Fresh install of Manjaro failing with Installer/KDE/GParted

Support
,
1

Hello, so i’m new on the forums, but i’m still a leaning a bit with Linux as a whole. But yesterday, i hit quite a road block while trying to reinstall Manjaro again on my desktop (I first made the install as btrfs and i saw afterwards that ext4 is generally a good option).

The only problem is, now i can’t get the partition(s) to get done by either the Installer or KDE. I got the partitions done myself with a fat32 for the boot and ext4 for Manjaro itself, but even then, the installer doesn’t recognize it.

I looked a lot around inside the forum and i feel like i’m close to finding the issue but i just need a little bit more help pinpointing it down.

My BIOS settings are as follows

SATA Mode: AHCI
CSM: Disabled
Secure Boot: OS Type is ‘Other OS’ / Secure Boot Mode is ‘Custom’ / Secure Boot Keys are cleaned
Fast Boot: Disabled

I reinstalled Windows to trouble shoot some more myself on a different disk other than the NVMe i am trying to get Manjaro on. (Which i will get rid of Windows once i figure out this problem, i’m not aiming for a dual boot.)

I also looked at the auto mount feature since i’ve a few mentions of that, but it’s already ticked off by default for me.

The main thing that i was able to get is that the sfdisk and cfdisk command fails whether using the installer or the terminal itself, but both give a clue in the terminal, saying the following.

cfdisk command:

cfdisk: error while loading shared libraries: /usr/lib/libfdisk.so.1: cannot read file data: Input/output error

sfdisk command:

sfdisk: error while loading shared libraries: /usr/lib/libfdisk.so.1: cannot read file data: Input/output error

My entire system info:

