From windows to Zorin

Hello all.
For year upon year I have remained malware free, (to the best of my knowledge) then Opps, I get a goodie. I accept my part; there was a certain "Accept some grief" button inadvertently pressed, or some other such thing, though I still do not know which one. However it came to be the whole thing has done my head in. I am currently looking at a Zorin cd, finger poised on the shutdown button for the last time, files backed up, I'm ready to go. No duel boot for me, that's it, boots and all, all or nothing, sink or swim, there's no going back- Zorin, ready or not, here I come!
(I'll have to admit to being an eency-teensy bit anxious....)

HI, and welcome!

You don't need to be anxious, just follow my video on veoh.com on how to install Zorin 8 RC - this will equally apply to Zorin 9 but you don't need to create and format partitions before installing - you can do that during the install.

Here is a simple text version of what to do:

1. Make your DVD-RW/ROM drive the first device to boot from with your disc in the drive.

2. If you are using a Desktop PC then the first graphical screen you should see is a blue one with an 'Accessibility icon = keyboard icon' - when you see this, press the space bar and the 'Language' (F2) screen will indicate 'English' (not a lot can be done at this stage as it is not physically possible to include a host of other languages in the .iso - this gets altered after install if you need a different language. Depending on which part of the English speaking part of the world you reside in, press the Escape key and then press F3 to choose your chosen keyboard layout - by default this is set to 'English US' - if you need another layout, just use your cursor keys (up and down arrows) to move to the desired layout. Then press the Escape key once more and then press the 'Enter' key - 'Try Zorin without installing' should be highlighted so that you get to see if everything works OK.

3. When you get to the Desktop, click on the 'Install ZorinOS to hard drive' icon - you will go through a number of screens - the most crucial one is where it asks you how you want to install Zorin - even though you are not running anything else but Zorin you should ALWAYS choose the 'something else' (last option) for installing. This will bring up the Partition Editor. If you have not used any other application to remove Windows, this is where you will do it - highlight all your Windows partitions (having first backed up all crucial data), delete everything and start afresh - but be sure to play in the Live Mode environment first before installing to ensure that you are happy that everything works as you want it to.

4. Now on the Partition Editor, press the '+' key to create a new partition - format this to 30000 Mibs, format to 'ext4' and mark as '/' - this is where the System (Root folder) resides and without marking it as '/' you will not boot into anything! Make it a 'Primary' partition.

5. Next make an 'Extended Partition' and AT THE END, format 2048 Mibs of 4096 Mibs and mark as 'swap area'

6. Finally, everything to the left of the 'swap area' format to 'ext4' and mark as '/home' - this is where all your personal data (and that of others if there is going to be more than one user) is stored, including any Windows applications you cannot live without (assuming they will run!)

Hope this has calmed your nerves!

6. Now everything

Thank you, much appreciated.

Well, here I am in the land of linux and Zorin- my new home!
It did take 4 attempts to get it installed though. For some reason it would stop/hang at the "Create user" stage of the installation with the following; "...Enter your mount passphrase [leave blank to generate one]"
On the fourth and succesfull attemp I first ran Zorin from the cd and installed from there. I also left the 'encrypt the home folder' option unchecked.

Now to have a wonder round, add a bit of artwork perhaps, rearrange the furniture and turn this house into a home....

I'm not entirely sure why I'm posting all this....perhaps you're wondering the same....fear not, I'll fade into the background presently....

Lines of script and terminals are not what an ex-windows user usually describes as "eye candy" and as usual neither will I.
The first programs I desired installed were "Spotify" and "Bitcoin" both of which of course required scripts and terminals.
What was I worried about? Thank the Lord for a helpful community and "copy & Paste"
The installation of both programs was hardly more arduous than "next, next, ok"
I'm very happy, pleased and impressed. I'm liking my new home.
Donation [and possibly upgrading] is now an obligation.
Thank you all.
Kind Regards,
Ron.

Hi Ron,

Glad you are enjoying Zorin - you don't always need the terminal:

1. For noobs I would first check: Menu | Zorin Software Centre (rebranded Ubuntu Software Centre)

2. Synaptic Package Manager: Menu | System Tools | Administration | Synaptic Package Manager.

Just enter a search term in the box for applications you would like (no guarantees!) and see what comes back - then just right-click the tiny square box on what you want installed and select 'Mark for Installation' and then click on 'apply'.

Whether doing 1 or 2 you will be asked for your login password to raise you to 'root' (similar to 'Run as ...' administrator in that other OS you left behind!

Finally, you can always use your favourite search engine for *.deb packages and use 'Gdebi' (Gnome debian installer) - look for it in 1 or 2 - if all else fails, you may need to open a Terminal (Ctrl+ Alt+ T) and enter:

Code:

sudo apt-get install gdebi

After install, you will then have this available in the right-click context menu when you do so on a .deb packaged software.