Beginning with Zorin

General Help
1

Hello everyone,

I've been using Zorin for a few days now, and despite everything I've seen and read about it, I find myself a little disappointed.

The interface is beautiful, and it works.
But to open applications from the dock, I sometimes have to click on them three or even four times before the application opens.

I can't find the applications I put on the dock in the list of applications elsewhere on my computer.

On the internet, when I try to go to my bank's website, I can't display the page; the site doesn't respond, even though it responds perfectly on my phone or another computer.
It's not the internet connection, since I can surf other sites without any problems.

When it comes to startup, the computer takes a good 20 seconds to turn on, which I find really long, given the specifications of the computer I have. By comparison, I bought the same computer for my wife, running Windows (and it is Windows!), and it boots in less than 10 seconds.

I'm sure it's my fault, and that I misconfigured Zorin, which I'd really struggle to get out of. Perhaps you can help me resolve all these issues.

Thank you very much.

My computer :

2

Hi there,

Have you installed Zorin OS in addition to Windows, so that you can choose which OS to use at boot?

On both these points, can you give some examples of programs where you've experienced this? Are they programs that you've installed separately, or the ones that came by default?

Here it'd be good to know the internet web browser that you're using, and whether you have any extensions installed.

It's important to understand that a lot of websites tend to block unknown User Agents by default, or artificially apply restrictions for less known browsers. A User Agent is a "tag" that identifies your browsing session, and contains information about the browser as well as the operating system. The fact that you're using Linux alone will make you stand out more.

Try using other browsers, preferably based on the Chromium engine such as Brave or Google Chrome. Or, if you prefer to use Firefox, there's an extension that you can use Chameleon to change your User Agent.

This is not unusual, either. Recent versions of Windows have something called "Fast boot" that works by avoiding shutting down completely.

In my experience, Zorin OS does take a little longer than other Linux distributions. But, at the same time, I've noticed a drastic difference with Windows in terms of actual usage i.e., when Zorin OS is running I can start using it right away without any lag. For reference:

3

Blockquote
Have you installed Zorin OS in addition to Windows, so that you can choose which OS to use at boot?

No, i've completely erased my SSD. There is just Zorin on my computer.

Blockquote
On both these points, can you give some examples of programs where you've experienced this? Are they programs that you've installed separately, or the ones that came by default?

Programs i've installed like MuseScore studio, Bitwarden.
For the last one, i have to click 3-4 times to open it, and when it is open, to test, i close it and then re open and it opens on one click.

Blockquote
Here it'd be good to know the internet web browser that you're using, and whether you have any extensions installed.

I use Firefox, installed by default in Zorin.
I prefer Google Chrome but wanted to install as few applications as possible to avoid duplicates, but in this case I could install Chrome and remove Firefox.

Regarding the boot time, well it's not catastrophic either, but when you think of Linux as a lightweight system, coming from Windows you're looking for Peru :slight_smile: .. it's not always the case, but when I see my wife's computer (the same computer) with Windows 11, which boots almost twice as fast as mine on Linux, I'm a little frustrated :smiley:

4

Any other programs that need to be chased until they launch properly?

Please check also the source of the installation. If you used the Software store, you will sometimes see multiple entries available:

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Or, under the same entry, you can choose a different source from the drop down menu that appears under the Install button:

sc2
sc2953Ă—626 13.6 KB

When possible, I'd recommend using the option that shows as "Zorin OS (APT)", as it's better tested for stability with the rest of the system. I suspect that Bitwarden is a Flatpak which sometimes have this type of issues. What you can try is launch through a terminal window and see if there are any errors or warnings as you do, which may reveal the problem.

This will not always be available, though. For example if you search for Google Chrome, it's only available as a Flatpak package. You can install the Flatpak version if you want, but you can also search online and download the APT version from their website. In this case I'd recommend you do so. To install it, download the .deb package for Debian/Ubuntu, and double click on it.

Unfortunately, Linux is not magic. There are pros & cons with it just like there are with everything else. One advantage of Windows is that it having such a dominant market share in the desktop computer space, most hardware vendors do their best to support it fully. I'd recommend disabling fast boot from the BIOS if you haven't already, that might have something to do with it.

5

Does Your System run in Wayland or Xorg? To check that, go to Settings>About and look if there stands Wayland or X11. By default it should be Wayland.

Then You could try it with switching to the other. To do that, go to the Login Screen (not the Lock Screen). Simply reboot for that. On the Login Screen click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. It has to be appeared. when it is appeared, You should see a Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner. Click on it and You should see 2 Options. what Option is active, you can see at the Dot at the Beginning. to choose the other Option simply click on it. Then log is and test if it runs better.

