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I have Windows 10 installed on a 256gb SSD with a NTFS File System. I noticed that when trying to replace the OS with Ubuntu 16.04 that my partitions were not showing up, only my FAT-32 USB Drive with the Ubuntu ISO.

I then went into my BIOS and saw that my computer was using RAID (Intel Rapid Storage Technology), not AHCI.

Will my drive show up when installing Windows if I change to AHCI or are these problems unrelated?

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  • Honestly, I think it works better with AHCI, as I set all my Linux hosts that have that setting to it. However, if you plan on booting back to your Windows before you install, don't change it yet, as a change like this will mess up your Windows installation.
    – Terrance
    Jan 30, 2018 at 21:42
  • @Terrance will changing to AHCI let linux show my partitions when installing? Jan 30, 2018 at 22:08
  • I think you are more after if it sees the hard drive. As if you are replacing Windows and getting rid of it completely, then the partitions are not going to matter as you should be creating all new ones for Ubuntu as it defaults to ext4 filesystem instead of NTFS like Windows is installed into.
    – Terrance
    Jan 30, 2018 at 22:11
  • @Terrance Okay, will changing to AHCI let linux show my HARD DRIVE? Jan 30, 2018 at 22:13
  • Sorry, it took so long to reply, but it should be able to see the drive in AHCI mode. If I remember right on my hosts, I was not able to see the drives when I had it in RAID mode for the controller.
    – Terrance
    Jan 31, 2018 at 3:05

2 Answers 2

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Will my drive show up when installing Windows if I change to AHCI or are these problems unrelated?

In my experience, the answer is yes. Changing the controller from Intel RST Premium (or similar) to AHCI will allow the Ubuntu installer (and GParted) to view the disk and its partitions.

I had to make the same change on my laptop in order to proceed with installation (dual boot). I have written about the steps as a reply to this question: Trouble installing ubuntu for dual boot along with win 10. The installation type table is empty.

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If you're trying to install Ubuntu in EFI mode, then you should disable Intel's RST before installing it to avoid boot problems after installation. Source: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

Copying from the source:

  • In your firmware, disable QuickBoot/FastBoot and Intel Smart Response Technology (SRT). If you have Windows 8, also disable Fast Startup. Disabling Fast Startup is only related to those who want to dual-boot Ubuntu with Windows of course.
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  • You are using RST (Rapid Storage Technology) and SRT (Smart Response Technology) in the same post. It makes things confusing.... Plus I think this issue is more about INTEL RAID vs AHCI. Most systems default to INTEL RAID even when RST can't be implemented, ie there isn't an SSD to cache the HDD to. If you do have an SSD that is accelerating an HDD via Intel RST then yes you must decelerate it before installing Linux. IIRC you also have to decelerate the HDD to SSD acceleration if you are even updating a new kernels which runs update-initramfs but I'm not positive on that one. Jan 31, 2018 at 1:46
  • @WinEunuuchs2Unix Copying from Intel's website: Intel® Smart Response Technology is a feature of Intel® Rapid Storage Technology (Intel® RST) that enables either a dual drive—lower-cost, small-capacity SSD used in conjunction with a low-cost, high-capacity hard disk drive (HDD)—or a solid state hybrid drive (SSHD) to provide a high-performance, cost-effective storage solution.
    – Shayan
    Jan 31, 2018 at 7:44

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