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January 26th, 2022 12:00
XPS 8940, Linux install, no boot in AHCI mode
I just got a new 8940. I'm trying to install Linux. Right now, I'm trying to use an Xubuntu live DVD.
It came with an SSD configured with a UEFI partition, a Windows partition, and 3 (I think) recovery partitions.
I never configured Windows. I have no interest in dual booting. I wouldn't have paid to have Windows included if that had been an option.
I had to work my way to advance technical support by threatening to just return the stupid thing before I could find someone who knew how to do something like the RTC reset to be able to get to the Dell logo so that I could get into the BIOS setup.
After that, I was able to add "boot from DVD" as an option. This model isn't certified to work with Ubuntu, but everything seems to work fine. So I tried to start the intall. It failed, because Intel RST won't work.
So I went back into the BIOS settings and switched the SATA Configuration setting from Raid On to AHCI mode.
In this configuration, the system will not boot. It goes into a mode where it does a memory check, then it offers to restore my broken OS.
I've plugged in a couple of SATA drives from my previous desktop. The BIOS sees them. If I switch back to "Raid On" mode, I can boot from the Live DVD and see them.
I think it "sees" the SSD device, but I can't do anything with it. When I try to run fdisk on it, I get an illegal seek error. Actually, I think the nvme command was able to list the partitions, but I couldn't find any documentation about that.
I've tried unplugging it completely. I moved it to a USB enclosure and removed the Windows partition and then the UEFI partition. Both times, I reinstalled it and verified that the behavior is the same.
For my next step, I'm tempted to try installing to it as a USB drive. The tech didn't know if it was more likely to be able to boot from a USB drive than a DVD, but he insisted that's the only way they support clean operating system installations.
I think I've tried all these variations with secure boot mode both on and off. That didn't seem to matter.
Am I missing something? This seems to cover everything the web claims needs to be done.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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redxps630
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January 26th, 2022 12:00
Re: It came with an SSD configured with a UEFI partition, a Windows partition, and 3 (I think) recovery partitions.
If the 8940 has no HDD only one ssd, can you just let bios stay in RAID mode and boot from your bootable Linux installation dvd and try a clean OS install on the ssd by deleting all old partitions then create new partition? I do not know how your Linux DVD works but a Windows install DVD would let me choose custom (clean) install.
jimrthy
3 Posts
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February 3rd, 2022 23:00
The clean install eventually worked, but I had to jump through a lot of hoops.
I moved the SSD into an external USB drive. Then I used my linux DVD as the boot disk in a different computer that isn't as messed up as this one and still boots in old-school BIOS mode. I had to recreate the FAT32 UEFI partition and install GRUB onto it as a completely separate step from installing the OS.
I've been installing and running linux for over 25 years now. I spent a couple of those years doing this professionally. Dell has turned this into the worst installation experience I can remember. It was worse than the hours that I spent feeding one floppy disk after another to install Slackware back before CDs were a thing.
Once I had the OS installed that way, I was able to
and finally boot up my computer.
This process was miserable because Dell charges for tech support that is not superficial, and they have made it extremely difficult to get away from Windows.
I'm sad about this. I've been completely happy with the Dell laptop I bought about 6 years ago. I completely and totally blame Microsoft for bullying hardware manufacturers into making this difficult.
But I also will probably never buy another Dell. You have to stand up to bullies, or you become part of the problem.