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I need help. This is my first time with Ubuntu. I had a hard drive crash, and thought this would be a good time to switch over. Having said that, launched into this with no former knowledge.

I bought a 500GB WD Blue SSD. I will probably by a bigger one for storage later.

I completely removed any old hard drives. No trace of Windows.

I started by downloading Ubuntu iso, then flashing it 16GB Sandisk USB key. I also used Rufus and another app prior to.

I plugged the USB key in, had the BIOS start at the USB key. It unpacked the ISO, and loaded Ubuntu.

It appears that it has made 2 different operating systems: (1) for the USB key, which works just fine, but is limited, and(2) Ubuntu operating on the SSD.

So, if I shut off the computer, if I leave the USB key in, it starts back up.

If I take the USB key out, it does not see the SSD as having a boot record. The BIOS does see the SSD, and but when it boots up without the USB key, it acts like the SSD is not there and is looking for a boot record on some other device.

One thing. to note, and I am not sure if it is important, is that at first, I could not even write to the SSD, but after doing the nsftfix and fsck, between those two, something fixed it, and I was able to copy files on to the SSD.

I appreciate any help that you can give me. This is really holding me up. I am OK with getting into terminal and drafting the lines, I just need step by step. It seems like a simple thing, and what I have reviewed, this seems to be a pretty common problem but without easy answers. Speaking for myself, its this kind of frustration that turns people off. Its a matter of frustration and time. But, I do like the outlay of Ubuntu, to me its more like Apple GUI than Windows, and I am tired of MS and what it stands for.

For the record I did download the Boot Record fixer app, but have not known what to do with it yet.

Thanks for any help in advance.

RTW

Todd Waddell
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  • I do not understand unpacking ISO. Rufus should have done that onto 16GB flash drive and then you boot system in UEFI mode & do install onto SSD. Is not explicit about UEFI boot, but shows many install screens. https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop#1-overview Many systems require UEFI settings, many defaults are set for Windows. What brand/model system? Some also need UEFI firmware update. And even new SSD often need firmware updates. https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2467629&p=14061395#post14061395 – oldfred Jun 25 '22 at 16:50
  • I just said unpacking the ISO meaning it started installing from the flash drive. I do not have any option for UEFI mode in the BIOS. I have not even seen anything that UEFI. Dell XPS 8300. – Todd Waddell Jun 25 '22 at 18:23
  • If from 2011, it then may be BIOS only. It was about then that vendors started converting BIOS to UEFI even with some Windows 7 systems. I still used gpt partitioning back in 2011, but had to have a tiny 1MB unformatted partition with bios_grub flag. I used gparted to do that. Does BIOS show SSD? If not then that is a major issue. Also how much RAM? if 4GB or less, you may prefer a lighter weight flavor. Ubuntu assumes newer systems. https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours Light weight flavors: Lubuntu, xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Budgie I use Kubuntu which is more mid-weight. – oldfred Jun 25 '22 at 19:19
  • 8 Gigabyte Ram, and the BIOS does show the SSD, proper identifies, everything. – Todd Waddell Jun 25 '22 at 20:40
  • Just to see what is where: Please copy & paste the pastebin link to the Bootinfo summary report ( do not post report), do not run the auto fix till reviewed.Lets see details, use ppa version with your USB installer (2nd option) or any working install, not Boot-Repair ISO https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair &
    https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home/Home/     – oldfred Jun 25 '22 at 22:04
  • Does this answer your question? Can't boot without Flash Drive plugged in – karel Jun 26 '22 at 09:52
  • I tried the install that Karel posted. I think it revealed what the issue is as the response stated: sudo grub-install /dev/sda Installing for i386-pc platform. grub-install: warning: this GPT partition label contains no BIOS Boot Partition; embedding won't be possible. grub-install: error: embedding is not possible, but this is required for cross-disk install. – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 19:49
  • So, it looks like there is no boot partition on SSD at all. what do I do from here? Also, I will try to get a boot report summary. – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 19:50
  • Boot Summary Report http://paste.ubuntu.com/p/fhrjzyvzCr/ – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 19:53
  • MacEFI detected. Please disable BIOS-compatibility/CSM/Legacy mode in your UEFI firmware, and use this software from a live-CD (or live-USB) that is compatible with UEFI booting mode. For example, use a live-USB of Boot-Repair-Disk-64bit (www.sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair-cd), after making sure your BIOS is set up to boot USB in EFI mode. – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 20:00
  • I also get that message when I try and get into Boot Repair – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 20:01
  • So when I just now tried to placed GRUB in the MBR on SDA (WD Blue SSD) I got the MacEFI detected error, about "Please disable BIOS-comptibility/CSM/Legacy mode in your UEFI firmware" and I don't have a clue where that is, I do not see it in the BIOS. – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 20:05
  • Also, it looks like the Dell SPX 8300 is a Legacy BIOS if that helps. – Todd Waddell Jun 26 '22 at 20:24

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