A while ago I installed Windows and Zorin side by side. Lately turned out the Zorin partition was too small to accommodate updates. So I tried to fix it, and - definitely being not an IT person - I got lost, the BIOS/UEFI is now a mess. When it was working fine, after turning on I was seeing this:
and had a choice: wait few seconds till Zorin opens, or click on Windows to open. Now, after fiddling with settings, Zorin does not open at all; unless I click on Windows, the screen remains dark.
This is current F12 situation:
Hope I uploaded right pictures...
Need a clear step by step advice how to correct the setup so that everything gets back to normal, Zorin automatically opens first unless I click on Windows.
I suspect that you are not at fault for your attempts at repairs: Running out of root space during an update can corrupt the desktop; which then leads to a no-boot situation.
Is reinstalling Zorin OS - with adequate space on the drive, an option for you (After accessing the drive using another system and backing up personal files and data)?
don't even ask me what I was doing to get to this point - I simply jumped from one option to another...
This is what I see after Loading Defaults and rebooting:
I know there was not enough space - when initially "dividing" the SSD for dual installation I did not provide too small a volume for Zorin...
I am considering starting over from the beginning(formatting and properly installing dual boot). I am just afraid it would be actually reading all the instructions posted on internet; I am definitely not fluent in this field. Perhaps once I overcome the current problem I should attempt resizing volumes. I have a total of 256GB to play with, between Win10 and Zorin 17.3
Below, I shrunk Windows (gained 9.77GB, unallocated); 60.67GB is current Zorin :
I forgot to ask. What were you getting when you select Zorin from the boot menu? Just black screen? And I'm assuming you tried to grow the partition using gparted or something similar
Okay. Looking at the screenshot, you have:
ubuntu - most likely the UEFI boot created by Zorin installation
usb - not sure what this is
Windows - created by Windows
UEFI SanDisk - my guess is you have a USB flashdrive plugged in
"ubuntu" , assuming it's the one created by Zorin, being on top of the list is exactly what we want to see. Now boot the computer using a Live USB and from terminal, run "sudo blkid" and take a screenshot. Then run "gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg". If it will not open without admin rights, do "sudo gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg" - WARNING: BE CAREFUL NOT TO EDIT THIS AND SAVE. WE MIGHT HAVE TO LATER. WILL SEE BUT FOR NOW WE JUST WANT TO GET THE UUID SPECIFIED FOR ZORIN. BE CAREFUL
Now look for Zorin boot entry and make note of the UUID on linux line (2nd from the bottom) and compare to the one given by "blkid". Look something like this:
> menuentry 'Zorin' --class zorin --class gnu-linux --class gnu --class os $menuentry_id_option 'gnulinux-simple-064514c6-dfc5-43f8-97e8-2a2c1fa15105' {
> recordfail
> load_video
> gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
> insmod gzio
> if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
> insmod part_gpt
> insmod ext2
> set root='hd0,gpt5'
> if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
> search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt5 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt5 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt5 064514c6-dfc5-43f8-97e8-2a2c1fa15105
> else
> search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 064514c6-dfc5-43f8-97e8-2a2c1fa15105
> fi
> linux /boot/vmlinuz-6.8.0-57-generic root=UUID=064514c6-dfc5-43f8-97e8-2a2c1fa15105 ro quiet splash $vt_handoff
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-6.8.0-57-generic
> }
If you want to reinstall Zorin, you can use Windows Disk Management to delete the Zorin partition. Then increase the Windows partition by the amount of free space (10 GB + former Zorin space). When reinstalling Zorin, select "Install Zorin alongside Windows" and divide the storage space between the two operating systems as desired. This is probably the easiest way.
Alternatively, you can start gparted with a boot stick and enlarge the Linux partition to the left:
With Windows Disc Management this is not possible - you need special tools to do it.
I find the partition layout a bit bizarre, especially with the 40 Mb of unallocated space at the beginning, plus an oversized EFI partition. Personally, even if you made the Zorin partition bigger by 10 Gb you may still be struggling. Personally I would backup your data, remove Zorin and expand your C:\ drive as you are running out of space. Then purchase an external hard drive and install Zorin on that. The fact you have two entries in the BIOS for your Sandisk thumb drive is normal. I have an Asus motherboard and my thumb drive/s usually have two entries as I use Ventoy. If I have Hiren's Boot CD present on Ventoy I have to use USB UEFI or it won't boot, but I can boot GNU/Linux isos in legacy USB mode. Your other option would be to delete factory restore partition but I would not attempt that until you backup your entire drive to an external hard drive using rescuezilla.
If You should still have the USB Stick with Zorin on it, You could try it with Boot Repair. Start the USB Stick and choose ''Try Zorin'' to start the Live Mode. Then search for Boot Repair and start it.
when I shrunk Windows I got that Allocated space; I did not touch it and still Zorin would opeen up first, automatically. Only later I started playing with bios and screwed up everything.
I will get back to fixing later this afternoon/evening...
And thank you guys for your help so far.
