How do you get LInux Mint to recognize any partitions at all?

Greetings,

I've been trying to install Linux Mint. However the installer does not recognize that I have any partitions at all. In fact, it does not even recognize my Windows 10 NTFS partition. Gparted is the same. No partitions to be seen anywhere.

Here's my hardware:

Acer Aspire 5
Acer A515-51-58HD
Bios: 1.21

I've read that I need to change the SATA mode from RST to AHCI. I've tried to do this using the following steps:

1. Click the start button and type CMD

2. Right-click the result and select Run as administrator

3. Type this command and press ENTER: bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

4. Restart the computer and enter BIOS setup. It is here where I hold down the F2 key and get into the menu that allows me to choose between RST with Optane vs. AHCI.

5. I change the Sata mode to AHCI from RST with Optane

6. Save changes and exit Setup and Windows 10 (presumably) will automatically boot into Safe Mode (it does not!).

I got stuck on step #6 above. I cannot boot into Safe Mode. I get an "inaccessible boot service" error. Trying to reboot a second time into safe mode still does not work. Same result. It does not go into Windows 10 safe mode. Instead I get a screen that gives choices about how to repair my Windows 10 installation.

Had step #6 worked, I would have done the following additional steps:

7. Right click the Windows Start Menu once more. Choose Command Prompt (Admin).

8. Type this command and press ENTER: bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

9. Reboot once more and Windows will automatically start with AHCI drivers enabled

However, step #6 did not work so I never was able to try steps 7, 8 and 9. I'm stuck on #6. It appears to me (just guessing) that the AHCI driver is not loading automatically.

Three sources on the Internet said the above 9 steps would work and Windows would automatically install the AHCI driver. No such luck for me.

When I look under Device Manager under Windows 10 I see the following:

The disk drives folder contains 1 entry:
Intel optane+932GBHDD

The storage controllers folder contains 2 entries:

Intel(R) Chipset SATA/PCIe RST Premium Controller
Microsoft Storage Spaces Controller

Do either of the above storage controllers support AHCI? Do I need a new storage controller? If so, how would I get it? Is there a storage controller specific to AHCI?

Maybe I"m doing this the hard way. I started out trying to do a Debian install but my mouse clicks were not working. I guess that Debian does not have a driver for the touchpad.

So, I tried installing LInux Mint next and the touchpad started working properly. However, this is where i ran into the problem of lack of recognition of partitions.

Under Windows 10, I have shrunk the partition for Windows 10 so as to create about 450 gig of free space. Neither the NTFS partition nor the free space are recognized by either the Linux MInt Installer or Gparted.

I disabled Fast Startup in Windows 10 a number of days ago and checked again today and it remains disabled.

I see an AHCI driver (presumably) on the Acer website for my model laptop. However, when I download it and unzip it, I see a file called SetupRST.exe. The name of the file I downloaded is AHCI Intel 15.7.0.1014 W10x64 A.zip On the Acer website under A515-51 (my laptop) this driver is clearly marked SATA AHCI Driver. Why would it mention RST (SetupRST.exe) at all? This scares me. Is this driver AHCI or RST or what?

I've never installed a Windows 10 driver before, so naturally, I'm not wanting to mess up my laptop. Will this driver mess up my laptop? Will this driver solve my problems? Seeing the file SetupRST.exe discouraged me because I was concerned that I was messing with the only SATA mode I've got working now which is RST. So, I've not even attempted to install this driver. Is it safe to do so? Should I do so?

I'm open to any ideas on how to install LInux dual boot, which is my goal. I've used Debian for years in a dual boot setup and have never had a partitioning problem like this before. I'm new to SATA and SATA modes as I've only used IDE up until I bought this Aspire A5.

Again, the only reason I'm attempting Linux Mint is to unfreeze the mouseclicks on my touchpad. I would have gone with Debian had tapping on the touchpad worked in the Live Debian on my USB flash drive I booted from. So, I switched the USB flash drive to the Live version of LInux MInt which also includes an installer.

All suggestions are welcome! I've been at this off and on for about 2 weeks. This has been a very difficult Linux install!

Thanks in advance!

Ed Abbott

Accepted answers

JackE

I don't think Mint can be installed on an optane-accelerated HDD as-is until its acceleration driver is in fact uninstalled and independent of the optane card. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000023989/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html If you haven't done so already, you might want to sign up on the Mint forums and try to get input from very knowledgeable users like ALTAIR4 on this issue since it's fairly common with optane accelerated drive. Jack E/NJ

Commodore_1995#

Well remembered @JackE! You're correct to say that linux does not accept optane memory!

All comments

Commodore_1995#

I suggest you enable safe mode here:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/ce/9fsg61lyy9xz.png

Then restart the notebook and turn on the ahios mode on bios! I do not think it's a problem with the drivers! Can you tell the firmware version of uefi that used to be called bios?

JackE

I don't think Mint can be installed on an optane-accelerated HDD as-is until its acceleration driver is in fact uninstalled and independent of the optane card. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000023989/memory-and-storage/intel-optane-memory.html If you haven't done so already, you might want to sign up on the Mint forums and try to get input from very knowledgeable users like ALTAIR4 on this issue since it's fairly common with optane accelerated drive. Jack E/NJ

Commodore_1995#

Well remembered @JackE! You're correct to say that linux does not accept optane memory!

EdAbbott

egydiocoelho said:

I suggest you enable safe mode here:

Then restart the notebook and turn on the ahios mode on bios! I do not think it's a problem with the drivers! Can you tell the firmware version of uefi that used to be called bios?
Hello egydiocoetho,

Hope I'm responding to the correct post. Any tips are appreciated! I'm a bit clumsy with message boards as I've not done this in a while.

I tried booting in safe mode and this did not change anything. I used your directions given above.

I believe I'd already tried this at the administrative command prompt:

bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

In any case, I now know 2 ways to get into safe mode and not just one. So, I appreciate the instruction.

Looks like I will probably have to install the AHCI driver as given on the Acer download page under driver support for the A515-51 notebook computer (my computer). I would imagine that this will do no harm as this driver will sit side-by-side with the driver that is already there. After I install this driver, I would imagine I'll have 2 drivers instead of one.

I've had a while to think about it and I suspect installing an AHCI driver will do no harm as I can always go into the UEFI menu and set the RST SATA mode again (the old driver) as this is already working. This is my best guess.

The BIOS (UEFI?) is 1.21. This is not the most recent BIOS. The most recent is 2.02.

Thanks again! I learned from your post!

Ed

JackE

I would stay with current firmware and not risk a BIOS update especially with the current optane enabled setup. Jack E/NJ

Commodore_1995#

Acer has released some updates, but only for some specific versions of video cards! I also do not advise you to update the bios! However, you can try removing optane memory to verify that linux is installed correctly!

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