System:
  Kernel: 6.18.18-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x86_64 lang=en_US keytable=us tz=UTC
    misobasedir=manjaro misolabel=MANJARO_KDE_2604 quiet systemd.show_status=1
    splash driver=free nouveau.modeset=1 i915.modeset=1 radeon.modeset=1
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.5.6 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.24.0
    wm: kwin_wayland vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: ASUS product: N/A v: N/A serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI v: Rev 1.xx
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: SKU uuid: <superuser required>
    Firmware: UEFI vendor: American Megatrends v: 3842 date: 03/11/2026
CPU:
  Info: model: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Zen 5 gen: 5
    level: v4 note: check built: 2024+ process: TSMC n4 (4nm) family: 0x1A (26)
    model-id: 0x44 (68) stepping: 0 microcode: 0xB404035
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 1 cores: 8 threads: 16 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 640 KiB desc: d-8x48 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 8 MiB
    desc: 8x1024 KiB L3: 96 MiB desc: 1x96 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 603 min/max: 603/5272 boost: enabled scaling:
    driver: amd-pstate-epp governor: powersave cores: 1: 603 2: 603 3: 603 4: 603
    5: 603 6: 603 7: 603 8: 603 9: 603 10: 603 11: 603 12: 603 13: 603 14: 603
    15: 603 16: 603 bogomips: 150404
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3
    svm
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: ghostwrite status: Not affected
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
  Type: old_microcode status: Not affected
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow mitigation: IBPB on VMEXIT only
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB: conditional;
    STIBP: always-on; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsa status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
  Type: vmscape mitigation: IBPB on VMEXIT
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 [GeForce RTX 3070 Lite Hash Rate] vendor: Gigabyte
    driver: nouveau v: kernel alternate: nova_core non-free: 550-580.xx+
    status: current (as of 2025-11; EOL~2026-12-xx) arch: Ampere code: GAxxx
    process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-2023 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 ports: active: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2 empty: DP-2 bus-ID: 01:00.0
    chip-ID: 10de:2488 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Granite Ridge [Radeon Graphics]
    vendor: ASUSTeK driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: RDNA-2 code: Navi-2x
    process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-22 pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    ports: active: none empty: DP-3,HDMI-A-3,Writeback-1 bus-ID: 0c:00.0
    chip-ID: 1002:13c0 class-ID: 0300 temp: 37.0 C
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.21 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,vesa dri: zink,radeonsi gpu: nouveau d-rect: 5760x1080
    display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: DP-1 pos: center model: Samsung LF24T35 serial: <filter>
    built: 2022 res: mode: 1920x1080 hz: 75 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 92 gamma: 1.2
    size: 528x297mm (20.79x11.69") diag: 606mm (23.9") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-2: HDMI-A-1 pos: primary,left model: Samsung LF24T35
    serial: <filter> built: 2022 res: mode: 1920x1080 hz: 75 scale: 100% (1)
    dpi: 92 gamma: 1.2 size: 528x297mm (20.79x11.69") diag: 606mm (23.9")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 1920x1080 min: 720x400
  Monitor-3: HDMI-A-2 pos: right model: PD1161 built: 2021 res:
    mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60 scale: 135% (1.35) to: 1422x800 dpi: 190 gamma: 1.2
    size: 256x144mm (10.08x5.67") diag: 294mm (11.6") ratio: 16:9 modes:
    max: 1920x1080 min: 640x480
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0 drv: radeonsi
    device: 1 drv: zink device: 2 drv: swrast gbm: drv: radeonsi surfaceless:
    drv: radeonsi wayland: drv: zink x11: drv: zink
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: mesa v: 26.0.2-arch1.1 glx-v: 1.4
    direct-render: yes renderer: zink Vulkan 1.4(NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (NVK
    GA104) (MESA_NVK)) device-ID: 10de:2488 memory: 8.06 GiB unified: no
    display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.341 layers: 2 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu name: NVIDIA
    GeForce RTX 3070 (NVK GA104) driver: mesa nvk v: 26.0.2-arch1.1
    device-ID: 10de:2488 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: integrated-gpu name: AMD
    Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-Core Processor (RADV RAPHAEL_MENDOCINO) driver: mesa radv
    v: 26.0.2-arch1.1 device-ID: 1002:13c0 surfaces: N/A
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info
    x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 High Definition Audio vendor: Gigabyte
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228b class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Radeon High Definition Audio
    vendor: ASUSTeK driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s
    lanes: 16 bus-ID: 0c:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:1640 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Ryzen HD Audio vendor: ASUSTeK
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 0c:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
  Device-4: SteelSeries ApS Arctis Nova 3X Wireless
    driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-3:2 chip-ID: 1038:226d class-ID: 0300
  Device-5: HP HyperX QuadCast S driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
    type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-7.4:12
    chip-ID: 03f0:0294 class-ID: 0300
  API: ALSA v: k6.18.18-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl
  Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-3: PipeWire v: 1.6.2 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: ASUSTeK driver: r8169 v: kernel
    pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 07:00.0
    chip-ID: 10ec:8125 class-ID: 0200
  IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: MEDIATEK MT7922 802.11ax PCI Express Wireless Network Adapter
    vendor: AzureWave driver: mt7921e v: kernel pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s
    lanes: 1 bus-ID: 08:00.0 chip-ID: 14c3:0616 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp8s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: IMC Networks Wireless_Device driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
    rev: 2.1 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-6:8 chip-ID: 13d3:3614
    class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Report: rfkill ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: see --recommends
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 4.57 TiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD BLACK SN7100 1TB size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 63.2 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 7619M0WD temp: 33.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102
    size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0001 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Crucial model: CT480BX500SSD1
    size: 447.13 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s
    tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: R022 scheme: GPT
  ID-4: /dev/sdc maj-min: 8:32 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD10EZEX-22MFCA0 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 1A01 scheme: GPT
  ID-5: /dev/sdd maj-min: 8:48 vendor: SanDisk model: SSD PLUS 480GB
    size: 447.14 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB
    rev: 3.0 spd: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
    scheme: GPT
  ID-6: /dev/sde maj-min: 8:64 model: Mass Storage Device size: 59.48 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 2.0 spd: 480 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1.00 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  Message: No partition data found.
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 41.5 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 37.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 30.51 GiB used: 3.49 GiB (11.4%)
  Processes: 363 Power: uptime: 44m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 12.08 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 259 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1313 libs: 345 tools: pamac pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
    Compilers: N/A Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.40

Sudo Parted command: (The top three disks are internal that i used to troubleshoot with Windows, 4/5 are externals (with 5 being the live environment i am using to make this topic) and 6 is my NVMe)

Model: ATA ST2000DM008-2FR1 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 2000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name                  Flags
 1      1049kB  2000GB  2000GB  ntfs         Basic data partition  msftdata


Model: ATA CT480BX500SSD1 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 480GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End    Size    File system  Name                          Flags
 1      1049kB  106MB  105MB   fat32        EFI system partition          boot, esp, no_automount
 2      106MB   123MB  16.8MB               Microsoft reserved partition  msftres, no_automount
 3      123MB   479GB  479GB   ntfs         Basic data partition          msftdata
 4      479GB   480GB  819MB   ntfs                                       hidden, diag, no_automount


Model: ATA WDC WD10EZEX-22M (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name                  Flags
 1      1049kB  1000GB  1000GB  ntfs         Basic data partition  msftdata


Model: SanDisk SSD PLUS 480GB (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 480GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name                          Flags
 1      17.4kB  16.8MB  16.8MB               Microsoft reserved partition  msftres
 2      16.8MB  480GB   480GB                Pool de stockage


Model: Mass Storage Device (scsi)
Disk /dev/sde: 63.9GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    Type     File system  Flags
 2      5665MB  5669MB  4194kB  primary               esp


Model: WD_BLACK SN7100 1TB (nvme)
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system  Name  Flags
 1      1049kB  538MB   537MB   fat32              boot, esp
 2      538MB   69.3GB  68.7GB  ext4

Overall, i have the potential thought that it’s something having to do with either missing files or something within my BIOS that i might glanced over, especially after updating it since over a year.

