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I have a Dell Latitude 7400 and want to install Ubuntu 19.04. When in the install menu, I don't see its SSD, only my current USB drive. Windows 10 is installed on this laptop, but I don't see it. What could be cause of this problem?

K7AAY
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mystdeim
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1 Answers1

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The problem is a known limitation when working with Intel RST and the AHCI+RAID mode set by default in the BIOS/firmware on newer systems (especially Dells).

This is Intel Rapid Storage technology, but Ubuntu can't work with it. In the firmware of the system you have to disable the AHCI+RAID SATA mode and switch it to just AHCI mode. That will let Ubuntu see the drive.

BE WARNED! If you intend to access the Windows OS at some point, you'll have to switch back to AHCI+RAID in the BIOS/firmware, or you'll have to convert Windows' AHCI+RAID install to just AHCI - using a guide such as this one on thinkcritical.com. Otherwise, Windows will fail to boot. (Because fixing Windows is offtopic here however I'm not going to go into detail on how to fix this here)

K7AAY
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Thomas Ward
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  • Is the RST for Linux interoperable with Windows RST enough to allow reading Windows RST volumes (sic?) from Linux? Ref.: Intel® Rapid Storage Technology https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/rapid-storage-technology.html, formerly known as Matrix RAID, offered on selected Core and Xeon processors, offers RAID levels 0, 1, and 10 to users of Windows 10 and Linux.

    Linux supports Matrix RAID through device mapper https://packages.ubuntu.com/bionic/admin/dmraid (DM-RAID) & Linux MD RAID http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/bionic/man8/mdadm.8.html

     – K7AAY Oct 14 '19 at 16:19
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    Windows AHCI instructions https://askubuntu.com/questions/1148120/ubuntu-18-0x-not-detecting-windows-ssd-during-installation & https://askubuntu.com/questions/963087/install-dual-boot-ubuntu-with-windows-10-and-raid-on#963100 May also have to turn off bitlocker, if used. AHCI vs RAID speed same, one user says power use lower with RAID? 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 & https://itpeernetwork.intel.com/finding-your-new-intel-ssd-for-pcie-think-nvme-not-scsi/ – oldfred Oct 14 '19 at 16:31