6

Okay, I understand. I was told it was better to use Flatpak, which is a newer format and will eventually become more widespread.
So I installed my programs that way instead... is it better to uninstall and reinstall them via the .deb files or simply APT, as suggested by Zorin?

For the fast startup of the Bios, yes I did not disable it ... but then instead of 20 seconds I will end up with 35 seconds!! :grin:

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APT are the .deb Versions.

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Ok i don't know, i've just installed Zorin .. i will check this evening

9

This looks like a case of changing Zorin OS defaults to the experimental (Wayland Display Manager and Flathub Repositories) instead of the Stable Standard (Xorg and APT) causing new migrants more headaches than ease of use, to me.

2 Likes
10

However, I asked for automatic login, so I need to check how to start with the password to see if it's Wayland or Xorg.

If I understand correctly, Xorg is better?

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Opinions are and will be divided. Asking if it is "better" will only invite opinionated responses.

What I can tell you is that Wayland, while first implemented almost 15 years ago, has had very slow development. It's framework, how it is built, does not allow for the full features and functionality that Xorg does.
Wayland also requires that other application developers adapt their applications to support Wayland, rather than Wayland coming built and ready to support all the existing applications out there. Which... clearly that must beg for trouble.

Wayland is Simpler than Xorg and it allows direct communication between hardware and kernel. While this is exploitable, it also can allow for slightly faster performance for some actions, while Xorg communicates with an X-Server between Kernel and hardware.

Proponents of Wayland often cite it as faster and more secure than Xorg, failing to inform that any vulnerabilities that they use to support this claim were patched years ago...

Personally, I have always supported the concept of Wayland.
However, its framework and implementation have left much wanting. It is unready for prime time - setting it as Default makes little sense to me.
But its simplicity caught the attention of IBM and RedHat, creating a heavy campaign to push for its adoption and use, since the corporate interest has no concern of whether Wayland can support all the functionality and features that Xorg can (Corporate interest vs. user interest).
As it stands currently, many of these shortcomings have been patched by using XWayland which is a backend X-Server tacked onto Wayland to support all the things Wayland can't, but Xorg can... Which defeats the purpose of using Wayland, doesn't it?

Gnome developers are strongly supportive of Wayland and have optimized Gnome D.E. much to enable it working with Wayland. This includes making Gnome D.E. even more tightly integrated (Like Microsoft), lacking the modular building of GnuLinux.

Being New does not make something bad. Nor does it make it good.
Its merit must be measured by eliminating bias as much as possible and measuring its actual performance, offerings and support.

For me, I find the concept of Wayland great on paper. But in practice, it comes up wanting more often than it excels.
So my advise is: Caution. Use what works for you and for your hardware. Worry less about the labels we give things and more about the functionality the objects beneath those labels give.

4 Likes
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For this go in the Settings and then to the User Settings. There is a Toggle:

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When You have automatic Login active, this toggle should be on. Turn it off.

Better is a difficult Word here ... Here on Zorin Xorg has the Advantage that it can offere a Situation of higher Compatibility because the Wayland Implementation isn't on a Level what You could call ''good and reliable''. That is because the Gnome Version used here in Zorin 17 is an older one.

1 Like
13

Ok I started my pc tonight and it was on “Zorin desktop”.

I select “Zorin desktop on Xorg” and start the pc.
Then I shut it down and restart … and still Wayland and not Xorg. Do I need to change at every startup ?

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You shouldn't. When You change it, it should stay until You change it again. But there is a A Way to force the Usage of Xorg. You can disable Wayland. To do that, open the Terminal and type:

sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf

In the upcoming Window search for the Line #WaylandEnable=false and remove the # at the Beginning of the Line. Then press ctrl+o to save the Change, Enter to confirm and ctrl+x to exit. Then make a reboot.

1 Like
15

There won't be a better answer, only what works for you is "better". I prefer the native Debian package format since is less error prone, and I recommend it over alternative to beginners in the Linux world because there are fewer gotchas. But if you're already using Flatpak, Snap, etc. without issues, leave things as they are.

Weird, but while you try to get that sorted out, you can still test if things run smoothly under X11. Did you notice any changes?

1 Like
16

Do you have a nvidia card ? if yes which one ? you also might to try the Pop! OS kernel which fixed laggy stuff for me when i used zorin os 17

If you are running nvidia install the latest version 565-570 series.

If that didn't fix anything (switching between x11 and wayland) maybe try a different distro to see if it performs the same ?

1 Like