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Live Ubuntu 20.04 USB cannot detect HP hard drive

gb flag

I am using a new HP laptop and was trying to install Ubuntu via live USB. As I proceed to install Ubuntu 20.04 the installation window only shows the the USB memory. The live USB has failed to detect the internal hard drive. I have a hard drive of 1 TB. I have also disable secure boot too. I am using windows 11. What should I do to fix this and install Ubuntu 20.04?

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md flag

You may try mount the hard drive and then try-

  1. Boot into the live USB and this time, select Try Ubuntu without installing
  2. Wait for sometime to boot into desktop, open Disks and mount the hard drive
  3. Continue with the installation (shortcut in desktop) and the hard drive should come up

I have an experience like this; I had an hard drive and I wanted to install Ubuntu on it, but instead it shows my main hard drive

Will avatar
id flag
I may have misunderstood, but I think the OP is saying that the USB ‘memory’ that is found during the live session is the live usb itself, and it’s not finding the internal hdd. If there’s a separate usb stick inserted then what you suggested may help.
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id flag

The most likely reason is that ‘fast start up’ hasn’t been disabled in Windows, meaning the drive won’t be considered in a safe state for the Ubuntu installer to write to it. Disable that (from within Windows) and retry; if it doesn’t work, I would suggest shrinking your windows partition from within Windows (creating some unallocated space for the Ubuntu installer).

I’ve not used Windows 11, but in 10 you disable fast start up like this:

Click on start / settings / system / Power and sleep settings / Additional power settings / Choose what the power buttons do / Change settings that are currently unavailable / uncheck the box allowing fast start-up. (If anyone using windows 11 knows exactly how to do it, please feel free to edit my answer with more accurate instructions!)

You could also try booting a live usb session (‘try Ubuntu’), then see if your drive is found using disks or gparted. You can also shrink the Windows partition using gparted but it may be safer using the Windows tool.

Do obviously back up your Windows data before doing anything like resizing the partition.

Sreek avatar
gb flag
Hi thanks for your input but it didnt solve the issue
Will avatar
id flag
@Sreek sorry that didn’t help. Could you see the drive in gparted from the live session?
Sreek avatar
gb flag
No. gpart is only showing the memory space of live usb
Will avatar
id flag
@Sreek, assuming you haven’t resolved this yet, I wonder if it might be because Bitlocker is enabled, ie the windows partition is encrypted? See this very recent post to see if that helps: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1372233/ubuntu-20-04-installer-doesnt-recognize-disk-partitions
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