Install Ubuntu 12.04 64bits on dell XPS 14 ultrabook

Question

I cannot install Ubuntu 12.04 64 bits on my new dell XPS 14 ultrabook. When I tried to install it from a usb drive or wubi the installer says: "No root file system selected".

The problem is that I cannot see my hard drives and I cannot create a new partition, delete one, etc., bc the buttons are disabled.

Hardware:

• 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3517U processor (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz)
• 14.0" HD+ (900p) Truelife Infinity Display with Skype-Certified Hi-Def Webcam
• 8GB2 DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz
• 500GB 5400 HDD with 32GB mSATA
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 630M with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Solution

why don't you try this? I remember coming across a problem similar to yours.

Run this command as root:

dmraid -E -r /dev/sdX

Where 'X' is the letter that identifies your actual device.

Source: http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ubuntu-installer-cant-find-my-sata-drive/

Comments

[Peachy]

Have you tried, clicking on the "Try Ubuntu" option first, then using GParted to view your disk partitions? You can modify your partitions with GParted while running a live session before you do the install.

[JDS]

Hey, @user78484, how has the overall experience on this machine been? Specifically wrt Ubuntu. All hardware works? Sleep? Hibernate? Trackpad features? Wireless? Video card? Also, have you tried the Project Sputnik image? (Don't know if Sputnik works on anything but the XPS 13 though). Thanks!

[user99306]

Had the same problem and resolved it with Martin's answer, thanks. To answer JDS's question; the XPS 14 works perfectly from install, arguably better than windows 8. In Ubuntu the trackpad works, wireless works great (both 2.4 and 5GHz), sleep and hibernate both work hitherto without problems (I get the BSOD often when resuming from sleep in Windows 8). Graphics worked fine, however Ubuntu didn't detect my Nvidia graphics card which meant it was on all the time and affecting battery life (2-3h), installation of bumblebee corrected this and turned off the card and battery life is now 5-6 hours.