Any USB writer other than Balena Etcher?

Installing Zorin OS
#37

Believe it or not, this is a common problem among system builders. Take RAM chips for example, they are technically inserted, they appear to be well seated, but are they? A lot of time memory problems can be fixed by simply remove the sticks and re-inserting them, hence the term, reseating RAM. The same can be said about the graphics card.

In your specific case, it sounds like the contacts were just dusty, or possibly slightly corroded, making contact not proper. BTW, for future reference, I have a cleaning technique for metal contact that you might like. I use a product called Deoxit, works wonders. Its a lubricator and cleaner all in one.

But its much safer then WD-40, because unlike WD, Deoxit won't eat your PCB's rubbers, and plastics. Deoxit cleans, lubricates, and deoxifies the corrosion, hence its name. Its commonly used to clean potentiometers, like volume knocks on stereo's for example.

Canned air also works wonders in cleaning the dust away. You did a great job, I am so proud of you! You are positively stellar! :star2:

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#38

That is why I build my own computer :slight_smile:

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#39

Back in the 1990's I built pc's for other people, I had a place I could get used dell desktop cases for almost nothing, and then I custom built it based on what the buyer wanted. If they wanted to watch movies, or strictly webbrowsing, or office type work, I customized the processor, ram, network adapters, to maximize their experience, and I made good money at it.

But I developed some serious health problems, that put a stop to everything, it was 12 to 15 years before I felt like doing it again, and between the health problems, and the medications, I am just not able to think clearly enough to do things anymore. Which makes me worried about switching to Linux, since so much is cli not gui, and keeping all the commands straight seems impossible. I bought a notebook, and I"m writing any new commands down, so when I need something I can just look it up. But I refuse to use W11, I did some of the beta testing on it, and my feedback was there is a need for change, or an organism dies, but change for the sake of change, is never a good thing. W11 is going to be as bad or worse than Vista or W8. I used Zorin back during the Vista 8 days, I think it was like Z-6 or something close, so I came back. But trying to build a pc today, there is no way I could keep all those little but super important things straight, I would mix frequencies on the processor and M-B, and ram, and it would just explode, at least catch fire.

Edit: This is what I highlighted, I don't know why it ohly posted the smiley?????

#40

I did not try to mount it that way in Windows, but All six of the writers I downloaded would write all six of the iso's except the Zorin. I am commenting after I fixed the problem of dirty connections on the HDD.

#41

@StarTreker do you order that Deoxit, or pick it up in store, and where, I will give it a try. Thanks for the hint, I always like getting them. Back in the day when I was building, and repairng pc's, everyone is going to think I was stupid or something but, I would use alcohol and Q-tips, or canned air depending on the connection, then I would use dialetic grease like you put on automotive light bulbs. It conducts electricty, it seals out moisture and dust, and it takes forever to dry out.

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#42

What I don't get is if a lot of people are having problems, with bE, then I don't understand why the official download page is still recommending it. If I found out I was recommending a product that close to 50% of customers had major problems with, I would find a new product to recommend real quick.

I'm not down talking anyone for the decision, I'm just saying I don't understand it. I managed businesses for close to 30 years, I know what to do, to keep customers happy, and what makes them mad. But I also understand how it is from the business side, so when I realized the scope of the problem, I was just like oh ok, oh well, stuff happens.

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#43

Hello Contridiction!

Don't worry, it will be alright, I already got you covered, see. :slightly_smiling_face:

All the commands you ever wanted and what they do, can be found there.

I order my can of Deoxit online on Amazon, and it can also be purchased at other places online. I don't think you will find a can of that stuff locally unless its an electronics/computer store. The stuff is expensive I know, but you use it very sparingly, like, literally a 1-second press of that stuff is usually enough to clean a tiny part.

Dialetric grease is good on automotive and tractor battery terminals, helps to keep them from corroding or rusting. But I would think twice about using it in computers.

Yes, I have been wondering about that as well. I am not exactly sure why the Zorin bro's have not updated the page to reflect other options. I know, it sets up users to make possible mistakes that could be detrimental. I don't know what to tell ya, I am not one of the developers, and neither am I am admin.

Keep in mind, Zorin OS is made by only 2-people, thats right, even after all these years, its still been, only 2-people. So, we can't really compare them to other distro's like POP OS for example, where System76 who makes it, have over 100 people on their team.

There has already been a fair scope of criticism, but its not really our place to tell the Zorin brother's how they should run their business. As two guys who started Zorin OS as a couple of teenagers back in collage, and now very successful after nearly 13-years of service with Zorin OS, that alone speaks for itself.

