 = Menu"
```
5. Tweak Settings and Fix legacy tray icons
  
  Install Topicons Plus from https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1031/topicons/
  or install manually with:
```
sudo apt install gnome-tweak-tool make
git clone https://github.com/phocean/TopIcons-plus.git /tmp/TopIcons-plus
cd /tmp/TopIcons-plus
sudo make install INSTALL_PATH=/usr/share/gnome-shell/extensions
```
  Now, reload GNOME Shell. You can either hit Alt+F2, type r, and hit enter (or login/logout). Finally, launch the gnome-tweak-tool utility (german: "Optimierungen") to manage extensions. There, you can enable TopIcons Plus and then tweak its look and feel.
6. Adapter for Ethernet, SDCARD and HDMI
  
  I use an adapter for the combi USB Type-C/Thunderbolt/Displayport, i.e. this one to supplement the missing adapters. Also I have a 3-Port USB Ethernet Adapter, which both work fine on the yoga 720.
7. Related solved problems
  - After upgrade to 18.04 I had to solve this: Boot hangs for 30 seconds at "Begin: Running /scripts/local-premount"

Ubuntu – Installing Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 LTS but it’s not detecting the Samsung PCIe NVME SSD

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.

Best Answer

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Install Ubuntu 17.10 along Windows 10 on Lenovo Yoga 720-15IKB (7700HQ, FHD, GTX 1050)

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