Spin 5 Spin 5 N19W3 Updated Windows--and now all my partitions are 'gone'?!

wilberfan
wilberfan Member Posts: 9

Tinkerer

edited May 2023 in Swift and Spin Series

Had a working Win8/Manjaro Linux dual boot on my Spin 5. Hadn't booted into Windows in awhile, so logged in and ran a system update last night. When it was done, I could no longer boot into either OS, and "Inaccessible boot device" is the only error message the windows boot loader gave me. A reboot goes into a "Preparing Automatic Repair" screen with the Acer logo—but I've never gotten past that screen.

Things like Gparted shows NO drive other than the USB drive I booted from! 😳 Drive failure? That would seem an incredible coincidence. Can't open the case—it has 10 of the smallest screw head openings I've ever seen…. (microscopic 6-pointed star shape)

Needless to say, I'm stuck. How do I reformat/re-partition when the tools available can't find a drive?!

[edit] It's been a few years, so I don't remember…does this have an SSD? (Spin 5 N19W3)

[Edited the thread to add model name]

Answers

  • wilberfan
    wilberfan Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    UPDATE: I found an old Windows 10 USB Installation drive and re-installed and updated Windows. I can now boot into WINDOWS and it properly recognizes the partitioning of the SSD. I can see the ext4 Manjaro partition. The file structure and all of the files are intact on that partition.

    So there's nothing wrong with the drive.

    But none of the Linux tools I have (Gparted, Manjaro installation USB, Parted Magic) see anything but the USB drive used to load the tool(s).

    What would be preventing those from seeing the SSD? I obviously can't reinstall Manjaro if it thinks there's no accessible drive.

  • wilberfan
    wilberfan Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    SOLUTION: Windows has to be setup to be able to boot from AHCI

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

    👍

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,138 Trailblazer

    Likely the Linux distribution doesn't have the drivers for Intel Rapid Storage Technology installed. Switching to AHCI disables that functionality.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.