T40 -Mint install problem with SSD

[cliffhanger]

Hi

I'm new to the forum.

I have a T40, originally with a 40GB HDD. Recently I installed a second drive, a SSD by the usual method of the caddy in the CD/DVD space. The SDD is a 250 GB Crucial. The drive had been used elsewhere and had a usable 32bit Linux install on it.

The drive is being detected in the bios as the correct drive and the linux system boots from it, albeit to a kernel panic concerning the root file system.

Now the odd thing. Gparted, from systemrescuecd, can't see the drive and I can't install Mint, for example, because like gparted, it can only see the 40GB HDD and the USB stick!

As most know there are no settings for AHCI etc in the bios of these laptops. And as the bios is seeing the drive, that's not important anyway?

I need to partition the drive further, for a Mint install, and can't at present. I don't have access to the original laptop this came from so can't return it for formatting etc.

Any ideas what the problem is? I've Googled the problem, but there is nothing similar.

Thanks

Cliff

[tom lightbody]

cliff, welcome to the forum

if I understand correctly, you have 2 problems:

1. to boot from the 250 SSD's existing linux installation

2. to repartition/install something else on it

as to 2., I have no idea. But as to 1., I suspect the
/etc/fstab file on the SSD is no longer correct. It
used to specify the root directory / on /dev/sda1, the
SSD being the only drive; but now it is the 2nd drive,
so the / directory should be on /dev/sdb1. Try making
the change, and see if it'll boot OK.

[cliffhanger]

Thanks Tom

This is what I thought, the fstab wants changing. But the problem is that GParted and/or a Linux Distro can't 'see' the drive, although I can boot from it and the bios detects it. So altering anything is difficult.

In a nutshell I want to delete the existing Linux system and install Mint - and can't.

Cliff

[RealBlackStuff]

Remove the main-drive.
Then install the U-bay drive OS from either an external CD/DVD drive or a self-booting USB-stick.

[cliffhanger]

Thanks will try that

Cliff

[cliffhanger]

Hi
It's a no go with the original 40GB drive removed. Only the usb stick is detected now! How is this, the SSD is seen by the bios?

thanks

Cliff

[cliffhanger]

I've been away from this for a while, but I'm now keen to get this drive working.

The SSD is seen by the bios, but I can't get an operating system to recognise it.

Ideas?

Cliff