Can my laptop install Zorin Os and work well?

Hardware Support
1

I have a Vaio VPCEJ3L1 Laptop
This laptop use:
Processor: Intel Core I7 2620M 2.70GHZ ×4
GPU: Intel Graphics 3000
Ram: 6GB
Disk: 500GB HDD
I want to try Zorin os because it free. So my device can run Zorin Os properly ? Thanks you.

2

@HoangKatholicos Hi and welcome to the forum! The specification of your hardware meets OS requirements, however, bear in mind Vaio notebooks were not built for Linux! All we can advise at this stage is that you create a bootable media (USB or preferably DVD) and boot off a live version. What version of Windows is installed? :wink:

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3

Hi, i use Windows 8.1.

4

With your specs, Zorin should run like a champ. But if you run into any troubles, you can ask here for help to get it fixed.

5

You should be able to see what works and what doesn’t just by booting from the Zorin live usb drive and going to “try it out” or whatever it says. Look around, make sure the network works etc.

For a more in depth analysis, I believe the hard drive is fairly easy to access on the old Vaio’s so what you might want to do is get a 2.5" SSD, install it, then install and try out Zorin. If you don’t like it just put your old Windows hard drive back and it should work as before.

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6

I love that idea as well, this way you don’t toast your Windows installation, and you leave it intact. Besides, SSD’s are much faster then standard drives anyways. So you will get the benefit of Linux, and the benefit of solid state performance, thats a win win in my book! :+1:

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7

I have an issue with my Vaio (my spare laptop) it refuses to boot from USB even after I changed the boot priority, but starts fine with a DVD.

8

Did you disable fast boot in Power Options settings?

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9

Sorry for the late reply, my ISP is driving me crazy - getting the worst service since I've been with them and that is longer than I can remember!
Ok if you are wanting to dual-boot here is some advice.

  1. Use Windows Disk Manager to shrink your C:\ partition to make room for Zorin.
  2. Whilst in Windows go to Power Management settings - you will need to open up the hidden power settings and turn off the 'sleep' function of the hard drive - this is what prevents you from:
    a. booting from a USB or DVD
    b. booting to another system.
  3. At boot time go into the BIOS and disable Fast Boot and/or Windows Boot
    Manager and also look for EFI/Legacy mode - if you have hybrid option leave it at that, if you can boot into legacy mode great.
  4. Next boot your live media to see if it runs ok and check out wifi and display - probably the two problem areas most notebook users come across. Whilst booting in live mode if you can see GRUB press E to edit boot parameters and add at the end of the boot parameter - a space followed by

nomodeset acpi=off nolapic xforcevesa

Now if all works fine, follow Matthew Moore's guide to non-traditional method of dual booting - he uses Windows 8 as an example on his notebook - this method ensures that your Windows 8.1 install doesn't get lost.

For future reference, run a VB script to find what your CoA code is for your install.
Open up Notepad and enter the following:

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
MsgBox ConvertToKey(WshShell.RegRead("HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\DigitalProductId"))
Function ConvertToKey(Key)
Const KeyOffset = 52
i = 28
Chars = "BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
Do
Cur = 0
x = 14
Do
Cur = Cur * 256
Cur = Key(x + KeyOffset) + Cur
Key(x + KeyOffset) = (Cur \ 24) And 255
Cur = Cur Mod 24
x = x -1
Loop While x >= 0
i = i -1
KeyOutput = Mid(Chars, Cur + 1, 1) & KeyOutput
If (((29 - i) Mod 6) = 0) And (i <> -1) Then
i = i -1
KeyOutput = "-" & KeyOutput
End If
Loop While i >= 0
ConvertToKey = KeyOutput
End Function

Save the file as WindowsKeyCode.vbs NOT .txt

Double click on the saved file to get the results and print it out and keep in a safe place - then should you need to download the official .iso for your version - in System Properties see if you have Windows 8.1 Home or Pro - as you need to ensure you download the correct iso, also whether 32-bit or 64-bit - it should state that in System Properties. Also be aware that Windows 8 wil retire in 2023.
Get Windows 8 iso from here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO