Fresh Z18 pro installation - white screen

Installing Zorin OS
1

I've been running smoothly Zorin 16 pro for the past 2 years without any issues whatsoever.

Decided today to support the Devs and get Zorin 18 Pro.

I needed to do a fresh install as the upgrade option on the Zorin Upgrade app only gave me the 17.3 pro choice, no 18.

Downloaded the Zorin 18 pro ISO, flash it on a SSD external drive as bootable all as recommended in the installation procedures (using etcher).

Now, when it boots to install, I select the first option, standard install, and get the installation popup but with a total white background.

At first I thought it was normal, but once done and rebooted (flash drive removed of), it goes back to a total white background (90%).

I can see the tool bar, and whenever I change background picture, it shows it for only 1 cm on top of the tool bar (at the bottom of the screen) and then the rest of the screen is white.

I tried changing background pictures, screen resolutions and hertz etc without any success.

Never had any issues with Zorin 16 pro, so I'm a bit surprised/disappointed for this.

I watched videos of the installation, and I have a white background instead of the mountain picture...

I'm trying to reinstall it with the other option, first the Nvidia one, and if same results, I'll try safe graphics... But I will be really disappointed if I can't get the appropriate display.

Anybody has encountered similar issue, and solved it?

Thanks in advance!

PS: I do not get any error during installation nor during/after launch... Just pure whiteness

2

To get to 18, You have to go 16>17>18:

For Your current Problem: Did You checked the Checksum of the ISO? Are Secure Boot and Fast Boot in BIOS disabled? Was it a complete Wipeout during the Installation or did You used the ''Something else'' Option to replace Partitions?

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3

Thank for your response.

Both fast and secure boot are disabled, and checksum completed successfully.

I did a clean install wiping existing partition containing Zorin 16 pro.

4

I just tried the safe graphic installation option, and there, I get the mountain background on installation, and when I click on try OS... Obviously at a horrible Resolution

5

Do You have Nvidia Graphics? Does Your BIOS runs in UEFI or Legacy Mode?

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6

This can be corrected post install, usually. What Graphics Card are you using?

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7

Not sure I understand the question exactly, but I can access the BIOS in fancy screen, but also in a more DOS style one.

My question would be what has changed so much in the installation process that went form a smooth a d flawless experience to an unusable one now... I can't literally not use it once installed with the white screen.

And I have noticed that it freezes every time I open the Brave browser app... Not when opening other slime settings, appearance, files etc

8

I actually explained it incorrectly... The mountain picture background popup during the "try Zorin" option.

As soon as I go to the installation process, it becomes a white screen again.

I completed the installation on safe graphics and it was the same, white screen.

Checksum check completes successfully without errors... But I wonder if there was something wrong with the iso file.

Edit: I got an old Radeon graphics card if I remember well

9

Okay, maybe it helps when You disable in the Brave Settings Hardware Acceleration.

Your BIOS can run in UEFI or Legacy Mode. Normal on newer Machines, it should be UEFI but it could be Legacy, too. It should be possible to se some Option in the BIOS. Depending on that, the Creation of the Boot Stick is grounded.

When the BIOS is in UEFI, it is the Best to have a GPT Partition Sheme for the Boot Stick. And for Legacy MBR.

Could You post the Output of the Command sudo lshw -C video please? then we would know exactly.

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10

I think the graphics drivers and Graphics stack are the likeliest cause of your troubles. If the AMD graphics card is old enough, it would need the Radeon Driver, not the AMDGPU driver.
The latest Zorin OS comes with the AMDGPU driver.

So narrowing this down is the best next step.

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11

It is an old pc tower, 13 yo for sure.
Intel core i7 4790
Ram: 24
SSD: 2 TB
Graphics it says intel HD graphics 4600 (hsw gt2)
Kernel Linux 6.14.0 h33 generic

But I'm pretty sure it's a Radeon as graphic card

That info comes from settings/system/system details

12

When I go to the boot menu, it surely says uefi.

I ran the command in the terminal, and this is the result (sorry it is a picture)

PXL_20251016_232537538.MP
PXL_20251016_232537538.MP1920×1440 346 KB

I cannot disable hardware acceleration in Brave settings as it freezes the system as soon as I launch it... I need to reboot afterwards

Running command lspci -k this is the information on my graphic card
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Tahiti PRO [Radeon HD 7950/8950 OEM / R9 280]
Subsystem: PC Partner Limited / Sapphire Technology Radeon R9 280
Kernel driver in use: radeon
Kernel modules: radeon, amdgpu

13

For reference, this is my BIOS boot menu (f12) and the infamous white desktop screen

PXL_20251016_233242298.MP
PXL_20251016_233242298.MP1920×2560 306 KB

PXL_20251016_233424003.MP
PXL_20251016_233424003.MP1920×1440 86.6 KB

14

Hmm ... you have the Taskbar and a bit of the Wallpaper ...

I see here an Zorin OS entry and an ubuntu Entry. do you have more than one OS installed?

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15

I noticed it as well on the boot menu. I tried them all (Zorin, Ubuntu and UEFI OS) and they all launch Zorin OS white screen

16

Were they all installed on the same Drive?

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17

Yes, only one SSD drive... But "they" don't exist perse... I have never installed Ubuntu, I don't know what UEFI OS is tbh, and I have only installed Zorin 18 pro. The drive was erased during the installation process of Zorin 18 pro (at every try)

So, strange indeed.

I have now tried all installation options (Zorin OS, Graphic Safe and Nvidia), all ending up with the same white screen.

I believe I still have my 16 Pro ISO file somewhere, and will reinstall it.

I'm also running my Lenovo laptop (2 years old) on Zorin 16 pro, and I was hoping to upgrade it to 18 pro... Not sure I feel comfortable at this stage any more. I need to have at least one functioning as fallback.

18

The Upgrade Option isn't available yet. So, You couldn't do it now even if You want to.

When I saw that right, we didn't tried a common Thing: Switching to Xorg. When You are on the Login Screen, not the Lock Screen click on Your Profile so that the Password Field appears. When it is appeared, you should see a Gear Icon in the bottom right Corner. Click on it and choose the Option ''Zorin Desktop on Xorg'' and then log in.

Then try it with starting in the Terminal with brave-browser --disable-gpu

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19

Sorry, I meant "upgrade via a fresh install", as I'm on 16 not 17 indeed... same as I'm trying to do on my PC tower (white screen).

I tried logging in with both options, Xorg as well. Both go to the same white screen :frowning:

Sorry, I should have mentioned it... I thought about it too. I tried on all installation options (normal, graphics safe and Nvidia)

20

I rolled back to Z16pro... I might try to install the Z18pro on my recent laptop, as I paid for the new pro version.

I believe it should work fine. Just need sufficient time in case things go south too.

At least, I can use my pc again in case I need to salvage the laptop :slight_smile: