Best Minipc Forum

Hi,

I have AK1PRO (n5105 + 16GB of ram + 512 GB ssd) mini PC.
I have been trying to install a few Linux distros (debian, ubuntu, xubuntu) along with MS Windows 11 and I’m unable to complete the installations without a grub install error. I have also tried disabling secure boot but I get the same error. I have also tried boot-repair and with secure boot enabled, I get the error “unknown filesystem” when installing grub and “nvram is locked” with secure boot disabled. Reading on the internet, the latter error suggests that a BIOS upgrade is required. Can the vendor tell me if an upgrade is required?
Has anyone been able to install any Linux distro along with windows 11? Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance,

Try to install following the linked documentation tutorial.

Hi Barry777,

Thanks for your quick response.
I have followed the tutorial you provided step by step but it fails at the same installation step as before, i.e when installing grub. I'm doing it with ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 11.6. I don't see the point in using ubuntu 16 as it is very old. I believe that UEFI/secure boot is somehow preventing the boot loader installation (although I have disabled it).
I have also tried other things I found on the Internet but all of them have been unsuccessful. Not sure what's going on here but I starting to believe that the BIOS is not working properly. Any more ideas on how to fix this?

Can anyone tell me how to contact support? I need a BIOS upgrade.

Rhide,

You can contact after sales support at support@kamrui.com.

You can also try contacting barry777 directly by clicking on his name, then sending him a private message from his profile page.

You can try this version: Ubuntu20.04; address:
Ubuntu installation steps:
Ubuntu installs WiFi driver:

Hi Barry,

Thanks for your reply. With Ubuntu 20.04 it doesn't work either. First of all, when I tried to boot with the USB to start the Ubuntu installation I got the following error:

https://ibb.co/tzY7tMj

I disabled secure boot and I was oable to boot with the USB to access the Ubuntu installation menu. I Installed ubuntu along with MS Windows and the installation was completed successfully. However, when rebooted the PC, it only loads the minimal bash-like grub as you can see here:

https://ibb.co/2M2f5dm

I have tried several sugestion to fix grub (grub-repair, and other methods) but i always end up in the same minimal bash-like grub (not the boot menu).
I'm thinking of fully delete MS Windows but I would like to be able to go back to MS WIndows if needed (because I may need to run some applications that only work in MS Windows). If i don't touch the recovery partition, will I be able to re-install MS Windows and if so, can you tell me how could I access to the recovery menu to reinstall MS Windows (I haven't found the way to do it)?

Rhide,

It's just a thought, but if you don't need to use the detachable 2.5" storage carriage for extra storage, you could install one OS on the main storage and the other on a 2.5" SSD in that carriage. They're both SATA, so there would be no speed difference, and you'd be able to install each one on its own drive, and then choose which you want to boot to in the F7 Boot menu.

Granted, if you want to put Windows on the 2.5" drive you'd have to use Windows installation files other than what's available here, as what's available here always defaults to the internal storage, but you could use installation media you've created using the Media Creation Tool available from Microsoft, and during the installation you could choose which drive to install it on.

I did this with my GK1. I have Linux Mint on the internal storage and Windows 10 on a 2.5" Samsung 840 EVO in the add on storage, and they both work perfectly.

Again, it's just a thought.

Hi Gabe,

What I'm trying to achieve is install linux (any distro) along with MS Windows 11 in the hard drive that comes with the Mini PC (AK1PRO) (dual boot). I don't see any reason not to be able to unless there's something that prevents it. I believe the secure boot implementation of the bios is a bit buggy and it is making it difficult to fix. I have tried any trick I have been able to find on the Internet to make it work but not luck so far. It may help if I completely remove MS Windows 11 but would it be possible to recover the MS Windows using the recovery partiation? and if so, what are the steps you need to follow to install back the MS Windows OS from the recovery partition (if I have already got rid off the MS Windows)?

I understand what you're attempting to do, but unfortunately I don't have any advice regarding what could be causing the problem while trying to achieve it.

As far as I know there is no recovery partition, but I believe there are ways to create one, though I've never tried them so I'm not familiar with the process. Check out the following site, as it appears to have so info on doing so with a third party tool. Not the first method, as that's a recovery drive on a USB flash drive, though you could use that if you wanted to, but the second method I believe is more about creating an actual recovery partition on the system drive.

https://www.ubackup.com/windows-11/crea ... ws-11.html

For reference, I've created a recovery drive before, though I never ended up restoring my computer with it. What I normally do is save a system image using Windows' built in system imaging tool, and I HAVE used that to restore a computer a couple of times in the past, though I don't know that the system image method is conducive to having a Linux distro installed on the same drive.