Scheduled Maintenance: We are aware of an issue with Google, AOL, and Yahoo services as email providers which are blocking new registrations. We are trying to fix the issue and we have several internal and external support tickets in process to resolve the issue. Please see: viewtopic.php?t=158230

 

 

 

[SOLVED] m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

Need help with peripherals or devices?
Message
Author
starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

[SOLVED] m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#1 Post by starche »

Tried to install Debian 9 (9.8) with no luck.
Hardware:
Lenovo Flex 5 laptop
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo NVMe

Aside from fighting with ath10x firmware (resolved), now I'm stuck with Debian not being able to see SSD during installation process. I disabled UEFI, secure boot, fast boot in BIOS, but no luck.

I spend the whole evening googling what else I can do. Looks like starting from 3.19 kernel NVMe support is built-in into the kernel. While the latest Debian featuring kernel version4.9.x, I would imagine NVMe SSD should be visible. I exhausted the tricks I know. If I need to throw something in /firmware folder, please let me know.

Please guide me where I need to look to be able to install Debian on my new laptop.
Thank in advance.

P.S. I"m using Linux since 2006. PLEASE don't leave along on wiindows10 lol
Last edited by starche on 2019-03-15 00:28, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
sunrat
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6412
Joined: 2006-08-29 09:12
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 462 times

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#2 Post by sunrat »

What do you mean "disabled UEFI"? It's what starts your computer. Maybe you mean enabled Legacy (CSM) mode?
Disabling Fast Boot won't make a difference usually. If it's dual boot with Windows, you should disable Fast Startup in Windows, the two are often confused.

Crucial question - does the drive appear in UEFI setup?
“ computer users can be divided into 2 categories:
Those who have lost data
...and those who have not lost data YET ”
Remember to BACKUP!

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#3 Post by starche »

sunrat wrote:What do you mean "disabled UEFI"? It's what starts your computer. Maybe you mean enabled Legacy (CSM) mode?
Disabling Fast Boot won't make a difference usually. If it's dual boot with Windows, you should disable Fast Startup in Windows, the two are often confused.

Crucial question - does the drive appear in UEFI setup?
That's exactly what I meant. I disabled UEFI, that enables Legacy mode in BIOS.

You're right. Disabling Fast Boot didn't do anything, but at least I tried that too.

"Crucial question - does the drive appear in UEFI setup?"
I'm not what you mean here.
If you mean if I can see SSD in BIOS, then yes, I can see it there. Also, Windows 10 boots from the drive, so definitely both BIOS and Windows can see it.

Or may be you mean during Debian setup? One screen before Debian brings me to partition screen, it asks me if I want to force UEFI setup at the cost of not been able to boot other OS. Selection there is Yes or No with No being default one.

Or I misunderstood you?

User avatar
Head_on_a_Stick
Posts: 14114
Joined: 2014-06-01 17:46
Location: London, England
Has thanked: 81 times
Been thanked: 132 times

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#4 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

starche wrote:I'm stuck with Debian not being able to see SSD during installation process
If you switch to a console screen is the drive listed in the output of `lsblk`?

If the drive shows up in the "live" environment then you could try this method:

https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch ... 03.html.en

^ That guide suggests using the grub-pc package but that is for non-UEFI systems, you will probably want the grub-efi package instead.

You will need to boot the system in UEFI mode for GRUB to make new NVRAM boot entries and you may have to use the --removable flag for the `grub-install` command if the new NVRAM entry isn't honoured by the UEFI firmware.

There is an arch-install-scripts package in testing/unstable (install it via the .deb package, there are no dependencies) which has an `arch-chroot` command that will automate the mounting of the API filesystems for the chroot stage and obviate the need to MAKEDEV.

Instead of manually editing /etc/adjtime, run

Code: Select all

# hwclock --systohc
deadbang

negrao
Posts: 13
Joined: 2019-02-19 13:04

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#5 Post by negrao »

Hi

I have a lenovo legion y740. After unboxing the nvme ssd was also not visible because it was using Intel RST raid. I had to disable it in the firmware (BIOS), although if also using Windows 10, first some steps have to be done on windows otherwise it is not possible to boot windows again. Check http://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncate ... operation/. The BIOS will say that making the change will wipe the disk but that is not the case (with a single drive).

