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I'm new to Linux, but just loaded and installed Ubuntu 16.04.2 on my nephew's HP Pavilion Laptop (15-n037ncl).

Everything seems to be working fine except that the USB flash drive I used is now recognized as the primary drive, and I can't seem to figure out how to install and boot from the internal SSD. When I remove the USB drive and try to boot, it says there is no OS recognized.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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    It seems you installed the bootloader to the USB drive. Please tell us if the computer (running the installed system) boots in BIOS mode or UEFI mode, test -d /sys/firmware/efi && echo efi || echo bios Knowing the boot mode helps us help you.
    – sudodus
    Sep 24, 2017 at 3:25
  • After I installed the SSD, it booted in UEFI mode but a previous OS was installed using BIOS compatibility mode. If I force the UEFI mode installation, is there way to revert back?
    – Matt
    Sep 24, 2017 at 4:44

2 Answers 2

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It is likely, as sudodus write in a comment, that your bootloader is on the USB drive.

This can often be fixed with boot-repair. The answer here will guide you how to use boot-repair to get the internal drive to boot properly.

You can read more about boot-repair here.

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If you are happy with the current installed system

If you are happy with the current installed system and only want to make it independent of the USB drive, you can use Boot Repair as suggested in the answer by @John. There is also a direct link,

help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair

Otherwise ...

  • Ubuntu will be installed in the same mode as the computer was booted into, when you run the installer. So if the installer runs in BIOS mode, it will install Ubuntu for BIOS mode (alias CSM alias legacy mode). If the installer runs in UEFI mode, it will install Ubuntu for UEFI mode. It is possible to change mode, or even make the system bootable in both modes.

  • In BIOS mode, you can select 'Something else' at the installer's partitioning window, and at the bottom of the new window you can select the drive for the installer.

  • In UEFI mode, it looks like you can do it too, but the installer will select what it considers the first drive, /dev/sda, and install the bootloader on that drive, the ESP, EFI system partition. It ignores what you try to select.

  • You can convert between booting in BIOS and UEFI mode depending on the bootloader(s) that are installed. You can have either of them or both bootloaders (for BIOS mode and UEFI mode). See this link and links from it.

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    Here's the link to my specific system. I've been able to run through some of the suggestions mentioned above, but seem to be getting stuck. Maybe this will help: paste.ubuntu.com/25608840 The laptop was dead when I received (had to replace some hardware) and the SDD is brand new, so I'm not concerned about saving any data if that helps at all. He had previously attempted to install Windows 10, which didn't work...so I don't know if that's creating some issues as well.
    – Matt
    Sep 24, 2017 at 17:19
  • You should decide, if you want to boot your computer in BIOS mode or UEFI mode. Once you have decided that, you can continue. Maybe the easiest way is to boot Boot Repair in the mode you decide (BIOS or UEFI), and let it do its thing. If you choose UEFI, you should start by creating a partition, that can be used as an ESP (EFI System Partition), as suggested in the boot-info you uploaded to Pastebin. -- Please read the final text very carefully: "Suggested repair", "Advice in case of suggested repair" and "Final advice". Scroll horizontally to see all the text or copy it to a text editor.
    – sudodus
    Sep 24, 2017 at 19:26

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