Hello! Newly registered here but I have the same issues with my Gigabyte x870 chipset MB w/ethernet drivers. Wireless works fine but I'd prefer ethernet for security. I've been living with this since install and had about given up until I ran across this thread. I'll happily monitor for resolutions. Great forum!
In this post it is said that it is contained in kernel 6.13. You can install a newer kernel in Zorin with mainline.
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1541531/ubuntu-24-04-lan-drivers-for-gigabyte-x870-eagle-wifi7
You can also download and install the Realtek ethernet driver. I haven't done this before so I don't know if this is the source code and you have to compile it.
Please make sure which Ethernet driver you need.
I'm a noob w/Linux but I'm this close to permanently abandoning the Gates nightmares and purchasing the full version after trying lite for some time. Thinking if I force myself to make only Linux available (Zorin), I'll learn to adapt to working with commands versus clicking everything to death. Then, I hit this hurdle. Don't know what 'unclaimed' means nor how to use the Realtek drivers on my desktop. I suppose if I keep reading and staring (mostly) it'll get better. I'll keep using lite I guess. Appreciate the latest response too.
I guess I'm doing a re-install. Pondering different distros at this point but I may still keep Zorin. I'm curious what the full package offers. I'll let you know if I'm able whether or not my ethernet drivers were born.
The "full version" of Zorin Core contains the same drivers as Zorin lite, as both use the same kernel. To determine whether a distribution contains the Ethernet drivers required for your computer, you can create a live USB stick and then test boot the distribution from the stick. Since you have fairly new hardware and the drivers for it are only included in newer kernels, you can use a distribution with a newer kernel and (semi)rolling release, as e.g. Fedora, install a new kernel in Zorin or add the missing drivers separately.
Which Ethernet card do you have? You can display it in the terminal with
"lshw -C network".
Ah, I see, you posted it in another thread, r8125.
Here is also a additional dkms package for this driver so that you can use it after kernel updates.
Is Zorin plagued with bugs thus far? Been trying Zorin but having issues. What's the closest to Zorin? I despise Windows.
I think some hardware is not always compatible with all distros. I recently put Linux on a Chromebook and the first distro I tried (Gallium) would not install, so I installed Lubuntu instead.
Mint is probably the most popular for a Windows replacement, its okay but not my favorite by far. To me Zorin is actually better in this regard because it has more Windows-like features and nomenclature, for example instead of calling the taskbar a panel, it refers to it as a taskbar. The "taskbar" also has a system monitor that has some similarities to the Windows task manager, and not something I've seen available on any other distro.
The Windows features are a small part of what attracted me to Zorin, but the feature that really sealed the deal for me are the robust appearance options/customizations available. I like to completely customize my "taskbar" putting it on the right with the clock at the top and the "start" menu on the bottom. KDE distros will allow you to do the same, but not to the extent that Zorin does, with additional ability to make minute tweaks to get things just right.
Thank you. If I can figure out how to activate my ethernet driver, I'm going with Zorin full. I have tried Mint long ago and Ubuntu sometime after. Big gap since using them full time though. Does the full version offer any tools to troubleshoot my issue? Realtek r8125 (2.5g) is my issue. I'm lying. I'm probably going to buy full version irrespective of my problem. I gotta get used to Linux. It keeps me away from the alternative.
So I reinstalled Zorin full OS. Still have no ethernet. I did not allow Linux to use the wireless this time around thinking the OS would somehow use the ethernet. No go.Using my laptop to chat here. OOh well..reading on.
As I understand it the pro version just adds some convenience niceties, not actually necessary to get additional functionality.
If latency isn't an issue for you I would just use the wireless until Zorin includes a driver that will function with your ethernet hardware.
It isn't called the taskbar, it used to be panel, it is now Dash. (Check the unofficial manual I wrote for Zorin 17 Murena). In respect of Windows migration, Q4OS is another great OS for migrators.
and for old style, they do a 64-bit and 32-bit Trinity Desktop to prevent e-waste of older kit:
No, the full version does not contain any troubleshooting tools. And it will be a long time before Zorin receives a kernel that supports your hardware and contains the Ethernet driver. In Zorin 18.1 the driver will most likely not be included yet. It's not worth waiting for so long time if the LAN is important to you.
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To avoid the discussion of @TP3314's issues with Ethernet in multiple threads, I've merged all of them into this one.
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I think that actually Zorin is using all three terms:
- Right-click on the taskbar and you get "Taskbar Settings"
- Open Taskbar Settings and you now have a number of settings to configure the "Panel"
- Right-click on an unpinned program you have open and you have the option to "Pin to Dash"
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Oops! My bad. Forgot that taskbar is across most Desktop Environments and usually refers to the principal apps that appear alongside the Z menu button, just for clarity. In Plasma there are quite a few options available for the taskbar.
Hey there. If this is me, my output is :
*-network UNCLAIMED
description: Ethernet controller
product: RTL8125 2.5GbE Controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:05:00.0
version: 0c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd cap_list
configuration: latency=0
resources: ioport:f000(size=256) memory:dd000000-dd00ffff memory:dd010000-dd013fff
*-network
description: Wireless interface
product: MEDIATEK Corp.
vendor: MEDIATEK Corp.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:06:00.0
logical name: wlp6s0
version: 00
serial: 3c:0a:f3:65:2c:77
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pciexpress msi pm bus_master cap_list ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=mt7925e driverversion=6.8.0-59-generic firmware=____000000-20231227093232 ip=192.168.1.12 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11
resources: irq:135 memory:dca00000-dcbfffff memory:dcc00000-dcc07fff
I'm still struggling with my ethernet issue. Seems it's a known problem with x870 chipset. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks for the responses.
If I could figure out how to install drivers from the Realtek website, I suspect my problem could be resolved. Not quite sure how to do that though. 
Do you have downloaded the File from Realtek? If yes, isn't there a ReadMe File included what could explain it?