Ubuntu 16.04 installer can't find my SSD on my Dell XPS 15

Question

I'm trying to install Ubuntu 16.04 on my Dell XPS 15, but the installer can't find my SSD.

I want to do a dual boot, keeping Ubuntu and Windows 10.

Solution 1

You will need to switch the SSD controller mode in BIOS settings (press F12 when booting) from "RAID" to "AHCI", as right now Linux doesn't have the firmware support for the former mode, so cannot recognise the SSD drive.

Solution 2

The guide by Sam Nicholls doesn't quite work with the latest Intel RST driver. However, I used the following solution switching Win10 into safe mode before the BIOS change and switching it back after AHCI is correctly installed as the new default, and it works on my Dell XPS 8930.

Comments

[Melebius]

Can you see it in the live mode (Try Ubuntu without installing)?

[Jeferson Pisoni]

Switching from RAID to AHCI did work, the issue is that every time I'll have to go through BIOS settings and switch RAID to AHCI. My idea is that it shows me the two options straight away, without having to keep going through BIOS setup.

[Kaijia Feng]

Did you save the BIOS settings after changes?

[Jeferson Pisoni]

Yes I did. I realised that if RAID is not on, Windows doesn't work. So if I need switch between the two OS, I have to switch from RAID to AHCI or vice versa.

[Kaijia Feng]

You will need to follow this guide samnicholls.net/2016/01/14/… to switch Windows to AHCI.

[Jeferson Pisoni]

I did it, but didn't work. Instead I had to reset Windows 10 because it wouldn't load anymore. I believe I'll have to format my SSD and install Windows 10 from the beginning..

[Boris Hamanov]

See my answer at askubuntu.com/questions/932997/…