But if i’m missing any detail, let me know, i will remain in the Live environment to continue troubleshooting!

2

This is a file system or disk error - it could be your ISO is damaged somewhere.

The general recommendation is to verify the downloaded file for consistency using GPG signature or the checksum.

If you want to point the installer to your own partitioning you need to chose manual partitioning - then select the partitions to use - supply a mount point and filesystem.

Ensure the partition(s) you want to use is not mounted - as this will generate errors

  • mountpoint for EFI → /boot/efi → FAT32 → boot flag
  • mountpoint for root → / → ext4 → root flag

If you encounter weird issues - remember that the partition table is cached by the system and if you make changes using partition manager tools - you may need to reload the partition table - better yet - restart the system.

3

The ISO being damaged would be odd, since i made sure to redownload it fresh and burned it on a microSD (in which i’m not sure if using a MicroSD adapter changes anything, so i wouldn’t know on that.) using Rufus. But i’ll check if the signature and checksum are correct just in case

And i have tried using manual partitioning but even then, it doesn’t recognize the ones i premade with GParted, saying ‘Unpartitioned space or unknown partition table’

image
image1112×649 92.7 KB

As for the partitions being not mounted, i have seen in a few posts that if i don’t see access to any in the file manager, that indicates that nothing is mounted, which is the case for me (Unless i could be wrong and it still could be somewhere, so feel free to correct me if needed!).

But for now, i will go check the ISO file to make sure it’s not missing anything.

4

Excellent - I coudn’t say much about this, because I just use Ventoy - because it’s simpler and it always seems to work :wink:

As for the installation - just selecting ‘whole disk’ for your WD Black should have the install done in less than 5 minutes without any advanced partitioning…

I like ext4, you can still run snapshots (though restoring them takes a few minutes instead of instant… not something I’ve done for a long time to check) and it’s also good to set back-in-time or similar to do incremental backups off the WD Black for bullet-proofing.

2 Likes
5

Well, so far so good for the ISO file, the checksum is identical and I’m only missing the signature (though having a barebones version of Windows doesn’t help because I have to use Edge to find stuff. So finding a tool that compare file signatures is rough).

As for the whole disk choice, it did work the first time I installed Manjaro with btrfs, but now it’s not recognizing anything.

Update, I managed to get a way to check the signature, working on it now

6

That indicates that your disk is not available - as your system is a desktop

I suggest you check the connection to the disk - is it properly seated?

I am thinking that if you didn’t make any changes to your disk layout between attempts - there must be a logical reason.

I suggest you open a console and list block devices - see what result you get

lsblk -f

Copy the terminal output and paste it into a comment using the code fence (toolbar </>) e.g.

 $ lsblk -f
NAME        FSTYPE FSVER LABEL        UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda                                                                                       
└─sda1      ext4   1.0   private      1f3d1a6e-b4b5-46da-909a-8a87a45dd18b  183,4G    48% /a/private
sdb                                                                                       
├─sdb1      ext4   1.0   virtualbox   a0a54066-5053-4aaf-b0de-0cf5fefeb260  196,1G    13% /a/virtualbox
└─sdb2      ext4   1.0   miso         5b368b21-73b3-41cb-a121-651c091e7150  150,9G    25% /miso
sdc                                                                                       
└─sdc1      ext4   1.0   projects     04f0ac14-1556-4666-9f12-617ba471502c    1,3T    22% /a/projects
sdd                                                                                       
└─sdd1      ext4   1.0   seagate-2tb  b925148a-0729-447a-ad95-4d9e27dcb442                
sde                                                                                       
└─sde1      xfs          backup01-2TB 7a3fb38e-dd85-4929-ab05-05873ec87e10                
sdf                                                                                       
sdg                                                                                       
sdh                                                                                       
nvme0n1                                                                                   
├─nvme0n1p1 vfat   FAT32 EFI          2406-71DD                               1,9G     5% /efi
├─nvme0n1p2 ext4   1.0   system       cafce1fc-a404-48b9-b7e8-00ec59a4e2c0  569,6G    29% /
└─nvme0n1p3 swap   1     swap         35cfcba0-c1cc-42b1-8657-b4c4a4139201                [SWAP]
7

Okay, it took me a little bit, but i managed to check the signature with Kleopatra on Windows and…it’s telling me the signature (ie. the sig file) was created on March 27th and used an unknown certificate with a specific numeric print, which I have the software look it up but it doesn’t find anything and when I look at the report it says ‘Unable to verify signature: No public key’.

And the NVMe should appear on Manjaro, because Windows recognizes it no problem. But I will boot back on the LE to get that for you.