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#44

Rufus using iso mode worked for my zorin iso's... all 5 of them (Alpha, beta, core, core r1 and pro). The dd way didn't.

I would like to understand the Zorin's relationship with etcher, though i know it really isn't important. Depending on the number of pro users, i could see them signing an agreement for funding as long as they advertise them. That may be the reason, and the agreement most likely has a set expiration. So may be unable to recommend other utilities. Part of doing business, which i get and can't fault them for.

They visit the forum regularly, seeing the topics and reading up on things. If it continues this way i could see them attempting to either have etcher make it right or find another iso writer that will sign with them. The difficulty is finding one that's on two if not all three os versions (win, Mac & Linux).

Keep your thoughts coming because they are heard by the devs. The changes to this forum and the quick updates to include new kernels in the os are proof of that. You may not hear from them, but they constantly show that our collective voice matters.

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#45

Agreed; Silent but attentive.

It's amazing how these two comments could spawn a lengthy thread of their own.
In very small amounts and carefully applied, dielectric grease could be a real boon in computers. With automotive, we can just slather it around and I think that is what you are thinking of. But trace amounts smeared with a pin or toothpick on contact points in a computer would do a world of good.
Anywhere else in the case... And it will trap dust in nightmarish proportions.
If it were slathered, it could cross-connect, destroying sensitive components.

Conscientiously applied, it would be an excellent use of the product and one little packet of it would last thirty years.
But I would also recommend others avoid using it - as lack of care in amount and placement or a mistake in use could be a very costly one.

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#46

I was wondering the same thing. After searching last night a little, this isn't the only forum complaining about Etcher frying drives that I've found. If I was in their shoes I would find another company to partner up with. Might get a few more happy customers that way. lol

As for electrical contact cleaner, I always used the CRC stuff. I have been playing bass forever and have a SWR 350 bass amp with 8 pots in front that occasionally need to be cleaned out. Got it back in the late 90's and it's still going strong.

#47

Wow, only two people? Damn their good. I did not mean to criticize, I was just asking, the question. I have a bad habit of asking the questions that no one else will, because I want to know.

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#48

Keep that up.

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#49

I said this in another comment, but I meant no critizim when I asked why they stil promoted the usb writer. I was just asking a question. Yes I do know what it's like to be the team of 7 people, that every day did more than other teams of 10-12 people. You'll learn I ask and say things that should not be said, sometimes, I run it through my brain, and it sounds right, it sounds like it's the correct way of saying it, but it's not. But I have those times that because I have no filter between my brain and mouth, I find out what I'm going to say when everyone else hears it. It just bypasses my brain and goes out my mouth. There never is any negativity to what I say, and I'm usually being helpful or whatever, So either ignore me, or tell me to sit down and shut up. I will take the hint and realize what i did.

I had this little boat paddle looking this that was the perfect size for the larger contact points, then a toothpick for the smaller ones. Applied very conservatively. My customers never had a problem with no connection, or rusted contacts, That grease would usually outlast the rest of the pc.

#50

Yes, I checked all that, and followed that procedure. It's not my first rodeo LOL :innocent: . Relatively new usb drives, tried two, both less than 3 years old, used no more than 5 or 6 times.

#51

Well, you'd be surprised Contridiction, if you pay attention around here, you will notice just how many folks we deal with, who don't even know what a SHA256 checksum is, let alone the fact weather or not that they have checked it.

While a small percentage, still, a small percentage of downloads get corrupted, especially when people use download managers. So, we are forced to go through the lines one by one in troubleshooting support, especially when the users neglect to provide us this information from the start.

And yes, just so you know, only maybe 1% of the people on here say that they have checked the SHA256 checksum HASH. 99% of folks never even say anything about it. So, it is what it is, and sometimes we have to go through pages worth of posts, until we finally get to a resolution with some folks.

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#52

I like and use Ventoy a lot, one of the new features in the latest release is the Checksum File Compare

of course totally useless for those that don't check them anyway :slight_smile:

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#53

On this forum:
"Have you verified the SHA256 checksum?"
is more frequently mentioned than:
"Have you tried switching it off and on again?"

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#54

So earlier today, I downloaded Lite and used Balena Etcher. I personally, not saying anyone else will, had an error at the end, Compressed image error. Tried again, same. So I went to the software center and installed Multiwriter. Worked like a charm, and Lite is now on my laptop. Just sharing an experience... :slight_smile:

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#55

I am using Ventoy , it is showed as the best :slight_smile:

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#56

I hope your USB key is still OK.
While Etcher is recommended in the installation tutorial at Zorin site, the consensus here is against using Etcher.
I use Mintstick.
https://pkgs.org/download/mintstick
Comes with eraser/writer. Very handy.

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