Apparently Zorin can also be installed (from "Live" USB media) on HD which already contains Linux LMDE. Since I am a recovering Windows user and also a Linux beginner, what precautions, restrictions, "gotchas", etc shd I know abt before installing Zorin 18 next to LMDE ? Thanx.
Bewildered Bob
When You do it, You should think about if You do the Dual-Boot in the Zorin Installer automatically or if You want do it manually. So, creating and set up the Partitions. When You choose the Option to install it alongside LMDE, the Installer do the Stuff. Or You say, You prefer to set it up by Yourself. Then use ''Something else''.
Other Stuff would be checking if Secure Boot and Fast Boot in BIOS are disabled or if Your BIOS is in UEFI or Legacy Mode and depending on that set up the Bootstick but because You already have LMDE installed, I guess, You have cared about it.
Thanx for the quick reply but help me understand why manual install would be chosen instead of automagically especially for a Linux beginner. Thanx.
Bewildered Bob
ps: does "bootstick" include optical CD (Live CD) ???
Do you want to install Zorin on the same drive as LMDE or on a separate drive?
Today there is only one internal HD (spin type). Booting takes a l-o-n-g time but after that the response time is OK. Can the installed HD be easily replaced with an SSD by a Linux "newbie" ?
Bewildered Bob
I only mentioned the Options. You can do it like You want. The manual Option can be neccessary for the Case that the Installer doesn't give the Automatic Option.
The Bootstick is the Stick with Zorin on it what You use to install it.
If You are a Linux Newbie isn't the primary Point here. The Question is if You can switch the Drive. So, it is a Matter of Hardware Tech Skills.
When the Drive is switched, You use the Bootstick and install Zorin or LMDE again. Of Course, You should save Your Data before You do that.
If I understand the post correctly, apparently there is no Linux app to "image" or "clone" the existing internal HD to external HD. Ideally after replacing the old HD with a new SSD, the "saved" contents would be restored from the external HD. IMHO if this capability exists in Linux (or from another source), it shd be easier than reinstalling from a bootstick. Do you agree ? Thanx.
There are a few, actually. CloneZilla and RescueZilla are two off the top of my head.
And this is a perfectly valid method. Additionally, you can create your own .iso for easy install or reinstall - indeed, this is exactly how distro's produce the .iso's for you to use.
You can clone the Drive. yes. There exists Software. @Aravisian named some.
Thanx for the quick reply. Will either of these "save" ENTIRE contents of HD for "restore" after replacing HD ? If so, sounds like a great solution.
They will save the Entire Snapshot you create using them; that is their purpose.
This does not mean it will save the Entire Contents of a drive. A drive can contain orphaned and unmarked deleted files, other partitions...
Just a few notes about Rescuezilla.
You need to be aware that it cannot compress an image to use on a smaller drive, for example, if wanting to replace your 512 Gb HDD for a 256 Gb SSD it won't work.
If you purchase an SSD the same size as your existing HDD there would be no issue using Rescuezilla. In fact it is what I did for my youngest's computer when the motherboard died. I first copied the Data to an external drive and the backed up the entire drive to the same external drive using Rescuezilla.
You can use Rescuezilla using Ventoy USB drive Software, or you can burn it to DVD. You can physically store multiple .isos on a Ventoy created thumb drive. I have a multitude of .isos on a 64 Gb thumbdrive.
If your preference is for optical drive, make sure that it is DVD-R/RW capable. The only free version of Zorin you can't burn to a standard DVD is their Education release which is over 5 Gb in size. I don't know what size the Pro (paid) version is.
I have always preferred creating partitions manually so that the root file system ('/') is separate from '/home' where all your data is stored. I cover this in the Unofficial Manual:
I am very fortunate because I prefer to keep different OS's on different drives these days, and I appreciate that this is not always possible for Notebook users unless it is a highend one with an SSD for the OS and an HDD to store Data.
When it comes to dual-booting on the same drive, it is possibly more beneficial to create a separate root file system partition and then if possible to create an extended partition in which to create /home. I believe that if your second OS accesses the same /home partition as the existing installation, it could cause issues. I have never been fond of using the 'Install alongside existing OS' as I have seen posts on forums where this has not worked out well.
THANX TO THE RECENT POSTERS - GREAT ADVICE. I'm eager to install both Zorin and Rescuezilla as a super learning exercise for me as a Linux beginner and former Windows user. Keep up the good work.
Bob
Hello,
The iso of the 18 Pro version is 8.4 Gb
Wow! That is big! (About the same size as Bazzite!)
You don' actually install Rescuezilla, you run it from a DVD or thumbdrive to use it. There is another program, which I have included in the Manual (you already have it in Mint) Timeshift.
I set it to 3 snapshots a day, after creating the original snapshot. The default is 5. I never have more than three snapshots plus the initial snapshot present at any time. This is where it is useful to have a separate /home partition. I never include the /bbome partition, because if you do, any downloads you had, or Documents you are working on will be lost if you go back in time.
If you are going to save Timeshift snapshots to an external drive you MUST ensure the external drive or a partition created on it for that purpose of storing snapshots, should be formatted to Ext4 or it won't work. Most external drives are pre-formatted to NTFS.
You should not think of Timeshift as a backup option, it is a 'System Restore' function. Rescuezilla is the full-system backup option. For backing up your /home folder I would recommend you back this up to a backup folder on your external drive, and include a date.
Also be sure to backup the hidden folders within /home - if they are not showing, use Ctrl+ H and then copy all of the contents to the newly created folder on the external drive. The hidden folders will contain application settings so if you personalise your Browser how you like it, if the system partition goes south and you just have to reinstall Zorin to the '/' partition, any hidden app files that get created in the /home directory, can be replaced by the hidden ones you backed up.
On the Pro Version is more Software preinstalled plus the additional Layouts and the belonging Gnome Extensions and Configurations.
The Linux challenges & opportunity to become more bewildered continue.
(1) the Rescuezilla 2.6.2-64bit-RESOLUTE.ISO has been downloaded
(2) however downloading balenaEtcher (image burner) ain't EZ (for me) since it is a "ZIP" file (type = 'ARCHIVE'). Right clicking on file in downloads shows a dropdown menu with several interesting choices including: (a) 'mount archive' (b) 'extract here' (c) 'open with archive mgr' (d) 'open with other app' [and several other options]
(3) also within the download fldr is still another fldr - 'balenaEtcher-linux-x64'
Why is this happening to a nice guy like me ?? I'm only trying to burn a USB drive from ISO.
still Bewildered Bob
ps: the SHA256sums.txt does not contain an entry for RESOLUTE ISO
I would use Ventoy, not Balena Etcher. Never had an issue with Rescuezilla.
It sounds as if balena etcher is alredy extracted. Usually, Zorin 18 extracts archives as zip files by doubleclicking on it. Then you get a folder with the same name as the zip file in your Downloads folder.