Best,
Miguel Negrão

p.H
Global Moderator
Global Moderator
Posts: 3049
Joined: 2017-09-17 07:12
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 132 times

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#6 Post by p.H »

starche wrote:I disabled UEFI, that enables Legacy mode in BIOS.
starche wrote:One screen before Debian brings me to partition screen, it asks me if I want to force UEFI setup at the cost of not been able to boot other OS.
This question means that the installer was booted in EFI mode, therefore UEFI is not disabled. Enabling legacy boot does not mean that EFI boot is disabled.

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#7 Post by starche »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
starche wrote:I'm stuck with Debian not being able to see SSD during installation process
If you switch to a console screen is the drive listed in the output of `lsblk`?

If the drive shows up in the "live" environment then you could try this method:

https://www.debian.org/releases/stretch ... 03.html.en

^ That guide suggests using the grub-pc package but that is for non-UEFI systems, you will probably want the grub-efi package instead.

You will need to boot the system in UEFI mode for GRUB to make new NVRAM boot entries and you may have to use the --removable flag for the `grub-install` command if the new NVRAM entry isn't honoured by the UEFI firmware.

There is an arch-install-scripts package in testing/unstable (install it via the .deb package, there are no dependencies) which has an `arch-chroot` command that will automate the mounting of the API filesystems for the chroot stage and obviate the need to MAKEDEV.

Instead of manually editing /etc/adjtime, run

Code: Select all

# hwclock --systohc
I will check if I can see the drive once I'll get home. Never has a need to run console during installation, I guess i need to press Cntr+Shift+Fx?
I'll report back the findings.

Going through the manual, looks I need to install Debian manually? Probably, not the easiest way, but I guess it is what it is.

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#8 Post by starche »

negrao wrote:Hi

I have a lenovo legion y740. After unboxing the nvme ssd was also not visible because it was using Intel RST raid. I had to disable it in the firmware (BIOS), although if also using Windows 10, first some steps have to be done on windows otherwise it is not possible to boot windows again. Check http://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncate ... operation/. The BIOS will say that making the change will wipe the disk but that is not the case (with a single drive).

Best,
Miguel Negrão
Why I need to switch to AHCI if I can continue to use UEFI? Or I misunderstood you?

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#9 Post by starche »

p.H wrote:
starche wrote:I disabled UEFI, that enables Legacy mode in BIOS.
starche wrote:One screen before Debian brings me to partition screen, it asks me if I want to force UEFI setup at the cost of not been able to boot other OS.
This question means that the installer was booted in EFI mode, therefore UEFI is not disabled. Enabling legacy boot does not mean that EFI boot is disabled.
That's what I was puzzled. How come I turned UEFI in BIOS off, bur Debian Installer asking me that question.

User avatar
sunrat
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6412
Joined: 2006-08-29 09:12
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 462 times

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#10 Post by sunrat »

Possibly Windows was installed in native UEFI mode. Does it have an EFI system partition (ESP)? This will be a small FAT32 partition near the start. If so it's setup for UEFI boot and is probably much easier to disable legacy (CSM) mode and do a straight UEFI install. I was nervous first time I did it, and also had to change to AHCI, but it's now just as easy as legacy boot.

And what I was saying about not being able to disable UEFI, it's all about terminology. A lot of people including manufacturers use the terms UEFI and BIOS almost interchangeably but they are different. UEFI is the successor to BIOS and it's replacement. CSM mode emulates the way BIOS boots a computer but it's still UEFI, just in CSM mode.
Reading:- https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/01/2 ... work-then/
“ computer users can be divided into 2 categories:
Those who have lost data
...and those who have not lost data YET ”
Remember to BACKUP!

negrao
Posts: 13
Joined: 2019-02-19 13:04

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#11 Post by negrao »

starche wrote:
negrao wrote:Hi

I have a lenovo legion y740. After unboxing the nvme ssd was also not visible because it was using Intel RST raid. I had to disable it in the firmware (BIOS), although if also using Windows 10, first some steps have to be done on windows otherwise it is not possible to boot windows again. Check http://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncate ... operation/. The BIOS will say that making the change will wipe the disk but that is not the case (with a single drive).

