Can't install LM on DELL Precision 5820 tower

[8bitter]

LM 18.3 will not boot from USB on my new Dell Precision 5820 tower that uses a nvme M.2 SSD. I found the following article explaining what to do and I've followed the instructions by changing the BIOS settings and added the nvme_load=YES argument at boot to no avail.

Any ideas? Windows 10 came preinstalled and I may dual boot for a while to Windows but I want LM as my main OS. I don't think removing W10 altogether will make a difference. Something to do with Dell's nvme front panel M.2 hardware apparently.

https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2381899

DELL Precision 5820 tower and NVMe M.2 front-panel SSD issues
Hi all,

This post is to summarize my findings on the issues I've had with my new DELL Precision 5820 tower.

This machine came with a NVMe M.2 1TB Samsung SSD and a single 2TB harddrive for backups. It was delivered with Ubuntu 16.04, but like a true besserwisser, that was seen as "old" so we jumped in and set/reset everything in the BIOS to what we assumed it should be ( SATA ACPI, no fancy schmancy stuff, everything enabled about the CPU and so forth). And then we installed KUbuntu 17.10.

And boy did that blow up in our faces.

After a long process with DELL Pro support on the line, I managed to (in my own messy way) bork an installation I had already made to the hard drive (that worked unlike the SSD where we were able to install to it but never boot from it). So I kind of went into random monkey mode (if I push ALL the buttons, I must be able to push the right sequence at some time). And I did. Turning on Intel RAID and Intel SSD Volume Management ( two separate screens in the BIOS) as well as completely disabling legacy boot, have secure boot off (needed for the CPU microcode updates), I was able to install KUbuntu on the SSD _AND_ boot from it.

tl;dr - Even if you have only ONE SSD, you MUST turn on RAID and Volume Management in EFI mode.

DELL have documented this in their knowledge base, but it's worth documenting this here as well since nobody should have to waste their time like I did.

And yes - it IS counter-intuitive to turn on RAID when you don't RAID...

[8bitter]

I figured out that I wasn't modifying grub at startup properly. nvme_load=YES seems to have gotten me further. Now I'm running into this and the boot hangs.

I'm running the install in Safe Mode. This new machine contains an NVIDIA Quadro P1000.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

https://imgur.com/55pVpzC

[8bitter]

Looks like this guy had the same problem but I'm not sure how to follow his instructions when I have yet to even install LM in the first place.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/990279/ ... lable-gpus

[kc1di]

Hello and Welcome to Linux Mint Forums,

Looks like this guy had the same problem but I'm not sure how to follow his instructions when I have yet to even install LM in the first place.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/990279/ ... lable-gpus

That link will not work with Mint as gdm3 is only for use with gnome, not even sure it will work with Cinnamon.
you need to try this first: https://linuxmint.com/rel_sylvia_cinnamon.php
Scroll down to :

Code: Select all

Solving freezes during the boot sequence

and follow the instructions there.

[8bitter]

Many thanks! I'm going to give this a go right now and will report back.

Cheers,

[michael louwe]

@ 8bitter, .......

...

.
Since Win 10 has been preinstalled in your Dell computer in RAID disk mode using the proprietary Intel RST driver, Linux cannot be booted or installed = ie, requires AHCI disk mode.

Try the fix at ... https://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncat ... operation/ (solution-switch-windows-10-from-raidide-to-ahci-operation without the need to reinstall Win 10 in AHCI disk mode)
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter ... t/19659260

To dual-boot on your computer that has a two-drives configuration, please refer to ... https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295 (UEFI Installing - Tips )[see Two-Drives Install]

https://nwrickert2.wordpress.com/2013/0 ... and-linux/ (notes-on-uefi-windows-and-linux)
https://askubuntu.com/questions/380447/ ... ew-machine (uefi-boot-fails-when-cloning-image-to-new-machine)

[8bitter]

Well, the nvme_load=YES works but adding nomodeset right after that command still gives me the same GPU error message.

Also, when I try to type while in boot mode (gnu grub), typing is excruciatingly slow; characters display twice when i only press them once. I'm using a wired usb keyboard. Making this even more painful.

I'll try to nomodeset again and see if a second time is a charm

[8bitter]

No luck.

nvme_load=YES does its thing but adding nomodeset before or after the nvme command makes no difference. I'm still getting the error regarding Failed to start Detect available GPU's.

