How to Dual Boot Windows 10 and ZorinOS in your laptop!
Hey y'all! I am gonna share a detailed step-by-step guide on how to install ZorinOS 17.1 Core version on your laptop in hopes of making transitioning from Windows easier (it can be done in MacOS but someone needs to try it and maybe share their experience).
If interested, keep reading below the cut, even if you want to do a full install without having Windows on the side :D
Step 1
Note: Take your time to read the whole guide slowly before attempting this and make sure to keep backup of all your personal files, bookmarks, browser extension choices, etc. Plus, keep your phone fully charged in case you need to access this guide or other sites for some guidance
For folks who just want to have ZorinOS full install and no Windows: Do Steps 1-4 and then 6-10 of this guide, but when you come across a dialogue box of the ZorinOS installer asking if you want to install ZorinOS alongside Windows, Full Install (wipes out the whole storage drive of your laptop and then installs ZorinOS), or Something Else (Manual partitioning and choosing your own unallocated space), go for the Full Install option and the rest shall be smooth sailing for you. I have not done yet but you can check some videos before attempting it.
Firstly, find out your laptop specs, like what' kind of CPU, GPU(s), RAM, etc., it has. Here's mine so you can get an idea:
Device: Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen2
Resolution: 1920x1080 (not hardware but I just threw it in)
RAM: 16GB
CPU/Processor: 11th Gen Intel i7-1165G7
GPU(s): Integrated is Intel TigerLake-LP GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] and the dedicated/discrete is NVIDIA GeForce MX450, basically I have 2.
You can find these in the About section under Settings if you have Windows running in it. Take a picture of your specs in case you forget, it's fine.
Step 2
Grab your USB (back up its contents if you're gonna use it) because we need to make it into a live bootable drive with ZorinOS in it and I highly recommend THIS video on how to make Ventoy USB to store multiple Linux distros in it! I have a 32GB USB with 6 different distros as .iso files as I type this and I had no issues so far. Even though the guy in the video is using Windows 11, it was still helpful for me on Windows 10.
List of OSes tested on Ventoy: Link
Step 3
Now you know your basic yet important laptop specs, backed up everything, and have a Ventoy USB ready to take ZorinOS, so head to the official vendor site below:
Download your ZorinOS 17.1 Core version: Link
ZorinOS system requirements: Link
Don't worry! You aren't missing much if you download Core version, other than just some layouts :) It's also a good habit to check if your hardware can meet the requirements of the Linux distro you're about to get and try so take a gander around their site.
Step 4
Ok, this step is a bit technical but necessary for doing a proper dual boot so you don't land up having errors or crazy crashes. It can be a nerve-wracking for beginners but you'll get the hang of it. I was once a long-time Windows user, but here I am using a Linux distro I enjoy after doing a little distro-hopping within a year :)
Now while you're on the Windows side, follow only Step 1: Preparing Windows for Dual Boot. This is to check what is the partition style of your internal storage drive, if you have BIOS or UEFI on your Windows, and allocating space for ZorinOS. The remainder of this installation you shall follow this guide.
For me, I have an internal Samsung SSD of 512GB in total size with GPT partition style, UEFI BIOS menu type because it's a Windows 10 Pro (sibling has regular BIOS on Windows 10 Home and it was not a problem), secure boot was off, and there was no BitLocker encryption on my C: drive (they forgot this step, but I'm adding that in because some ppl forgot and it messed up their dual boot set up).
You are almost done prepping Windows for the dual boot!
But you must check if your C: drive is not encrypted by BitLocker and you can do it in these simple steps: Settings-> Search BitLocker-> Pick Manage BitLocker-> BitLocker Dialogue box opens and you can see if it's on or off. If the encryption is OFF, then you're good to go, otherwise, turn it off.
Step 5
Your Windows laptop is almost ready for the ZorinOS dual boot set up, and you must give some space from you Windows' C: drive partition. The C: drive partition is the largest partition with an NTFS filesystem type and it will be like that for you when you check it through Disk Management. Or you can get the free version of MiniTool Partition Wizard to take get some space for ZorinOS.
This Minitool partition wizard came in handy when I needed to remove the boot partition of Pop!_OS so I can get a big singular chunk of unallocated space for ZorinOS since Windows Disk Management couldn't do it. Make sure to take a before and after picture with your phone so you'll know which partition shall have ZorinOS. Oh! When making the unallocated space partition for ZorinOS, click Apply option before exiting the partition wizard.