Best,
Miguel Negrão
Why I need to switch to AHCI if I can continue to use UEFI? Or I misunderstood you?
Hi,

I said nothing about AHCI or UEFI, I said you should check if intel RST, a type of RAID, is turned on in the firmware. If it is turned on you should turn it off (but see the issue with Windows 10 first).

Best,
Miguel

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#12 Post by starche »

I can't get to console from Debian Installer. I tried Shift, Ctlr and Alt, both left and right plus obvoiusly Fx with no luck. How I can get into console?

I tried to upload pics here, but I've got server error. I guess it's not my day today...

The pic before the screen with disk partitioning saying:
"This machine's firmware has started the installer in UEFI mode, but it looks like there may be existing OS already installed using "BIOS compatibility mode". If you continue to install Debian in UEFI mode, it might be difficult to reboot the machine into any BIOS-mode OS later.

If you wish to install in UEFI mode and don't care about keeping the ability to boot one of the existing systems, you have the option to force that here. If you wish to keep the option to to boot an existing OS, you should choose NOT to force UEFI installation here".
After that there is an option to choose to force UEFI or not with NO as a default option.

Why it saying that Windows is installed BIOS compatibility mode? If that's the case, I can switch laptop's firmware into BIOS mode and install Debian without any problem, right? I wanted to upload pics from firmware, but again - I'm getting server error. I cannot find anything close to "BIOS compatibility mode". How Lenovo installed Windows then? I understand about rolling out image and such, but shouldn't they install Windows in UEFI mode?

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#13 Post by starche »

sunrat wrote:Possibly Windows was installed in native UEFI mode. Does it have an EFI system partition (ESP)? This will be a small FAT32 partition near the start. If so it's setup for UEFI boot and is probably much easier to disable legacy (CSM) mode and do a straight UEFI install. I was nervous first time I did it, and also had to change to AHCI, but it's now just as easy as legacy boot.

And what I was saying about not being able to disable UEFI, it's all about terminology. A lot of people including manufacturers use the terms UEFI and BIOS almost interchangeably but they are different. UEFI is the successor to BIOS and it's replacement. CSM mode emulates the way BIOS boots a computer but it's still UEFI, just in CSM mode.
Reading:- https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/01/2 ... work-then/
In previous post I wrote that it looks (to me at least) that Windows installed in BIOS compatibility mode.
Just checked – actually there is 260MB partition called “EFI” (the very 1st one on the drive). Now I’m confused completely…

Thank you very much for the link. I already started to read the article. It’s quite… hm… lengthy, but make sense to me. That will help me to clarify a lot of that stuff. Last 10 years I was using desktop I built which had old-skool BIOS. So really – UEFI is just introduced for myself.

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#14 Post by starche »

negrao wrote:
starche wrote:
negrao wrote:Hi

I have a lenovo legion y740. After unboxing the nvme ssd was also not visible because it was using Intel RST raid. I had to disable it in the firmware (BIOS), although if also using Windows 10, first some steps have to be done on windows otherwise it is not possible to boot windows again. Check http://triplescomputers.com/blog/uncate ... operation/. The BIOS will say that making the change will wipe the disk but that is not the case (with a single drive).

Best,
Miguel Negrão
Why I need to switch to AHCI if I can continue to use UEFI? Or I misunderstood you?
Hi,

I said nothing about AHCI or UEFI, I said you should check if intel RST, a type of RAID, is turned on in the firmware. If it is turned on you should turn it off (but see the issue with Windows 10 first).

Best,
Miguel
I don’t think that’s the case. I have single SSD thus any RAID configuration is not applicable for me. I’m lucky in that sense I don’t need to deal with that (on top of NVMe SSD lol).

negrao
Posts: 13
Joined: 2019-02-19 13:04

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#15 Post by negrao »

starche wrote:
negrao wrote: Hi,

I said nothing about AHCI or UEFI, I said you should check if intel RST, a type of RAID, is turned on in the firmware. If it is turned on you should turn it off (but see the issue with Windows 10 first).

