Linux Mint Forums

I've got the Live copy of Mint working by using mint4win in Windows 8, however I cannot install the OS as it will not detect my partitions.

My machine is a Lenovo U410, it seems like this is a common problem for this computer with it's 32gb / 500gb hybrid drive. I believe Intel Rapid Start / Rapid Storage is causing issues. I have tried the usual stuff, disabling iRST, disable UEFI, change from RAID to AHCI, but I still can't find the drive in the installer.

Is there some sort of driver that would fix this issue for me? I still want to Windows 8, and use iRST if I can, along with the raid configuration.

Any help would be appreciated, I am a complete noob to Linux so please ELI5 if possible. Thanks.

nfenton wrote:I've got the Live copy of Mint working by using mint4win in Windows 8, however I cannot install the OS as it will not detect my partitions.
...
I still can't find the drive in the installer.

You'd stated two very different problems, with different causes and solutions:

• The installer detects the disk but shows it as empty (no partitions) -- This problem is generally caused by either leftover (unused) RAID data or by a damaged partition table. The solution is to either remove the stray RAID data or to fix the partition table.
• The installer doesn't detect the hard disk at all -- This problem is generally caused by a lack of a Linux hardware driver for whatever circuitry is controlling the hard disk. The solution is to either juggle disk cables to connect the disk to a supported controller or to add a driver for the unsupported disk controller. The former solution is usually easier on desktop computers. The most practical way to do the latter is to use a more up-to-date distribution -- but of course if you're trying Mint 14, you won't be able to do that within the Mint family for another couple of months.

If you need more help, please be more precise in describing the problem.

Sorry, looking back, my description was terrible.

The installer does not detect the drive at all. I have attached an image of what is showing up when I attempt to run the Mint Installer after completing mint4win.

I think finding a driver for the hard drive is what I will have to do.