8

Ensure that your firmware is set to use ahci for disk access.

The screenshot above indicate the disk is found by the installer.

If you want to handle partitions manually you will need to click New Partition Table button - before you can create partitions.

This can be done using the installer screen - auto partition - just select the correct disk in the drop-down.

9

It is set like that in the BIOS, but I’ll hop back on Windows after the command to get the software to check that if the disk itself got modified somewhat.

Command result:

NAME    FSTYPE   FSVER      LABEL            UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
loop0   squashfs 4.0                                                                    0   100% /run/miso/sfs/livefs
loop1   squashfs 4.0                                                                    0   100% /run/miso/sfs/mhwdfs
loop2   squashfs 4.0                                                                    0   100% /run/miso/sfs/desktopfs
loop3   squashfs 4.0                                                                    0   100% /run/miso/sfs/rootfs
sda                                                                                              
└─sda1  ntfs                Manjaro test 3   9402468302466A76                                    
sdb                                                                                              
├─sdb1  vfat     FAT32                       8E14-A31E                                           
├─sdb2                                                                                           
├─sdb3  ntfs                                 E0563001562FD6D6                                    
└─sdb4  ntfs                                 D676FE2976FE09CF                                    
sdc                                                                                              
└─sdc1  ntfs                Manjaro test 2   64123AC1123A97CE                                    
sdd                                                                                              
├─sdd1                                                                                           
└─sdd2                                                                                           
sde     iso9660  Joliet Ext MANJARO_KDE_2604 2026-03-27-22-39-34-00                     0   100% /run/miso/bootmnt
├─sde1  iso9660  Joliet Ext MANJARO_KDE_2604 2026-03-27-22-39-34-00                              
└─sde2  vfat     FAT12      MISO_EFI         33B4-40D1                                           
nvme0n1                                                                                          
├─nvme0n1p1
│       vfat     FAT32                       CE6D-E740                                           
└─nvme0n1p2
        ext4     1.0                         bf661e45-ebad-48b2-a040-e85c9d568ba6

And even running the installer’s auto partition, this happens when it attempts to

image
image495×438 42.5 KB

10

Did you verify the checksum after downloading? I’ve never had any issues with the ISO having it on a small external SSD with Ventoy.

12

I verified it just then and it’s identical, so i don’t really know what happened.

13

There is something strange with your disk

  • your partition manager says no partitions
  • console listing says there is two partitions
  • the installer auto partition cannot write to the disk

I have only seen this in situations where the disk has died.

If you want to try something different - what is the output from

mount | grep /dev/nvme0n1

If there is no output then

sudo su

Then we wipe all signatures from the disk

sgdisk --zap-all /dev/nvme0n1

Then we overwrite the first 100MB with zero’es

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=10M count=10
14

Here’s the info I have from SanDisk’s software if it helps.

Drive Summary
Model Name: WD_BLACK SN7100 NVMe SSD
Model Number: WD_BLACK SN7100 178
PCle Generation: Gen4
Link Width: 4x
Serial Number: 26051807562
Maximum LBA: 1953525167
IEEE OUI: 01b4sh
4k Alignment: Yes
Drive Security: Frozen
Disk Number: 3 *
System Details
Manufacturer: ASUS
Model: System Product Name
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-Core Processor
Secure Boot: Off
Operating System
Name: Microsoft Windows 11 Professionnel
Version: 23H2
O Build: 22631.2861
System Type: 64-bit Operating System

Mod - extracted text with Spectacle :wink:
For the command outputs, I’ll head back on the LE to give you that!

15

Have you tried running Secure Erase on the disk or some other low level stuff?

16

I have not, no. Should I try to?

17

No - don’t - not a good idea - I ask because Frozen is - usually - related to device security.

18

Okay gotcha.

Now, currently on the LE, the first command did not give me any output, so i carried on with the instructions and overwrote the first 100MB

19

Then the Frozen means nothing in this context.

The device is writable - you should be able to use the auto partitioning from the installer.

20

Fast Boot or hibernation is enabled in Windows (locks the disk).

21

It did give me this with the sgdisk command however:

Caution: invalid main GPT header, but valid backup; regenerating main header
from backup!

Warning: Invalid CRC on main header data; loaded backup partition table.
Warning! Main and backup partition tables differ! Use the 'c' and 'e' options
on the recovery & transformation menu to examine the two tables.

Warning! Main partition table CRC mismatch! Loaded backup partition table
instead of main partition table!

Warning! One or more CRCs don't match. You should repair the disk!
Main header: ERROR
Backup header: OK
Main partition table: ERROR
Backup partition table: OK

Invalid partition data!
GPT data structures destroyed! You may now partition the disk using fdisk or
other utilities.

I’ll head back on Windows to see if hibernation is on or not.