Failed to install Core

Hi,

I am trying to make the transition from Windows to Linux as a totally ignorant newbie, and I would greatly appreciate your advice.

I have Windows 7 Home Premium running on an Acer Aspire desktop. I would like to install Zorin OS Core to a partition/drive of its own on this machine, while keeping Windows as it is, and alternatingly using both systems.

The USB with the iso file seems to work fine when I boot from it, but I am hitting a wall with the installation.

When I arrive to the "Installation Type" step, there is no "Install alongside your other operating system" option offered like in the tutorials I've seen – only "Erase disk" and "Something else". I suspect what I want is achievable through "Something else", but I have no idea what all the terminology involved in that step means, with all the devs and sdas.

Before my first installation attempt, I created a dedicated partition for Linux with Easeus Partition Master, and when I entered the Zorin demo, this partition seemed to be acknowledged as dev/sda3. But I was not able to spot it among the "Something else" options, just like I couldn't see my Windows system drive, either.

I deleted the partition and tried again, but everything was the same.

I am pretty much at the end of my wits. The more I look into this matter online, the more discouraged I get.

Just to provide a bit more info, here's the four partitions I have, all formatted NTFS:
- *: PQSERVICE (17 GB, Logical)
- *: SYSTEM RESERVED (100 MB, Primary)
- C: System (50 GB, Boot, Primary)
- D: (my stuff + lots of storage space, Logical)

Any idea how I should go about it?

Cheers,
Steve

On Windows 7, have you ensured that Fastboot and Secure Boot are turned completely off?

The installation instructions on the Zorin OS site don't mention anything of the sort, so no, I didn't. And I'm afraid this is already incomprehensibly obscure talk to my ears.

Sorry, no offence meant. But I find it quite absurd that once one gets past the polished Zorin OS website, one is plunged into a sea of hermetic IT expertise and expected to deal with it. There should be a way for ordinary people like me to get Linux installed. If this Fastboot/Secure Boot thing you so generously pointed out is a major issue standing in the way of dual-boot installs, I would expect it at least mentioned somewhere on the product website.

equuus wrote:The installation instructions on the Zorin OS site don't mention anything of the sort, so no, I didn't. And I'm afraid this is already incomprehensibly obscure talk to my ears.

Equus, sorry for the delay. Things have been a bit crazy, here.
When I checked on"Secure boot", it appears to only be in Win8 and up. For Fast Boot, here is a guide:
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001762.htm

There may be a great many things that seem incomprehensible- I might also suggest calling new computer subjects "Unfamiliar." Unfamiliarity can make even simple tasks seem a lot more daunting.

equuus wrote:Sorry, no offence meant. But I find it quite absurd that once one gets past the polished Zorin OS website, one is plunged into a sea of hermetic IT expertise and expected to deal with it. There should be a way for ordinary people like me to get Linux installed. If this Fastboot/Secure Boot thing you so generously pointed out is a major issue standing in the way of dual-boot installs, I would expect it at least mentioned somewhere on the product website.

Critical feedback and valid complaints are never offensive.

Yes, I quickly threw in the response about Fastboot without giving enough detail- My only plea is that we are living in interesting times... Two factors in that are
1.) I am not very good at navigating Windows 7 and up- they are unfamiliar to me. I stopped using Windows at XP and I only did this slightly more than a Year ago. Just like you, I am new to Linux and I started this journey using Zorin OS. In this past year, I have gone from being often-stumped to writing my own desktop themes and uploading them for others to enjoy. I have gone from trying to figure out what the terminal is, to using it almost exclusively for most actions rather than the GUI programs made available. I would no longer say I am a Nube, but a Nube-Adept. You are not alone.
2.) I quite literally only had seconds available at the moment I posted as I was called away and I hoped a fast response that pointed you in the right direction would be far better than you waiting with no response; A google search or DuckDuckGo search of the terms I gave may have yielded more than one post I could make.
I am sorry for being so brief- that may have hindered more than helped. I also thought another member would have posted by now- I think we all may need to appreciate that it can be hectic everywhere for a while.

For what content is available on the Zorin OS website- you have a point, That could well be included. But Linux is generally modular, unlike windows and there is a great deal of variety as to what you may load (or not) on a machine and a great deal of variety in the hardware you would use. A list of everything you may need to consider could get VERY long, so it has always been more efficient for people to ask about specific issues here on the forum.
However, Swarfendor wrote a Manual for installation and initial use you can find here on the forum:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14361
https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code ... W17JkbhEK7

Assuming you have made an image of the disk, you can try this: Use windows 7's disk Management tool, and delete the partition you made. After you have the disk back to just windows 7, you should also shrink the empty space left when you deleted the partition. You can do this by just expanding windows to the full disk, using the same management tool.

now try installing Zorin. It should give you the "alongside" option now. This is easier for a newbie than the "something else" option. It took me awhile before I was brave enough to attempt that. Not that it's really that hard, it's just confusing to a newbie.

