Hi everyone! I'm trying to set up a dual-boot system with Ubuntu and Windows, but I'm running into a major hurdle. When I get to the part of the Ubuntu installer where I can choose how to install it, I'm only given the option for a manual installation. I've created an unallocated partition of 700 GB in Windows specifically for Ubuntu, but all I see are some generic partitions listed as "sda" and "sda1," with the latter being only 16 GB. I've already disabled Fast Startup and reformatted my live USB with both MBR and GPT, and I've checked that BitLocker is off. Anything else I can try? By the way, I'm using an Alienware 16X Aurora laptop, and I'm not looking to buy a second drive right now. Thanks!
5 Answers
Double check if Fast Boot is enabled in Windows—sometimes that can cause issues with disks that have NTFS partitions, especially when Windows is involved. Disabling it might help the installer detect the drives correctly.
You could also try the 'Try Ubuntu' option first. From there, open up the Partition Manager to see your hard drive's partitions. It can give you a clearer picture before launching the installer, so you can have better control over where everything goes.
It sounds like the installer is having trouble detecting your hard drive correctly. You might want to boot into the live environment and check the disk management tool to see how your drives and partitions appear there. That could give you more info about what's going on. Sometimes the installer doesn't see the Windows partitions if it's not reading them properly.
For the easiest and safest path, try creating the partition for Ubuntu directly from Windows before attempting the installation. You can definitely do it manually from the installer, but pre-setting it in Windows can simplify things a lot.
Make sure to check your BIOS settings for the RAID/AHCI configuration. You definitely want to set that to AHCI if it isn’t already. That could prevent the installer from properly seeing your drives. If you can't find the option, it might be worth checking your motherboard manual or looking online for your specific model.
If all else fails, you might want to reset your BIOS settings to default. Sometimes that helps with options not appearing.
I did look for that setting, but it wasn’t visible in my BIOS either. Not sure what else to do.