up vote 16 down vote favorite
14

I am trying to install Ubuntu 14.04 / 15.10 on my Dell XPS 13 9350 (November 2015).

I created a bootable USB disk which boots fine but the installer and the file manager do not detect any hard drive (128GB SSD).

What is the problem ? How can I solve it ?

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up vote 7 down vote

The main problem is that DELL shipped with Windows pre-installed in IDE mode.
The best solution in every aspect is to perform a clean installation of Windows.
As a side effect you achieve one big advantage : pure Windows without any crap.

Boot from a GParted Live media and format the Windows partition with ntfs.
Boot into BIOS/UEFI of the PC and change the settings to AHCI/SATA mode.
Reinstall Windows - Boot from Ubuntu installation media and reinstall GRUB.

Boot into BIOS and select Ubuntu to be the default operating system to boot.
Now you can select which system to boot, without having to change settings.
Before reinstalling GRUB - disable Hibernation and Fast startup in Windows.

For those users who don't want to reinstall Windows, there is a way to switch to AHCI mode :
Enable AHCI mode in Windows Vista and Windows 7 after installation of the operating system
Enable AHCI mode in Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 after installation of the operating system

Note : It is recommended to create a Windows system backup before, things may break badly !

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so Windows install first, followed by Ubuntu install ? – toine Apr 26 '16 at 21:40
1  
@toine : Yes, it is recommended to first install Windows and afterwards Ubuntu. :) – cl-netbox Apr 27 '16 at 16:59
up vote 35 down vote

Found here.

http://www.tenforums.com/drivers-hardware/15006-attn-ssd-owners-enabling-ahci-mode-after-windows-10-installation-5.html

  1. Run Command Prompt as Admin
  2. Invoke a Safe Mode boot with the command: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal
  3. Restart the PC and enter your BIOS during bootup.
  4. Change from IDE to AHCI mode then Save & Exit.
  5. Windows 10 will launch in Safe Mode.
  6. Right click the Window icon and select to run the Command Prompt in Admin mode from among the various options.
  7. Cancel Safe Mode booting with the command: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot
  8. Restart your PC once more and this time it will boot up normally but with AHCI mode activated.
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1  
It works!! No need of reinstalling Windows. Thanks! – RafaelCaballero May 1 '16 at 14:55
1  
quick and easy solution. TY – couettos Jul 19 '16 at 20:50
3  
This should be the accepted answer – Roman L Dec 10 '16 at 14:10
2  
+1 - Never been easier to switch to AHCI! – Austin Dec 29 '16 at 1:15
1  
this should be recommended answer – user3364192 Mar 2 '17 at 16:27
up vote 18 down vote

So far the only workaround I found is to switch to AHCI Sata mode in BIOS settings:

  1. Boot into BIOS (F12 at startup)
  2. Select Bios Setup.
  3. Move to System Configuration > SATA Operation and select AHCI.

Restart the computer and now the Ubuntu installer will detect the SSD.

Unfortunately this is not practical for a dual boot setup as Windows won't be able to boot in SATA mode so you every time will have to revert the BIOS settings when wanting to boot Windows.

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1  
It doesn't break your Windows installation. It's just that you won't be able to boot into Windows if you change the SATA mode. But if you revert back then, you will be able to boot into Windows but this time not into Ubuntu. – Raphael Nov 10 '15 at 20:22
    
You are right, I updated my answer to make it clearer. Thanks! – hg8 Nov 10 '15 at 20:29
    
@cl-netbox Indeed, unfortunately the pre-installed Windows is not in AHCI mode... – hg8 Nov 11 '15 at 10:14
4  
You can create the boot recovery USB thumb drive, boot from there and repair windows install by choosing to "keep your personal files". Then windows will boot again in AHCI mode. – Metiu Nov 25 '15 at 12:39
2  
It also works in the new dell xps 15 – nanounanue Dec 8 '16 at 17:43

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