If this doesn't work, you will probably have to do the other option. We'll help you get through that. You will find different opinions about which option you should use. Personally, I have used the "alongside" method many times with many different Linuxes, and it has always worked, provided I had a disk that was ready for it. Which is a disk with only windows on it. At least, that has been my experience.

@equuus.
Aravisian is right. You will be "unfamiliar" with some terminology at first, but if you are willing and able to donate time to learn, it gets easier once you have overcome the learning curve of installation.
A lot of us here are migrants from Windows at some time so try to be gentle with newbies.
When I decided to create a dual-boot XP/Zorin machine I found the following items posted by Wolfman useful and relatively easy to understand. They are not so up-to-date as Swarfendor's Z15 Unofficial Manual, so for you coming from Win7 I would treat as background reading. Particularly as later hardware and versions of Windows can throw up challenges. But you have come to the right place for help.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2601
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4848

@mdiemer – Thank you for your suggestion. If the prerequisite of the "alongside" option is just Windows and nothing else on the machine, what do you think I should do with the other partitions I mentioned in my original post? Especially considering the first two, created by the system. And do I have to erase 700+ GB of stuff from the fourth?

It might be simpler to install a dedicated drive for Linux, assuming you have room in your computer. I picked up a Sandisk 250GB SSD recently for $35.00 USD, and put Linux on it. Then you can keep everything as it is on the other drive.

It's best to disconnect all drives but the one you are installing to. Then Zorin will be sure to install to the SSD. After, reconnect the other drive/s.When you boot the SSD with Zorin, run the following command in the terminal: sudo update-grub. Zorin will detect the other drive/s, and next time you boot you can select which OS/drive to boot. (If you have trouble booting zorin after doing this, go into your bios and make sure the new drive is the first boot option. After you run the command, your computer should present you with Grub, which is the Linux boot menu).

With SSD's so cheap these days (not to mention fast,) why not give this a try? It will avoid so many headaches!

Thank you again, that makes sense, but I guess I found the solution I was after in the meantime.

From different online articles, I got the hunch that maybe I should get rid of the hidden PQSERVICE partition (present on all Acer machines). I made sure I had system repair/backup disks, then with Easeus I deleted PQSERVICE and readjusted the space allocated to the remaining partitions. On job completion and restart, I was not able to boot back into Windows. Since the factory backup disks only offered clean reinstall and system repair without personal data integrity guaranteed, I used an old homemade system repair disk, and I got both Windows and my stuff back with no problem. On trying out Zorin again, the "install alongside Windows" option now appeared as expected.

I'm still backing up my stuff, but very much looking forward to installing Zorin. If it works as well as it looks, it should be nothing short of amazing.

Thank you. I've written two replies already, but for some reason they disappeared.

I seem to have found the right solution via deleting the hidden PQSERVICE partition + restoring the boot sector with a repair disk.
Haven't installed Zorin yet, but now I get the "install alongside" option. Can't wait to see it working, because the looks are amazing.

Thank you very much for all your answers. Cheers. Steve

Hi equus,

I think I need to report a forum bug - for some reason your subsequent post was being held in Moderation queue - had couple of instances of this happening before.

@mdiemer

" It might be simpler to install a dedicated drive for Linux, assuming you have room in your computer. I picked up a Sandisk 250GB SSD recently for $35.00 USD, and put Linux on it. Then you can keep everything as it is on the other drive.

It's best to disconnect all drives but the one you are installing to. Then Zorin will be sure to install to the SSD. After, reconnect the other drive/s.When you boot the SSD with Zorin, run the following command in the terminal: sudo update-grub. Zorin will detect the other drive/s, and next time you boot you can select which OS/drive to boot. (If you have trouble booting zorin after doing this, go into your bios and make sure the new drive is the first boot option. After you run the command, your computer should present you with Grub, which is the Linux boot menu).

With SSD's so cheap these days (not to mention fast,) why not give this a try? It will avoid so many headaches!
Gateway GT5656"

Thank you for this post! That should be considerably easier than mounting as much directories as possible on a disk which is not the boot disk to keep space on the boot disk...
I will try this on my desktop which has barely enough space for the Core version on the boot SSD. I might even try the Ultimate version, if the system requirements are not too much for my HP Compaq desktop.

By the way, is buying the ultimate version the only way of supporting the Zorin project or can I find somewhere bank account info to drop off some Easter eggs?

Happy Easter from Paris,
Mike