I've tried editing grub boot up commands in normal boot and safe mode to no avail.

Any other suggestions? This sucks big-time.

[8bitter]

Per the link that was shared I tried all of the available switches in grub with no luck.

Note: If you still cannot boot try one of the following solutions:

Try with "nouveau.noaccel=1" instead of "nomodeset".
Try with "noapic noacpi nosplash irqpoll" instead of "quiet splash".
Use the "Compatibility mode" to boot and install Linux Mint.

I've run out of options.

[8bitter]

Would an AMD Radeon resolve my issue? I could pick up an inexpensive one that does 4k and give it a go. Not sure what else I can do.

[kc1di]

Perhaps then what michael louwe posted is the answer

[8bitter]

Perhaps then what michael louwe posted is the answer

Correct me if I'm wrong but his instructions resolves the nvme/M.2 SSD boot issue. The nvme_load=YES works for me as I'm getting further along in the process and no errors stating that an sdx cannot be found.

Looks like the NVIDIA is the culprit.

[kc1di]

That card should be supported so I not sure why nomodset does not work. I think there must be something else in play on that machine.
That machine has been certified by Ubuntu for 16.04 , Which Mint is based upon, but it is only certified with it's original equipment. So if you've change the Hardware things may not work. Here the Certification page: with list of equipment.
https://certification.ubuntu.com/hardware/201707-25590/
Sorry can't be of more help.

[8bitter]

Thank you for your help. This has always been a strong community.

I literally took this out of the box today and started the install.

I also tried Elementary OS which is Ubuntu based and ran into the same error.

W10 works fine. The only changes I've made have been to the BIOS and resized the W10 partition to make room for LM.

I'll report back if I figure anything out.

Cheers

[kc1di]

I found this Ubuntu thread that may be of help. Don't know if you've seen it yet:
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2381899

[8bitter]

I found this Ubuntu thread that may be of help. Don't know if you've seen it yet:
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2381899

I have. It helped me with the NVME issue. Strange thing is that I can now boot without adding the nvme_load=YES switch when I boot into safe mode installation for LM.

I've done some more reason and if you look at the screenshot I made higher up in this thread, you will see where it fails to detect a GPU (it states OK several times then fails, actually) that it hangs on

started update utmp about system runlevel changes

and several reports of that leans towards an xorg or graphics driver issue.

So I can now see the nvme SSD but the GPU fail is holding me up. Some people reported getting this error and linux finally booting after a very long period of time. If I could just get the install kicked off, I could install the NVIDIA drivers. There are some new ones for Linux that support the Quadro P1000. Strange thing is, as you've mentioned Dell supports Ubuntu on this very machine. Super frustrating.

Thanks again kc

[8bitter]

Quick question KC,

If i try to boot in normal mode using my USB thumb drive loaded with LM, i see the LM logo with the white dots beneath it for about 2 seconds or so. If the graphics card driver was failing or linux couldn't detect the GPU, why would I have graphics??

What the heck?

[kc1di]

Can you hit esc key several times as soon as the machine begins to boot and get to the Mint grub screen? if you can go to advanced then recovery mode. This will bring you to a screen with a list of options. First thing you need to do is go to network and get connected. When your connected go to root It will dump you at a shell. Then you can install Nvidia drivers from there I would try it with Nvidia-384 first. by entering:

Code: Select all

 apt update 

Then

Code: Select all

 apt install nvidia-384

if that works type

Code: Select all

exit

This will take you back to the list where you can hit resume boot.
Hopfully that will allow you to boot into the desktop and begin the install Once installed you may have to do this procedure again to get back to the desktop.
once in there you can change the Nvidia driver to which ever works best for your gpu.
good luck.

[8bitter]

Well no luck on any front. I ended up buying a Radeon 220 and that allowed me to get further and install Mint but as soon as I rebooted i was met with initramfs. I gave up.

I ended up downloading the latest 17.10 Ubuntu build to a USB thumb drive. It booted my Dell immediately! No need to add grub flags or anything. The NVIDIA Quadro P1000 was recognized and set the resolution correctly.

During the installation of Ubuntu, it found my nvme ssd, partitions, setup boot menu and grub correctly.

Hopefully I can install Mint in the near future once the Dell P 5820 hardware is better supported.

Thank you all for your help!

Thanks kc1di

[kc1di]

your Welcome - Sorry it did not work out for your particular machine. Good luck.