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Dell XPS 13 9365 - Won't boot USB in SATA Mode AHCI - Trying to install Ubuntu
I have a brand new XPS 13 9365, It boots find to windows but I'm having difficulty installing Linux.
1) Secure boot is disabled
2) The laptop will boot to the Ubuntu installer on a USB drive when in SATA-RAID mode, but Linux cannot see the SSD in RAID mode.
3) The laptop hangs on boot and will not boot the USB drive when in SATA-AHCI mode, I have verified the boot order. Also when in AHCI mode it takes over 5 minutes to get into the BIOS menu.
I'm running the latest 1.0.5 bios.
Is this a bug in the BIOS similar to what was seen with AHCI on the 9360 last year?
Please provide feedback on how the Developer Edition of the 9365 is configured.
Thanks
Casey
J-b-m
7 Posts
1
February 15th, 2017 11:00
So here is what I did and my current BIOS setup, on a Dell 9365 i7 with 500GB NVMe Toshiba drive.
First thing I did when receiving the laptop was upgrade BIOS to 01.00.05. I think I disabled Windows 10 fast boot (not sure of the exact name anymore) in windows settings. Shrinked Windows partition to leave a large empty space.
Then, disabled secure mode. I could boot from an Ubuntu live from an USB, but hard drive was not detected, so impossible to install.
I switched the SATA mode from RAID to AHCI (without booting to Windows), trying to boot from my USB key. I experienced a huge startup time (5 minutes to reach BIOS), unable to boot from USB. Tried all BIOS combinations I could think of without success.
Switched back the SATA mode to RAID and booted into Windows.
Applied all Windows updates and DELL updates (2 Dell updates applied)
Rebooted maybe twice. Altered the BIOS settings as described below, and suddently I could see my USB key as a boot option in the (F12) boot menu. I appeared under a name like UEFI USB device.
From this point, I could boot and install linux without issue (I installed in the empty space, leaving Windows
partition untouched).
Unfortunately, I did try so many combinations that I don't know what finally made it work. Feel free to ask if you have questions, glad if I can help.
My BIOS settings:
Advanced boot options:
Legacy ROM - unchecked
UEFI network stack - unchecked
Boot Sequence:
UEFI selected
Secure boot:
disabled (when disabling secure boot, it usually checks some options in "Advanced boot option" so better check everything twice).
In system configuration:
SATA operation:
AHCI
Misc. devices:
Camera - disabled (not sure it is related)
POST behavior:
Fastboot set to minimal
wahwah80
4 Posts
2
February 15th, 2017 12:00
In my case deactivating the legacy ROM option has solved the delay during POST and allowed me to boot!
I did the following:
1. msconfig in windows 10. Set safe boot option. This is necessary as windows won't boot normally once AHCI set.
2. reboot and enter bios (F12)
3. uncheck legacy ROM option and switch from RAID to AHCI
4. let windows 10 boot in safe mode
5. run msconfig and uncheck the safe boot option
6. Reboot into Windows (should work now)
7. Reboot and install Linux from USB media
Saltgrass
3 Apprentice
3 Apprentice
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4.3K Posts
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February 5th, 2017 11:00
Why did you disable Secure Boot? Be very careful with Linux and do research prior to even trying..
caseykelso
4 Posts
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February 5th, 2017 21:00
The OS image needs to be signed with Dell's keys or a managed set of keys stored in the BIOS else the trustzone will be violated and the device won't boot a 3rd party OS, ex. Linux. Disabling secure boot allows Linux to boot without being signed with the keys.
Has anyone had success at booting to a thumb drive with SATA set to AHCI?
ejn63
9 Legend
9 Legend
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87.5K Posts
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February 6th, 2017 04:00
Do you in fact have a SATA SSD (128G) or is the drive NVMe (256G or larger)?
caseykelso
4 Posts
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February 6th, 2017 06:00
Nvme 500gb
J-b-m
7 Posts
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February 12th, 2017 23:00
I have exactly the same problem, 500gb drive on a 9365. Changed the ATA mode from raid to ahci , now boot is extremely slow, it takes 5 minutes to reach the bios, and it is impossible to boot any drive.
