Ubuntu not detecting Windows on Acer Aspire R13 R7-371T-78XG

Hello,

I have been trying to install Ubuntu on my computer alongside Windows, but so far the Ubuntu installer always says that it has detected no other operating systems. Here is what I have tried:

1. Disabled fastboot and hibernation on Windows. I also hold shift while shutting down to do a full shutdown.

2. Checked for errors in Windows drive (none found), used "chkdsk" in Windows to check and fix if the Windows partition was damaged.

3. Reinstalled Windows (which I wanted to do anyways since I had a lot of unnecessary apps and my computer was getting sluggish).

4. Defragged the Windows partition and shrunk it to make free space.

5. In BIOS, I have set a supervisor password and enabled secure boot (disabling it didn't work either). Both Windows and Ubuntu are on UEFI.

6. Both Ubuntu 20 and 18.04 faced the same issue.

7. I got Ubuntu onto my USB stick by downloading the Desktop OS image file from the official website, then flashed it onto the USB with BalenaEtcher.

Here is a screenshot of the partitions I have (Disk 1 is my USB).

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/h1/9uyi1smnbz2f.png

My computer is also in RAID mode instead of AHCI mode. However, one time I switched it to AHCI mode, and Ubuntu still couldn't detect Windows. This computer shipped with Windows 8, but I updated it to Windows 10 on the day I got it (about 4 years ago).

Any ideas on what could be causing the problem? Thanks in advance!

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GAMING6698

@MarkovcHain
If your computer's UEFI Boot Support is enabled, then you can see the message like "This computer currently has no detected operating systems" and the option "install ubuntu alongside them" will be not available under installation type

So, disable UEFI boot Support

MarkovcHain

So switch the boot mode from UEFI to legacy? I tried that and it still displays the "no operating systems detected" message during installation.

GAMING6698

@MarkovcHain
Check may be there or not
In bios under boot menu find UEFI Boot Mode and disable it

MarkovcHain

Here are my BIOS menus: https://imgur.com/a/QMVjvtv. Note that I had just changed from Legacy to UEFI when taking these pictures, so the drive order couldn't be changed until I restarted. Usually I have my USB first, then Windows Boot Manager.

I'm assuming you mean the one saying "Boot mode: UEFI". I changed that to legacy and Ubuntu still couldn't detect Windows.

MarkovcHain

Here is some more information.

In the trial version of Ubuntu, I can see all the partitions including the Windows partition when I type sudo lsblk. However, the C: drive cannot be seen from Ubuntu file explorer. Then when I type nftsfix, it tells me "mounting volume... NTFS signature is missing. FAILED Attempting to correct errors... NTFS signature is missing. Trying the alternate boot sector. Unrecoverable error Volume is corrupt. You should run chkdsk."

When I type sudo fsck.ext4 /dev/sda, it tells me that /dev/sda is in use, despite how I turned off hibernation and did a full shutdown.

Even after I full shutdown from the command prompt and use chkdsk in windows these errors still persist. I'm not sure what else to do.

billsey

If you disable UEFI Windows will no longer boot. Doesn't modern editions of Ubuntu support UEFI boot? I assume you are going to try and install it in the 17.18GB of unallocated disk space? Do you need Ubuntu specifically or will other flavors of Linux work as well? Have you tried the Linux built into Windows yet?

MarkovcHain

Sorry for the untimely response.

Yup, both Windows and Ubuntu are on UEFI. Other flavors of Linux would work as well, though I prefer Ubuntu. Also, I ran into the same issue with Linux Mint. I've tried the Linux built into Windows, but that's not really want I want (I want to install Linux separately alongside Windows).

JordanB

1. Make sure you have the latest BIOS

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/5674?b=1

2. If you want AHCI, make sure you set it to boot in Safe Mode before you change the SATA Mode in the UEFI settings. This step is supposed allow you to switch to AHCI without having to wipe the drive and reinstall windows.

https://support.thinkcritical.com/kb/articles/switch-windows-10-from-raid-ide-to-ahci

3. I would backup my important personal files and create a Windows USB recovery drive before attempting step 1 or 2

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026852/windows-create-a-recovery-drive

4. Make sure secure boot is disabled before you install Ubuntu in the UEFI settings and make sure the F12 boot menu is enabled in the UEFI settings.

5. Create Ubuntu USB with rufus with rufus settings....GPT, UEFI (non CSM), FAT32

6. After you install Ubuntu, go in to UEFI settings and enable secure boot and add grub to the trusted secure boot settings.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/i0/vwx7yjp2q33k.png

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