Best,
Miguel
I don’t think that’s the case. I have single SSD thus any RAID configuration is not applicable for me. I’m lucky in that sense I don’t need to deal with that (on top of NVMe SSD lol).
My lenovo laptop also has a single SSD and yet Intel RST was active, so you should check in the firmware. For some reason lenovo is shipping laptops with a single ssd with software RAID active.

Best,
Miguel

User avatar
4D696B65
Site admin
Site admin
Posts: 2696
Joined: 2009-06-28 06:09
Been thanked: 85 times

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#16 Post by 4D696B65 »

negrao wrote: My lenovo laptop also has a single SSD and yet Intel RST was active, so you should check in the firmware. For some reason lenovo is shipping laptops with a single ssd with software RAID active.

Best,
Miguel
My Asus ROG came with 1 HD in raid, it drove me nuts until I found out.

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#17 Post by starche »

Funny thing you guys mentioned that. I kinda missed this item in the firmware - "Storage". I was looking there, but couldn't see.

I get there and switch to AHCI, saved changed and reboot firmware. I was shocked - I cannot see this item any more. I reboot to Windows and sure enough - it won't boot. I tried few tricks I know trying to repair boot, but no luck. I reset the firmware - to be able to see "Storage". Then I saw it, put back to RST and boot into Windows.

Now I will try to change to AHCI, but the right way lol. Once in a while I like to do experiments, you know :-)

starche
Posts: 20
Joined: 2016-04-13 09:36

Re: m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#18 Post by starche »

Just booted into Debian. Thank you very much guys for your help.

I did not realize that Lenovo for some weird reason will use RAID setup even with a single SSD. Kinda weird choice, but now I know what to do.

Again guys, thank you for your help. You saved me.

P.S. I was shocked that touchpad is working. I have read manuals how to turn it on and had them handy, but looks I don't really need.
P.P.S. I was even more shocked that touch screen is wirking. After reading all that comments that touch screen is not great in Debian - IDK, I have nothing complain about.
P.P.P.S. I will need to figure out how to increase scale. I'm older guy and my eyes are not great as they used to be. So, I'll need to do smth with screen scaling.

arianpranav
Posts: 13
Joined: 2020-07-30 11:08

Re: [SOLVED] m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#19 Post by arianpranav »

I got a new DELL Inspiron 3880 desktop with windows, when i continued with Debian net installer i could not see any disk out there apart from USB drive i.e. the bootable drive.
After updating BIOS settings (Disable RAID) the SATA Segate HD and Samsung 970 NVME SSD both are visible, while the installation disk selection page.
Debian installation also completed fine but Grub Dual boot could not boot both the OS now at one go. If i enable RAID: the windows boots fine but Debian fails, if disable Raid: (switch to AHCI) Debian works fine and windows fail so sort of stuck up :(

I can try windows install with RAID off and AHCI which could load both but is it the only and best alternative ?

Appreciate any experts help or comments...
Last edited by arianpranav on 2020-07-30 11:54, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
sunrat
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6412
Joined: 2006-08-29 09:12
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Has thanked: 116 times
Been thanked: 462 times

Re: [SOLVED] m.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 Evo)

#20 Post by sunrat »

arianpranav wrote:Debian installation also completed fine but Grub Dual boot could not boot windows. If i enable RAID the windows boot fine but Debian fails, if disabled Raid (switch to UEFI) Debian works fine so sort of stuck up now. :(
Windows needs to be set to ACPI before changing to it from RAID in UEFI /BIOS settings. There are a few guides on the webz. Not sure if you can change it after. May have to set it back to RAID then change Windows settings then subsequently back to ACPI again.

Also, it's normal forum etiquette to start a new thread for a new issue rather than tacking on to an existing one.
“ computer users can be divided into 2 categories:
Those who have lost data
...and those who have not lost data YET ”
Remember to BACKUP!

Post Reply