J-b-m
7 Posts
0
February 13th, 2017 04:00
This looks a lot like this recent xps 13 9360 bios issue:
en.community.dell.com/.../20000243
Should I open a support request?
Saltgrass
3 Apprentice
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4.3K Posts
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February 13th, 2017 06:00
I have a Samsung 960 Pro on my 9365 with ONLY the NVMe drive, no other SATA drives. I am not running Linux but SATA mode is disabled.
If you are doing a clean install of Linux by itself on that system you might try it. If you currently have a Windows install and the drive is not running as NVMe or other drives configured for SATA, of course disabling SATA would cause that install problems.
SATA being set to AHCI should also make the drive available, assuming your are installing in UEFI mode. Ubuntu is both UEFI and Secure Boot compatible.
caseykelso
4 Posts
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February 13th, 2017 07:00
I spent much time on the phone with DELL support. Eventually DELL responded that AHCI is not supported with the M2.NVME drive and to return the laptop. I suspect that this feature isn't implemented on the 9365 as of yet, it was supported on the 9360. Maybe the BIOS team wil release a new version at some point with AHCI support for M2.NVME. In the meantime I'm switching to a different laptop.
This might be worth a try:
wiki.debian.org/.../SataRaid
Saltgrass
3 Apprentice
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4.3K Posts
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February 13th, 2017 08:00
The reason Dell claims the system does not support AHCI is because the unit was shipped, as mine was, with the NVMe drive being controlled by the SATA controller which requires SATA be set to RAID.
My system had a Toshiba drive, but I suspect recent Bios updates have updated the NVMe driver in the Bios and is causing problems for systems with older drives, such as the SM951, and Secure Boot.
I am running the 1.00.05 version of the Bios.
J-b-m
7 Posts
0
February 14th, 2017 05:00
Ok, after many trials, I finally managed to install Ubuntu on my xps 9365 with the 500Gb Toshiba NVMe.
Not sure what finally caused it to work, I applied Dell drivers & windows updates, and finally the laptop accepted to boot correctly in AHCI mode. I could then choose to boot from USB and installed Ubuntu with UEFI enabled and secure boot disabled. My quick tests are quite satisfactory using Ubuntu 17.04 daily build. Wireless, bluetooth and touchscreen (including pressure sensitivity) work fine. Did not try to reboot Windows since, so not sure it still works under Windows but at least I can now enjoy Linux on my device, sweet!
yzfdude
1 Message
0
February 14th, 2017 12:00
I'm running Ubuntu 16.10 on the Dell XPS 13 9365 with BIOS 01.00.05
Drive 512 GB Toshiba NVMe
First thing I did was turn off Secure boot.
SATA Operation set to AHCI
Port Enablement M.2 PCIe SSD turned on
Everything so far is working except for wake up from suspend, once suspended you have to hard boot and hold the power button for a long time.
My boot times are about 20 seconds from press of the power button.
jonr2017
2 Posts
0
February 14th, 2017 19:00
j-b-m - Good for you and thanks for the info. I still haven't been able to get my 9365 (XPS 13 2 in 1) with Toshiba 512GB NMVE pcie ssd to work when I change the SATA controller from Raid to SATA.
I notice when I change the SATA controlller in bios/efi from Raid to anything else, it boots super slow (almost appears to hang) even just trying to get back into bios/efi.
Any more specific ideas on what you (or anyone else) did to get this to work. I need to install Linux on this otherwise its a return (along with another 10 I ordered for my office).
Also, has anyone been able to boot from a MicroSD card in the computer? If I put a microsd card with a live os in the computer via a usb adapter it show's up in the bios/efi but the same card doesn't show up at all if I use the built in reader (though the card using the reader will show up after I've booted into an OS) its just at bios that it doesn't give me an option to boot from it.
thanks!
jon
jonr2017
2 Posts
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February 14th, 2017 19:00
yzfdude - what did you do to allow this to work? When I change my sata controller from 'raid' to 'sata' or 'none' the computer takes forever (5 -10 minutes) just to get past post then won't boot any OS (secure boot off other settings stock, bios version 1.0.5)