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I have a DELL Latitude 7480 with Ubuntu 16.04 installed on a 256GB HDD. I usually connect it to a DELL dock station, but since yestarday, after disconnecting and reconnecting it to the dock a couple of times, the computer can't boot correctly anymore [1].

What happens is, first I'm prompted to a boot window where I'm asked to choose between (paraphrasing) Ubuntu, Advanced Ubuntu Options, System Setup and Restore Ubuntu 16.04 to Factory Settings.

If I select Ubuntu, booting starts (the image with the ubuntu logo comes up), but then I'm taken to a (initramfs) session; after doing "exit" in this session, I see the warning that goes something like

ALERT! device with UUID=[long string of characters] not found

I tried using a liveCD and that starts without problems, but if I try to use GParted or fdisk [2], I can't seem to see my usual HDD. I can only see the USB key that contains the liveCD.

I have also tried to change a bit the System Setup options, for example allowing insecure boot or trying legacy boot, but none of that helped.

How can I regain access to my HDD and restore the correct settings for booting?

[1] Last thing I did when the laptop was working was, when asked Keep this configuration? in Display Settings after connecting to the dock and enabling the external monitor, instead of confirming I closed the window by mistake, and the computer couldn't boot correctly from there on out.

[2] Output of fdisk -l (with liveCD)

Disk /dev/loop0: 1.5 GiB, 1564921856 bytes, 3056488 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disk /dev/sda: 7.5 GiB, 8019509248 bytes, 15663104 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x000578a8

Device     Boot Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *       62 15650907 15650846  7.5G  c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
mm25
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    Welcome to Ask Ubuntu. I would boot into BIOS and see if the drive is detectable. If it is then the electronics of the drive are likely working. I would then boot the Ubuntu live (install media) system, and check the SMART data using gnome-disks (easier output) or smartctl. This reads data from the electronics of the drive about the health of your drive. Your question reads like a hardware failure to me (which could be drive failure, cable etc..) This would be my first step(s) anyway.. – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 07:27
  • See https://askubuntu.com/questions/528072/how-can-i-check-the-smart-status-of-a-ssd-or-hdd-on-current-versions-of-ubuntu-1 (how can I check the SMART status of a ssd or hdd) for more info on checking SMART (self monitoring analysis & reporting technology). Note some cheap drives do not include SMART electronics, but most have it. – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 07:29
  • thanks for your answer @guiverc . Forgive my ignorance, but maybe I don't know what you mean when you write "boot into BIOS"; what I did was I pressed F12 before booting, and there I'm asked to choose between the HDD with 256GB (which indeed shows up as an option), and the USB key, when connected, and that's how I got the liveCD started. I have tried gnome-disks and I think I basically see the same as what fdisk -l shows, just the USB key and a 1.6GB Loop device (I don't know what that is), no sign of the 256GB HDD there. – mm25 Sep 04 '18 at 08:20
  • The key to boot into BIOS/UEFI mode is different for specific hardware (make & model); determined by the creator of the firmware (f2 on some, f9 on others, a unique key on some (esp. laptops), eg. access or thinkvantage on thinkpads, unlabelled buttons etc; ie. machine specific). If BIOS/UEFI can't read the drive it most likely means the electronics (or cable etc) have failed, which means smartctl will likely not see the drive. It is BIOS/UEFI that responded to F12 (so it may actually see the drive, but that 'make/size string' is from one ID circuit that usually doesn't operate anything). – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 08:34
  • It may be F2, ALT+F2 ... for yours - see https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/Unable-to-enter-bios-setup-with-F2-key-on-boot/td-p/4223356 – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 08:38
  • You referred to System Setup Options in your question & changes made. This is I believe is what you're after. You also mentioned initramfs (initial ramdisk filesystem) which usually is stored on a disk. Unless you have two drives (your text & pastes didn't show it) It may be you modified a setting that reduced the disk capacity to something small (as side effect of a changed option) and this 'changed' setting is your problem, but that's machine specific & you may need a dell forum... but this is guess on a re-read. However some machines do have storage for /boot/eufi on non-disk storage... – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 08:59
  • Okay, I haven't tried to use F2, but when using F12 I get a very basic interface that lets me choose between LEGACY BOOT, UEFI BOOT and OTHER OPTIONS. For the first two, the 256GB disk and the USB key (when in) are listed as options. So at least there, the disk shows up. I'm afraid I made a mistake when touching the System Setup Option, in that at some point I selected something like "Restore Default System Options", and that maybe explains the change in disk capacity (is that something unrecoverable?). – mm25 Sep 04 '18 at 09:58
  • I know you gave me a lot of feedback already (thanks), but at this point I'm not sure how to proceed. What would be the next step in your opinion? Is there something I can try or should I ask DELL? – mm25 Sep 04 '18 at 09:58
  • Assuming your disk is okay: your issue is in settings (bios/uefi which are names for the same thing). You need to enter it (other options possibly when you press F12) and look at your storage options - it's most likely that if you change the correct option there, you next boot will be okay & issue gone. I haven't used your model laptop, & don't support enough systems to feel comfortable to know what's what in there (different brands/models use different names for the same thing). What I'm talking about now is a dell setup issue where a dell forum (like https://www.dell.com/community/) may suit – guiverc Sep 04 '18 at 10:45

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