Cannot install Ubuntu 16.04 Alongside Pre-Installed Windows 10

[Daniel LeBlanc]

Hello.

I am trying to install Ubuntu 16.04.4 LTS from USB (which has been used successfully in the past) alongside pre-installed Windows 10 on a new Acer Aspire TC-895-EB11 desktop.

I expected that the install process would recognize the free partition created on the GPT disk, but it does not.

I reviewed and followed the steps in this guide (https://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/how-do-i-install-ubuntu-alongside-a-pre-installed-windows-with-uefi) - no change. I disabled Secure Boot in the BIOS - no change. The drive & partitions do not appear to be recognized by Ubuntu.

As recommended in the guide, I am submitting this bug report. Any assistance would be much appreciated! I only purchased this desktop to run Ubuntu, but would prefer to keep the Windows 10 partition usable in case I ever want to use it.

Thanks!

[Chris Guiver (guiverc)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Please execute the following command only once, as it will automatically gather debugging information, in a terminal:

apport-collect 1911578

When reporting bugs in the future please use apport by using 'ubuntu-bug' and the name of the package affected. You can learn more about this functionality at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReportingBugs.

I've marked this incomplete, once you have completed the apport-collect step, you can change the status back to "New". If you believe I'm in error or otherwise, please leave a comment as to why. Using built-in tools on the Ubuntu ISOs and install media, cause logs & details of your system to be uploaded, the `apport-collect` when run on the machine you installed/attempted-install on will attempt to get details as to your issue, Currently no such details are available

I suspect a Support site would be more appropriate, eg. https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu. You can also find help with your problem in the support forum of your local Ubuntu community http://loco.ubuntu.com/ or asking at https://askubuntu.com or https://ubuntuforums.org, or for more support options please look at https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/community-support/709

[Chris Guiver (guiverc)]

FYI: If you no longer have the attempted-install system running, I would suggest re-trying the install, and if the error re-occurs, then run the `apport-collect` I suggested in the prior comment. It won't be the same logs, but the logs of the reoccurrence will be as valuable (as will likely be the same issue).

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

If your laptop has an nvme drive in it, the kernel in Ubuntu 16.04 may be too old to recognize it.

This is not something that will be fixed. There are two newer LTS releases of Ubuntu available if you need support for newer hardware in the installer.

Regardless, hardware detection is a kernel function, not a ubiquity function, so reassigning to the correct package.

[Ubuntu Kernel Bot (ubuntu-kernel-bot)]

This bug is missing log files that will aid in diagnosing the problem. While running an Ubuntu kernel (not a mainline or third-party kernel) please enter the following command in a terminal window:

apport-collect 1911578

and then change the status of the bug to 'Confirmed'.

If, due to the nature of the issue you have encountered, you are unable to run this command, please add a comment stating that fact and change the bug status to 'Confirmed'.

This change has been made by an automated script, maintained by the Ubuntu Kernel Team.

[Daniel LeBlanc (djleblan)]

Hi Chris / Steve.

Thanks you for your quick response.

Chris - I had left the install window open and ran 'apport-collect 1911578' within a terminal as requested and authorized it. The window appeared indicating that it was collecting data and then the python job crashed:

dpkg-query: no packages found matching linux
Traceback
...
AttributeError: ConfigParser instance has no attribute 'read_string'

I am not sure if any meaningful information was gathered and uploaded.

Steve - NVME appears to be a storage device connected directly to the PCI bus (https://www.howtogeek.com/404627/what-are-nvme-drives-and-should-you-buy-one/). This desktop has a standard 1TB drive that is SATA-connected.

If it is likely that Ubuntu 16.04 is too old to recognize my new hardware then I can give Ubuntu 18.xx LTS a try. I have 8 other systems running Ubuntu 16.04 and have not had any reason to upgrade to date.

Thanks!

[Daniel LeBlanc (djleblan)]

As requested by 'Ubuntu Kernel Bot', I am changing the status of this request to 'Confirmed' as both ran the requested command and was unable to run the command (it failed).

[Daniel LeBlanc (djleblan)]

Hello All.

The root cause was determined to be that Ubuntu could not see the installed hard drive, which was verified using a number of commands including 'fdisk -l' from the installation environment. I had another look at the system BIOS settings and changed 'Onboard SATA Mode' from 'Intel RST Premium' to 'AHCI'. This allowed the Ubuntu 16.04 install to recognize the hard drive partitions during the install and still allows Windows to boot normally. I was able to complete the install without difficulty after making this change.

Thanks for your quick response on this support request!