Expertise that is needed to employ Zorin as a stand alone OS

imakeyper · June 2, 2025, 1:29am

I have had Zorin 16.3 pro on my computer for a couple of years now. I've been able to get things done pretty easily navigating the system with the occasional help from the forum here.

Now I have a more immediate, urgent problem and I've had some good help trying to fix my issue. I do notice there isn't as much support this time when I first started trying to repair my computer that suddenly gave the error message of not having any room left in my filesystem.

I was trying to work through the issue for the first couple days when I then got an email saying support for the 16.3 pro version wasn't being offered after the end of May. I thought maybe that's why I didn't get any more help. I never knew the support was ending until mere days before it ended. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right area to find this out but I never had a clue with the start of 17.3 it would impact the 16.3 support. I understand the reasoning and can see why you have to move onto the more advanced versions.

But having said all of this, I'm trying to think back to see what I could have done differently to resolve the issue I had. I started using Zorin OS partly because it was touted as being a user friendly OS geared for, or can be used by, people who are new to Zorin. That was me.

I am now adding new problems along with the others I already had that have mounted up after starting the process of repairing my computer.

I can't ignore the fact where I'm responsible because I don't know the terms or the concept trying to be shown to me.

Now I have one old computer that runs slow trying to download the 17.3 onto a thumb drive and it fails every time. The thumb drive had the 16.3 version on it. I tried to do this during busy internet times and slow internet times, using wi-fi, not using wi-fi. At this point I don't know what to do.

I used the help link sent with the zorin 17.3 download link to tell them I need comprehensive help. I'll have to see where that goes.

StarTreker · June 2, 2025, 2:27am

Lets try to tackle problems one at a time here. Your first reported issue is...............

Due to the error you received, we need to see a screenshot from your Gparted APP. Once the APP is loaded up, you will see a drop down box on the upper right side. Click on it, and choose the drive that has the OS on it. It will be the one that says BOOT EFI once selected. My screenshot for reference.

That is the drive I have Zorin OS installed on, that has my BOOT EFI partition on. What were trying to discover are 2 things, how much space does your entire drive have left on it, and whether or not your EFI partition is maxed out or not.

Zorin OS 17 was released 3 years ago, its been the new jam for awhile now, and will soon have itself replaced this year, by Zorin OS 18, when it drops, later this year. Zorin OS 16 no longer receives security updates, or software updates, as its now end of life.

That doesn't mean you can no longer use it! It just means your no longer covered with important updates, so be careful in what setting you use your computer, for your computer safety.

Depending on the age of the machine, it might be best to stay on OS 16. As we progress to later OS versions, they start requiring more resources to run, as with all things. But the issue you are likely facing with the flash drive, is it needs to be formatted/wiped first, before a new ISO can be put on it.

Either that, or you will need a new flash drive due to some issue. But I say again, one problem at a time here, lets not get lost in the weeds trying to tackle it all at once.