Ubuntu 24.04, 24.10, 25.04 Installation with Intel RST RAID

For some strange reason, the standard Ubuntu installer doesn't work with Intel RST RAID even though it's supported and you can see the disk in GParted etc.

The Canonical solution to this (Official Ubuntu Documentation) seems like an awful solution and is prone to break your Windows installation.

This guide will install Ubuntu to the RAID array and then install the bootloader to the Windows disk.

System Configuration Example

Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen2

• Intel RST RAID 0 array with 2x Samsung 990 PRO 2TB NVMe
• Windows installed on RAID array
• Partition layout on /dev/md126:
  • EFI: md126p1 (260M)
  • MSR: md126p2 (16M)
  • Windows: md126p3 (1.7T)
  • Recovery: md126p4 (2G) (can be moved to the beginning of free space, but not needed)
  • Linux: md126p5 (488.3G)

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Installation Steps

1. Prepare Windows Partition

• Resize the Windows partition in Windows Disk Management to create space for Ubuntu.
• Note: Lenovo recovery image uses all disk space by default.

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2. Boot Ubuntu Live USB

• Select the "Try Ubuntu" option.
• Note: If Ubuntu doesn't see your NVMe storage devices, you may need to update the firmware.
• Note: If WiFi doesn't work, try sudo apt install --reinstall linux-firmware or use a wired connection.
• Note: If debootstrap is missing, run apt update && apt install debootstrap.

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3. Create Partitions

• Use GParted to create new / partition(s) on the RAID array with your preferred filesystem. (just make sure you install the tools for it. Ubintu happily boots from ZFS and Btrfs also)
• Create separate partitions for /boot, /home, /var, etc., if desired.

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4. Mount Partitions

sudo mount /dev/md126p5 /mnt
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi
sudo mount /dev/md126p1 /mnt/boot/efi

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5. Install Base System

sudo debootstrap --arch amd64 plucky /mnt http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/

Pick your version:

• 25.04: plucky
• 24.10: oracular
• 24.04: noble
• 22.04: jammy
• 20.04: focal
• 18.04: bionic

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6. Mount Essential Filesystems

sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
sudo mount --bind /sys/firmware/efi/efivars /mnt/sys/firmware/efi/efivars

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7. Enter chroot

cd /mnt
sudo chroot /mnt /bin/bash

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8. Configure Package Sources

cat > /etc/apt/sources.list << EOF
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ plucky main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ plucky-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ plucky-security main restricted universe multiverse
EOF

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9. Install Essential Packages

apt update
apt install linux-image-generic mdadm grub-efi-amd64 ubuntu-desktop network-manager

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10. Configure System

Set Hostname

echo "your-hostname" > /etc/hostname

Set Up fstab

echo "UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/md126p5) /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1" >> /etc/fstab
echo "UUID=$(blkid -s UUID -o value /dev/md126p1) /boot/efi       vfat    umask=0077      0       1" >> /etc/fstab

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11. Configure GRUB

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=ubuntu
echo 'GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false' >> /etc/default/grub
echo 'GRUB_TIMEOUT=5' >> /etc/default/grub
update-grub

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12. Finalize Installation

Update initramfs

update-initramfs -u -k all

Enable NetworkManager

systemctl enable NetworkManager

Exit chroot

exit

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13. Cleanup and Reboot

sudo umount /mnt/dev
sudo umount /mnt/proc
sudo umount /mnt/sys
sudo umount /mnt/boot/efi
sudo umount /mnt
sudo reboot

You will need to do some manual configurations in Ubuntu after, like keyboard layout, timezone, etc. But you should now have a working Ubuntu installation on your Intel RST RAID array.

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Notes

If GRUB doesn't show you boot options, you can always press Enter and select F12 when booting your system to get available EFI boot options and select Windows or other OS options there.

Or install the rEFInd Boot Manager for a nice GUI to select your boot options.

But in short, you can install rEFInd with the following commands:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:rodsmith/refind
sudo apt update
sudo apt install refind
sudo refind-install
sudo refind-mkdefault
sudo reboot

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Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Ubuntu doesn't see NVMe storage devices

   • Solution: Update firmware to the latest version

2. WiFi adapter not working in Live USB

   • Solution: Use wired connection or run sudo apt install --reinstall linux-firmware

3. WiFi not working with Windows dual boot

   • Solution: Disable Fast Startup in Windows

4. "error: shim_lock protocol not found" after installation

   • Solution: Disable Secure Boot in BIOS/UEFI settings

5. Incorrect system time in Ubuntu

   • Solution: Run sudo timedatectl set-local-rtc 1 --adjust-system-clock

6. No web browser installed

   • Solution: Install Chromium with sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

7. App Center missing

   • Solution: Install with sudo snap install --edge snap-store

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Credits

Special thanks to:

• sergey-derugo - For providing valuable troubleshooting tips and improvements

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Author

Kim Asplund
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GitHub

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Open an issue if you want to add/change something to this guide.

PS: if you break your computer i take no responsibility. Always good to have a current backup or cloud backup of your data.