I'm trying to set up a dual-boot system with Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows on my Dell/Alienware laptop which has an NVMe SSD. When my BIOS is set to RAID/Intel RST, Windows boots perfectly, but Ubuntu can't detect the internal disk at all. Switching the BIOS to AHCI allows Ubuntu to install and run smoothly, but Windows then fails with an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error. It's a real catch-22: RAID mode lets Windows work at the expense of Ubuntu, and AHCI mode does the opposite. What's the best long-term solution for this? Should I convert Windows to work with AHCI or stick with RAID and try to enable Intel RST/VMD support for Ubuntu? I appreciate any advice people can share!
2 Answers
You need to ensure that Windows is configured for AHCI. While it can be tricky to migrate from RAID to AHCI directly, a fresh installation of Windows under AHCI should work just fine. Since your Alienware ships with RAID enabled by default, it might be best to reinstall Windows in AHCI mode. This allows you to have both OSes running on AHCI, which should provide stability long-term, especially with future updates in mind. Just make sure to allocate enough space for Ubuntu!
You might want to try converting RAID to AHCI for Windows. Here’s a method that often works: Go to msconfig, select the Boot tab, enable Safe boot with Minimal, and restart. Once you’re in BIOS, change SATA Operation to AHCI, save changes, and reboot. After rebooting, go back to msconfig and disable Safe boot. I’ve had success with this approach before, so good luck!
This is a solid method, definitely give it a shot!
Got it! I really want a stable setup that can handle updates well, thanks for the guidance!