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I'm attempting to install Ubuntu 19.04 on a 2019 Dell Inspiron 7490 (service manual). When I get to the point of selecting a partition to install on, the installer can't find any hard drive and I just see an empty list like this:

here.

I found this information from Dell about the issue: https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln299303/loading-ubuntu-on-systems-using-pcie-m2-drives?lang=en

Although its a bit outdated. They suggest to first set the SATA operation to AHCI in BIOS. In my BIOS I don't get an option for AHCI as seen below:

here

Only disabled or RAID. To my understanding, AHCI is a type of RAID so maybe this is the correct setting. Thoughts?

Next, the Dell page suggests changing the Ubuntu boot options to include nvme_load=YES. I have not been able to do this as when I boot the installer from my USB I never see the keyboard prompt so I am unable to enter the menu where they change the boot options.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions regarding this? I don't need to keep the Windows installation so solutions that involve removing Windows are also welcome.

K7AAY
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Olle Nilsson
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  • Just letting you know that a newer version, 19.10, was released today. – Budget Tech Oct 17 '19 at 21:19
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    Intel Rapid Restore Technology is a windows thing, so you need to find a way to disable it first. It does not play well with Ubuntu. Although not totally impossible to install Ubuntu with Intel Rapid Restore Technology enabled. – Raffa Oct 17 '19 at 21:23
  • Please open a terminal window, and run lspci -v so we can see what hardware you have. Copy the results and come back here then click [edit] and paste them into your question. – K7AAY Jan 22 '20 at 16:33
  • any update on this? I have the similar situation that the machine is shipped with Windows 11, and I want to re-install the Ubuntu 18, but can't see the disk drive either in Ubuntu installation wizard, my BIOS does not have an option of AHCI mode enable or disable. – Shawn Dec 14 '21 at 03:13

1 Answers1

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AHCI is not a form of RAID; it adds capabilities in communicating to a SATA drive, but not RAID.

Until the drives appear in the BIOS/firmware setup, nothing you do will work in any OS. This is a firmware issue specific to this model of Dell, so I would ask Dell Support to get the drive to appear in BIOS/firmware setup.

K7AAY
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