Hey there, I am trying to install NixOS for the first time, but the installer cannot find my SSD or HDD. This is my process:
- Write NixOS/Gnome iso to 16gb usb.
- Boot the usb via UEFI.
- Press the default installer.
On the welcome page of the NixOS Installer i get the error message:
There are no partitions to install on.
I would assume that this refers to my SSD, but when i open GParted it only lists one drive (The current USB). Shouldn’t this pick up my SDD/ HDD? Or do i need to do something with these drives beforehand? The SSD has Windows installed on it and is basically full, is this a problem? Wouldn’t it just wipe the data?
So the problem here is that windows sort of locks the ssd. To work around that you need to restart windows and not shut it down. Also make sure you have secure boot and that stuff disabled.
2 Likes
Regarding Windows locking certain resources, shutting down Windows is fine, if you disable fast boot (ensure to do so, as fast boot can cause issues with other hardware e.g. wifi cards).
Also, if you’re willing to wipe the existing data, I would recommend following the instructions at https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/#sec-installation-manual, rather than relying on the graphical installer which is known to have some “quirks”.
2 Likes
Thanks for the quick responce! @waffle8946 @Postboote,
In bios i have set Secure Boot to disabled, and cannot seem to find the fast boot option in my bios (Acer 2.21.1277). All though i assume it is disabled as i am able to boot from the USB Device, the problem occurs within the NixOS installation prompt, where it cannt find any partitions to install to. I have tried to boot from USB after i restarted Windows, rather than Shut Down, but the error still occurs. I am wondering if i should do something with the partitioning of the USB? Would that resolve the issue? Perhaps what file-system should i format my USB to? I currently have it formatted to FAT32. I have a 16gb usb. I am not that familiar with partitioning or drive formatting so please share some usefull insights to help resolve my issue!
So FAT32 is the right file format for the usb stick.
Can pleas post the output of lsblk and also look in gparted if your ssd is recognised.
If there is still no drive than post demsg and journalctl -b -1 and post them here and share the link:
1 Like
The dev/sdb is the USB as it is ≈ 16 gb, my SSD is 256gb. So it doesnt seem to find the SSD or the HDD. Subsequently the journalctl command errored on the argument -1 with the error No journal boot entry found from the specified boot (-1).
lsblk: lsblk - Pastebin.com
dmesg: dmesg - Pastebin.com
I am not able to share the journal without the -1 arg as it is over 512 kb, and over the limits of pastebin
Important bit appears to be hiding here:
[ 0.658579] ahci 0000:00:17.0: version 3.0
[ 0.658716] ahci 0000:00:17.0: Found 1 remapped NVMe devices.
[ 0.658718] ahci 0000:00:17.0: Switch your BIOS from RAID to AHCI mode to use them.
[ 0.658813] ahci 0000:00:17.0: AHCI 0001.0301 32 slots 5 ports 6 Gbps 0x3e impl RAID mode
[ 0.658815] ahci 0000:00:17.0: flags: 64bit ncq sntf pm led clo only pio slum part deso sadm sds apst
It seems you have RAID enabled and need to well, not, as it doesn’t appear to be well-supported on Linux. See dual boot - Do i NEED to switch storage mode in BIOS from RAID to AHCI to install Ubuntu? - Ask Ubuntu
Though I assume you wouldn’t be able to read the data off the drive after making this change, so I would make backups first.
2 Likes
You Fixed it! Switching to AHCI in BIOS resolved the issue!