How to boot the Zorin OS USB installer if your PC starts Windows instead

Installing Zorin OS
1

Hi everyone,

many new users prepare the Zorin OS USB installer correctly, but when they restart the computer, Windows starts again instead of the USB drive.

This does not always mean that the USB stick is wrong. Very often the computer is simply still set to boot from the internal drive first.

A simple beginner-friendly procedure is:

  1. Download the Zorin OS ISO from the official website.
  2. Use a tool such as balenaEtcher to write the ISO to a USB drive.
  3. Shut down the computer completely.
  4. Insert the USB drive.
  5. Turn the computer on again.
  6. If Windows starts normally, shut the computer down again.
  7. Turn it on again and immediately press the boot menu key repeatedly.

Depending on the computer brand, this key can be different. Common keys are:

Esc
F9
F10
F11
F12
Del

On many computers, F12 opens the boot menu. On some HP computers it may be Esc or F9. On other systems it may be Del or F2 to enter BIOS/UEFI setup.

When the boot menu appears, choose the USB drive and press Enter.

If there is no boot menu, enter the BIOS/UEFI settings and look for Boot Options or Boot Order. Move USB boot above the internal drive, save the changes, and restart with the USB drive inserted.

After that, the Zorin OS installer should load from the USB drive. Select the first Zorin OS option and wait until the welcome screen appears.

For beginners: don’t worry if this does not work the first time. The most common issue is simply finding the correct boot key for your computer. Once you find it, the process is usually straightforward.

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