Step 6
NOW your Windows side is ready to do a dual boot set up with ZorinOS! :D
While your laptop is ON, plug in your Ventoy USB that has the ZorinOS .iso file in it (check if your USB is fully detected by going to This PC option in File Explorer)-> Go into Firmware Settings aka BIOS menu, or in my case, the UEFI firmware settings if you have a ThinkPad (like in Step 4)-> Boot (or similar option)-> Rearrange the boot order such that the USB is 1st (identified by it's brand name) and then Windows Boot Manager as 2nd in the list.
This needs to be done so that when you restart your laptop, it will boot up from your Ventoy USB and not Windows.
Step 7
Ok, now that the Ventoy USB is plugged to your laptop, boot order rearranged correctly in the previous step, you may now restart your laptop and it shall open with a Ventoy menu showing your ZorinOS .iso image file, and other distros if you have any.
Choose ZorinOS .iso file-> Pick Normal Boot Mode and ignore the other options-> ZorinOS installer menu appears and you can choose which version of ZorinOS you want based on your GPUs.
For me, I chose Try or Install ZorinOS (modern NVIDIA drivers) because I have an NVIDIA GPU. If you have NVIDIA chips, definitely go for this one.
If you have Intel, AMD Ryzen, or both in your laptop, go with the 1st option that says Try or Install ZorinOS since the kernel of the OS already had the support baked into it.
Now, if neither option works and you see a blank screen (happens when the GPU didn't get the support it needed and the reason you can see stuff on your screen is because of a GPU), you can choose the 2nd option called Try or Install ZorinOS (Safe Graphics).
Well, I hope you don't need that last one so keep your fingers crossed!
You can see the installer menu at this section on ZorinOS's site: Link
Step 8
After choosing an appropriate version of ZorinOS with the correct driver support based on your hardware, hit Enter, and it will start checking the .iso file for defects so DON'T skip it.
When the check is done, you can choose to either try or install ZorinOS.
If it's your first time with Linux and you want to check if you like it, everything is working fine and you want to tinker a bit, choose Try.
Once you're happy with it you can click on Install ZorinOS 17.1 file which you can find sitting on the upper right corner of your desktop screen.
Step 9
Trying or Installing, you will obviously have to do a few things before you get to play with your new OS, such as your keyboard layout, language choice, time zone, connect to Wifi (recommended), etc.
But the daunting part is the manual partition bit, and thankfully it only needs one called root which is shown as this '/'.
You can look more into the manual partitioning bit here: Link
Since you already made unallocated space, and remember the amount you took from the C: drive (remember I told you to take a pic?), pick the one that closely matches to the amount you saved for ZorinOS (I remember reserving 373GB but when I came to this bit, it showed me 400GB and I was like "how??" lol).
After picking that empty unallocated space, a small dialogue box will pop up to create it so do the following:
Type for the new partition: Primary
Location for new partition: Beginning of this space
Use as: Ext4 Journaling file system
Mount as: /
Then hit 'OK'. And don't worry abt the boot EFI entry, it gets made automatically.
Lastly, there's a drop down menu saying "device for boot loader installation" and you must pick the one that it relates to the internal storage drive of your laptop (for me it showed Samsung 512GB with some model number, remember me mentioning that?).
You can refer to the pictures to see if it matches closely so you don't mess it up.
Once that's done, hit "Install Now", it will confirm with you again so just proceed, and then the installation shall begin.
It takes like around 10-15 minutes, so connect to the charger just in case.
Note: If the USB wiggles and errors start showing up, you can shut down, unplug the USB, go to the partition wizard tool to delete that parition as it may have remnants of the installation and it shall return as a pristine unallocated space for you to do the install again. It happened to me so I'm just letting you all know this.
Step 10
Once the installation is done, just follow the on-screen instructions and you got yourself a Windows + ZorinOS dual boot working for you!
Congrats! Your laptop now has Linux :)
The reason I'm able to give these instructions is because I'm a curious person and I tinker around so I encourage you to do that, but be cautious. Overly customising your OS can cause it to break and that's the first lesson I learned with Linux. So go and explore! :D
I shall make another post on tweaking ZorinOS to make it a little pretty and how to download apps so keep your eyes peeled for it!
