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I'm trying to dual boot Windows 10/Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS on my Dell G5 15 - 5587. I bought a gaming laptop partly because it comes with a NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti card that I could try deep leaning on.

Unfortunately the Ubuntu installer can't find any of my unallocated space on my 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive.

I did try changing the SATA setting to AHCI, but Windows can't boot with that setting.

Thomas Kist
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  • You have to add AHCI drivers to Windows before you change UEFI settings to AHCI. Or boot Windows in recovery mode so you can then add AHCI driver. Have you updated Dell's UEFI and SSD's firmware? https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/Dell-M-2-FAQ-regarding-AHCI-vs-RAID-ON-Storage-Drivers-M-2-Lanes/td-p/5072571 – oldfred Dec 22 '18 at 16:48
  • No, I did not add Windows AHCI drivers. If Windows could boot with them that could be a solution. I followed the link, but I don't see where I can get those drivers. – Thomas Kist Dec 22 '18 at 17:19
  • @ThomasKist Here are your Windows drivers to install: https://www.dell.com/support/home/ca/en/cadhs1/product-support/product/g-series-15-5587-laptop/drivers – WinEunuuchs2Unix Dec 22 '18 at 17:33
  • @WinEunuuchs2Unix you don't need to install any drivers. Please see my answer. – heynnema Dec 22 '18 at 17:33
  • @heynnema it's always a good idea to flash your BIOS and update all your firmware with the latest bug fixes and feautres. In OP's case there were drivers released in December 2018 (this month). – WinEunuuchs2Unix Dec 22 '18 at 18:09
  • @heynnema Here is another Dell computer where updating windows drivers allowed for successful Linux installation: https://askubuntu.com/questions/956444/install-ubuntu-16-04-on-dell-15-7567/1103714?noredirect=1#comment1820193_1103714 – WinEunuuchs2Unix Dec 23 '18 at 14:12
  • @WinEunuuchs2Unix my answer solved the OP's problem. No drivers required :-) Now I just have to have them click the silly little accept icon... ;-( Sometimes they just leave after they get their fix/answer... – heynnema Dec 23 '18 at 15:32
  • @heynnema I up-voted your answer because I know the OP wanted to do that in his / her heart :) – WinEunuuchs2Unix Dec 23 '18 at 16:10
  • @WinEunuuchs2Unix thanks! I feel so much better now :-) – heynnema Dec 23 '18 at 16:31

1 Answers1

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You don't need to reinstall Windows...

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 you've seen, Windows will no longer boot.

Do it this way...

Source: 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.
Community
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heynnema
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  • Thanks! that did it. Switched over to AHCI and then the Ubuntu installer found my drives. One thing to note: when I went to safe mode I had to enter my Microsoft online password instead of my pin - took me a little while to figure out what password I was supposed to type, – Thomas Kist Dec 23 '18 at 01:26