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I got a a400 120GB SSD and I've proceeded to install Ubuntu Mate 18.04. After the installation it told me to reboot. I changed the boot order to start from the IDEO(up until now there was no name for the SSD there, it appears blank) and all I get is

No operating system found

Things I've tried since then with no success.

  1. Changed from IDE to AHCI and back
  2. Tried to boot-repair the SSD from a USB
  3. Changed the mount point to /boot
  4. Changed from disk management to mount from startup the SSD
  5. Re-installed the same ISO from the start 3 times

My problem is that the SSD works fine from a SATA dock after I change the order to start from USB. It won't start from the SATA connection on the mb,where the previous HDD works fine (I've checked). Also I've checked inside the SSD and there is a boot and a grub folder.

Can someone help me see what I'm missing?

Kulfy
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JohnTheDude
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  • Are you booting the livecd with EFI and how do you partition your disks ? – Jeryosh Jun 27 '20 at 19:49
  • My disk at the moment is one big partition.I ve read that there's no need for a separate boot partition,is this correct?Also right now I either boot from my previous HDD with Ubuntu mate 14 or a boot repair usb,that's how I run gparted or a disk management programm – JohnTheDude Jun 27 '20 at 19:55
  • You should use a separate partition for boot. You can add with gparted a 512 Mio fat32 partition with "boot" and "esp" flags. The Ubuntu installer will automatically use this partition for the boot loader. – Jeryosh Jun 27 '20 at 20:10
  • Should I edit the big partition and try to create a sub partition or start over?will there be a problem with the current grub folder? – JohnTheDude Jun 27 '20 at 20:13
  • I think the boot partition need to be a primary partition. You can resize the big partition or start over. The current grub folder will be deleted but if the boot entry in your bios boot order menu doesn't delete by itself you can delete it with the command efibootmgr (but you need to be carefull with this tool). – Jeryosh Jun 27 '20 at 20:24
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    UEFI or BIOS? Do not confuse a /boot partition (rarely required with desktop installs) and an ESP - efi system partition which has initial grub boot file. The ESP is somewhat equivalent to the MBR in the old BIOS/MBR configuration. Older as now swap partition not requried: https://askubuntu.com/questions/743095/how-to-prepare-a-disk-on-an-efi-based-pc-for-ubuntu If external drive, UEFI only boots from /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi just like Ubuntu installer does. – oldfred Jun 27 '20 at 20:24
  • @jerare I tried to create a small partition inside the /device/sda1-ext4 that now is the only partition but theres no "new"option. Only "delete,resize/move,format" and the rest. Im in the gparted program – JohnTheDude Jun 27 '20 at 21:13
  • @oldfred I assume this solution requires me to erase the disk again?is there another way?I'm trying to create a partition table and it warns me that the disk will be erased.also I don't have a legacy option as mentioned in my bios.I think I confuse something for sure – JohnTheDude Jun 27 '20 at 21:16
  • If you originally installed in Legacy mode it probably used MBR and then drive would be erased if you convert to gpt. There are tools to convert to gpt but you still have to reinstall grub from live installer. Often then easier to reinstall, if you have not done a lot of configuration. – oldfred Jun 27 '20 at 22:34
  • @oldfred I googled most of the things you said because I had no idea.I guess because it's an old laptop it's the old bios (legacy mode) and not a modern Uefi.Also I don't think that I clicked an mbr option anywhere and I think there where folders with gpt names in the ssd. Since I'm lost once again is there a guide how to install a new flavour(mate 18.04) on an ssd in an old laptop or is that too much to ask? – JohnTheDude Jun 27 '20 at 23:16
  • Actual install process is pretty much the same. It just is with BIOS you install grub to MBR for booting. If you only want Ubuntu the default install makes one large / (root) partition. Often better to have separate / & /home, but if new user the default install is ok on a smaller drive. If a multi-TB drive, I would suggest /home or data partitions for sure. https://askubuntu.com/questions/6328/how-do-i-install-ubuntu I also prefer newer gpt, but then you have to have a bios_grub partition to boot in BIOS mode. But easier to in future use drive for UEFI as it wants gpt. – oldfred Jun 27 '20 at 23:24
  • I'm lost once again...I went back and tried to partition a 2gb /dev/sdb1 fat32 /boot inside the 120gb ssd before installing Ubuntu using the "something else" option. Before that I made it a whole 112gb unallocated space. I selected this /dev/seb1/ (fat32) partition as a device for boot loader installation and clicked "install now".I get a message saying "no root file system is defined,please correct this from the partitioning menu" and I cant continue....Where did I go wrong again? – JohnTheDude Jun 28 '20 at 13:21
  • Also I figured out that the usb stick also appears as a physical space in the partitioning option.Why is that? – JohnTheDude Jun 28 '20 at 13:26
  • New attempt...Defined a root partition ext4,defined a swap space,defined a logical home partition,everything seemed ok,still "no os found"....I took care and made the whole ssd an unallocated space before all that so it would be a clean install.Im getting angry at this point,why is a simple installation so hard???? – JohnTheDude Jun 28 '20 at 14:49

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