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I have an issue installing Ubuntu 20.04 on my Dell XPS 15 9550.

Here are my actions:

  1. Created a boot drive using Rufus in MBR mode
  2. Disabled Intel Rapid Storage controller
  3. Chose my USB stick from UEFI boot section
  4. After GRUB had a black screen
  5. Attempted to fix the issue by changing quiet splash to nomodeset (didn't work)
  6. Attempted to boot from legacy boot section (got me into the live image)
  7. Upon trying to install Ubuntu Windows 10 was not detected (theory: Ubuntu can't see Windows as the live image was launched in legacy mode)
  8. Attempted to partition the drive manually and install Ubuntu that way, however GRUB failed to install to its partition
  9. Formated the USB drive from Windows using Rufus again, but this time using GPT partition scheme
  10. The drive wasn't detected as a bootable device

At this point I am not sure what to do. I'm guessing that I need to change some of my BIOS settings, but I don't know to what.

The strange thing is that I managed to install Fedora dual boot previously on this machine, but after removing it I wasn't able to install Ubuntu. (I removed both the partition and the GRUB bootloader to get a clean start)

Any advice will be welcome!

edit 1: So added another EFI boot option by using the BOOTX64.EFI file in my BIOS however, I am met with a black screen after GRUB. I tried nomodeset again but that did not help.

Zeroid
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  • Hello. You should have made it in UEFI mode. . Sorry first mistake, I did not read past this point as this is wrong. – David Apr 04 '22 at 09:32
  • After digging around the BIOS a bit, I found an add boot option where I can choose a file from the USB stick. Hence the USB stick is detected, but not seen as a boot drive. Can I potentially pick a file from my USB stick and boot that way. If so, which file should it be? – Zeroid Apr 04 '22 at 09:44
  • @David please read point 9 in my actions. I did try GPT mode also. – Zeroid Apr 04 '22 at 09:46
  • Still not using the right setting. UEFI mode. To access the UEFI menu, create a bootable USB media: Format a USB device in FAT32. Create a directory on the USB device: /efi/boot/ Copy the file shell. efi to the directory created above. ... Rename the file shell.efi to BOOTX64.efi. Restart the system and enter the UEFI menu. Select the option to Boot from USB. – David Apr 04 '22 at 09:49
  • One example of how to use the UEFI mode it is supported by Rufus. – David Apr 04 '22 at 09:50
  • Also, Windows will not be recognized if fastboot is enabled. You must disable this in your windows settings before installation and you must completely shut down and do not hibernate or windows will not be recognized. – mchid Apr 04 '22 at 10:11
  • @David I looked into my USB stick's directory and found the /EFI/BOOT/ directory already present with BOOTX64.EFI already within it. I think Rufus took care of that when I chose GPT partition scheme. Seems like that is fine, but refer to point 10 of my question as it still isn't working. – Zeroid Apr 04 '22 at 10:46
  • @mchid I forgot to mention that I disabled fastboot and hibernate already. Thanks for the suggestion though! – Zeroid Apr 04 '22 at 10:46
  • Should be similar with 20.04 Ubuntu 16 on the DELL XPS15 9550 Tutorial https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2345444 Ubuntu 16.04 on Dell Xps 15 9550 (i7-6700HQ - 1TB SSD - UHD 4k touch) mega-thread http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2317843 Dell Xps 15 9550 Ubuntu 15.10 on new Infinity display (i7 6gen 16gbr UHD 4k touch) post 272 says 16.04 good http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2301071 Also similar: https://askubuntu.com/questions/696413/ubuntu-installer-cant-find-any-disk-on-dell-xps-13-9350/743329#743329 – oldfred Apr 04 '22 at 13:31

2 Answers2

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Did you install Windows from legacy boot?

I went through all of these recently.

I guess you should install ubuntu the way you installed Windows(both legacy or uefi)

I installed Windows from legacy boot and my bootable flash drive containing ubuntu was uefi, I didn't had "install along side Windows 10" option until I made my bootable drive legacy mode(using rufus).

P.s. If you can install both Windows and ubuntu with uefi boot(and gpt papartition scheme) you're less likely to run into problems with making enough partition for both operating systems.

  • My Windows is installed in UEFI mode and I selected GPT for my partition scheme and UEFI (non CSM) in Rufus, so they should be matching. I'm just struggling with the UEFI boot drive not being shown in the boot options – Zeroid Apr 04 '22 at 10:50
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So what worked for me is that I instead downloaded the Ubuntu 18.04 ISO and then upgraded it. I am not sure if I did an extra step, but Windows was detected and I didn't have to go into legacy mode.

For anyone in the future reading this thread, maybe attempt this. I've still used Rufus to create the installation media.

Thank you to all the people who helped me!

Zeroid
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  • Hello. This may have worked for you but it is not really an answer. Thousands have installed 20.04 without doing this. Finding the real problem is a better answer. – David Apr 05 '22 at 06:54