[15:53] <CoryCollins[m]> Hi! I've been searching for a solution for ubuntu studio installer not recognizing my SSD. I'd like to dual boot an Acer ConceptD Ezel. It works perfectly from a live version, but does not see my ssd when I try to install. Anyone have any advice on that topic?
[16:02] <arraybolt3> CoryCollins[m]: Might be Intel RST? You don't happen to be using an Intel 10th Gen CPU and an NVMe SSD, do you?
[16:02] <CoryCollins[m]> Here are the specs:... (full message at <https://libera.ems.host/_matrix/media/v3/download/libera.chat/b4b726eef81dd294a53801d9feafd0d8575c3aaf>)
[16:02] <arraybolt3> CoryCollins[m]: At any rate, go into your system's BIOS settings and hunt around for anything about "RAID" related to your SSD. If you see that your SSD is in RAID mode, you'll need to get it switched to AHCI. However, doing that could stop Windows from booting, so you'll want these instructions: https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-installation-on-computers-with-intel-r-rst-enabled/15347
[16:03] <arraybolt3> Yeah that looks like Intel RST, you have a 10th Gen Intel CPU.
[16:03] <arraybolt3> Anyway, the link I shared above should give you what you need to switch your SSD into AHCI mode without bricking Windows. Once that's done, Ubuntu Studio should see the drive.
[16:04] <arraybolt3> (If your SSD can
[16:04] <arraybolt3> (If your SSD can't be switched into AHCI mode, you may need to get an external SSD to install Ubuntu Studio onto.)
[16:05] <CoryCollins[m]> Ok, I'll lcheck the bios settings to see how it's set up. I'm try to dual boot with an existing Windows 10 install, so I don't really want to mess that up. Will changing the ssd type in BIOS give the windows install a problem?
[16:05] <arraybolt3> CoryCollins[m]: Yes. The link above has info on how to avoid messing up Windows when doing this.
[16:05] <arraybolt3> (If you just switch the SSD to AHCI mode, Windows will fail to boot.)
[16:05] <arraybolt3> You need to reconfigure Windows to get it to work right in this setup.
[16:06] <CoryCollins[m]> Shit. I the second part of your convo appeared
[16:06] <arraybolt3> Ugh, Matrix bridge must be being slow.
[16:06] <arraybolt3[m]> OK, I'm on Matrix now.
[16:07] <CoryCollins[m]> Thanks! I'm going to dig into that some, check the BIOS. But a separate, external SSD might actually be more appropriate in my situation.
[16:08] <CoryCollins[m]> I hadn't thought of that.
[16:08] <arraybolt3[m]> Yeah, that will probably be easier. For audio work, you may want a real SSD (not an HDD) that connects over USB-C, if your hardware supports that.
[16:08] <arraybolt3[m]> The faster the SSD, the less lag it will have, and the less likely you'll get xruns during your work.
[16:09] <CoryCollins[m]> Yeah, I have one of those, and a thunderbolt port too.
[16:09] <arraybolt3[m]> (If I'm understanding correctly.)
[16:10] <CoryCollins[m]> I do mostly 3d modeling, animation with Blender and painting with Krita, so I hardly do any sound work at all.
[16:11] <CoryCollins[m]> Thanks again for your help. I'm going to tool around a bit and see If I can find a tut or instructions to make an install on an external device.
[16:13] <arraybolt3[m]> CoryCollins[m]: Installing to an external drive is super easy. Plug it in, start the installer, select the external drive when you get to the partitioning screen, and go.
[16:13] <arraybolt3[m]> (On the partitioning screen, there's a little drop-down menu at the top that lets you pick the drive to install to.)
[16:13] <arraybolt3[m]> And once you have the external drive attached, the installer should recognize that you now have a drive and will let you start the installation process,
[16:14] <CoryCollins[m]> I did the live install and I was so happy it work it so well on this laptop. I am only keeping windows on it if I need to interface with work. Otherwise I'm so sick of Windows and MS.
[16:15] <CoryCollins[m]> Cool! Will it boot into grub and let me select, or can I have it boot directly from the external drive when it's plugged in?
[16:15] <arraybolt3[m]> You should be able to have it boot from the external drive when it's plugged in.
[16:15] <arraybolt3[m]> (Ubuntu Studio won't see the internal drive and so can't modify it.)
[16:16] <arraybolt3[m]> If the internal drive could be seen, then you'd probably get the GRUB menu even though you were installing to an external drive.
[16:16] <arraybolt3[m]> But since the internal drive can't be seen, Ubuntu Studio should install to the external drive as though it were the only drive in the system. So if your BIOS is configured to boot from the external drive first, and then the internal one, then that's what should happen.
[16:16] <CoryCollins[m]> Right, right. that makes sense. If it doesn't see the drive, I shouldn't be able mess it up, lolol
[16:17] <CoryCollins[m]> Awesome sauce! Thanks again, and I'm going to see if I can do this!