I have a problem installing Zorin Linux on my laptop

Installing Zorin OS
1

I have a Lenovo V110-151KB 80TH Laptop, with 8 GB RAM, running Windows 10. It can't run Windows 11 (not that I want to...), so to keep the laptop safe from online attacks or whatever, I want to dual boot Windows 10 with Linux, using Windows 10 for offline only games, and for anything online I will use Linux (web browsing, e-mail), keeping Windows permanently offline.

The laptop is working fine, it has two SSD drives (one has replaced the laptop's CD drive), and Windows 10 is installed on the C: drive of course. I don't know anything about Linux, but I've heard that Zorin Linux is great for newcomers familiar with Windows 10, so I downloaded 'Zorin-OS-18-Core-64-bit-r1.iso', used Rufus to put it on a USB stick, and booted it on the laptop (and so running it from the USB stick), and it seems to work great.

So I decided to install it on the laptop, so I could dual boot with Windows 10. So I shrank the second hard drive by 50 GB, and set up that 50 GB as a partition, and now the laptop's hard drive partitions are:

Disk 0

C: 102 GB (Windows 10)

E: 851 GB

Disk 1

D: 1857 GB

F: 50 GB (the partition I want to install Zorin into, of course).

And everything is working, Windows and laptop-wise, and the laptop still (of course) boots up to Windows 10. All is now ready to install Zorin. So I boot up Zorin with the USB stick, Zorin boots and I tell it I want to install it, then I enter the wi-fi details so it can install updates, then the installer stops with the message:

"Installation type

  • This computer currently has no detected operating systems. What would you like to do?

    Erase disk and install Zorin OS

    Warning: This will delete all of your programs, documents, photos, music and any other files in
    all operating systems.

Advanced Features... None selected.

  • Something else

    You can create or resize partitions yourself, or choose multiple partitions for Zorin OS."

The laptop does, of course have an installed operating system, Windows 10, and it's still working fine (I turned the laptop off then on again, and Windows 10 booted fine. I should mention that when I live booted Zorin, Zorin allowed me to read the C: drives files, so Zorin can read the C: files, at least when Zorin is run from the live distribution on the USB stick.

Anyway, according to google, the "computer currently has no detected operating systems" problem might be caused by Windows 10 having the fast boot turned on, but I think it's turned off. I say 'think', because Windows won't give me the "Turn on fast startup" tick-able option on Power Options > System Settings, which seems (according to google) to mean that it is turned off, and if I use:

powercfg -a

in a commend prompt, then it says:

"Fast Startup
Hibernation is not availaible"

which seems to me to confirm that fast boot isn't activated.

In the laptop's BIOS, Boot mode is set to 'Legacy Support' and if I change it to UEFI then the laptop won't boot up, it only boots if the Boot mode settling is Legacy Support. I have set the boot mode to UEFI, then set the Safe Boot option to off (I had to set the boot mode to UEFI, as otherwise the Safe Boot mode didn't appear) then I set the boot mode to Legacy Support again, the laptop and Windows work fine, but when I try to install Zorin I still get the "This computer currently has no detected operating systems" error message.

Can anyone help me, please?

2

Hello Merlin, welcome to the forum.

Despite of this message, you can rest assured that Windows is/will be on your c:\ drive. You can assume this is a bug where the installer doesn't detect the Windows OS during the installation. There are many others including me also have faced it too. But don't worry about it, you can still proceed with the Zorin installation.

You should proceed with the Something else option and select your 50gb partition and format it as ext4 and choose the mount point /

Then proceed the installation. If it gives the warning no efi partition then you can ignore it, as this is not required under legacy BIOS MBR mode.

Since you want to install Zorin on a separate drive, the best option for you to go with the "Erase disk" option. When you continue with this option the next interface will show to choose the drive where you want to install Zorin. From the drop down menu select your F:\ drive and proceed with rest of the installation process.

You can look at the following video tutorial to get a more clear view of the installation process with Erase disk option. https://youtu.be/0s2RSfNWut4?t=23m30s

Also check: Before you install

3

Do you have datas on D: which you want to keep?
Then don't choose the option to erase the entire disk. Only if they can be deleted.

1 Like
4

I didn't notice that earlier , thanks Forpli for pointing it. I will edit my above message accordingly.

1 Like
5

I think the reason Zorin isn't seeing the Win10 installation is that Windows is in Legacy mode and Zorin is trying to be installed in UEFI. For a dual boot situation isn't Zorin going to have to be installed as MBR?

I haven't had any direct experience with Legacy BIOS mode so I may be quite wrong but wanted to put the thought out there for others with more knowledge to comment on.

7

Yes, it's best both the OSes be under the same mode.

You can verify whether your Zorin Live environment has booted under UEFI or legacy.

  1. Boot from the usb & Select Try Zorin
  2. Launch the terminal and run the following command:
[ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "UEFI" || echo "BIOS"
8

@Merlin_M2025_GD
Which USB creation tool are you using to make your ZorinOS installation USB?
If Rufus, note you can select either GPT (UEFI) or MBR (Legacy) according to BIOS installation method you require.

Please check the SHA256 checksum of the downloaded .iso to confirm it is good, before creating your USB.

2 Likes
9

Then let it in Legacy Mode. Because You use Rufus, You can set up the Parition Sheme Option for the bootable USB Stick to fit to Legacy BIOS. Choose there MBR:

Bildschirmfoto vom 2025-10-21 20-19-18
Bildschirmfoto vom 2025-10-21 20-19-18935Ă—1216 209 KB

3 Likes
10

Hi, the other answers should be quite helpful already (except the one that says to erase your data), but for the specific case of dual-booting Zorin OS with Windows 10 I recommend this guide : Dual Boot Zorin OS and Windows A Step-by-Step Guide :: IT'S FOSS

I have used it with success on one computer so far - which I'm now using to write this!

Good luck!

1 Like
11

So even though the installer can't originally see Windows on the C: drive, the installer will set up a dual-boot between Windows (C:) and Zorin Linux (F:), understood, thanks.

OK, I am installing Zorin as instructed here (thanks, everyone), but I am now on the page "Installation type", and when I select the correct drive (the 50 GB partition called '/dev/sdb3 ntfs' by the installer) and click on 'Install now' I get the error message

"No root file system

No root file system is defined

Please correct this from the partitioning menu"

But I am a complete beginner to Linux, so I don't know what this means.

Anyway, if I double click on '/dev/sdb3 ntfs' then I get an "Edit partition" box, where I can change the size of the partition, format the partition, and change the 'Use as' option to:

  1. EFI system partiton

  2. physical volume for encryption

  3. do not use this partition

What should I do, please?

12

Also, in the installation guide at:

it says:

"1. You’ll now need to create a swap partition. The swap partition acts as virtual RAM. It is recommended to create a swap partition for Zorin OS, even if you have ample RAM.

  • Select the remaining unallocated space or reduce the size of your root partition to free up some space.
  • Click the “+” button to create a new partition.
  • Partition size: Recommended size is equal to your RAM size or up to twice the size if you have limited RAM.
  • Type for the new partition: “Primary”.
  • Use as: Select “swap area”."

So should I create another parition, say 10 GB in size, for the swap file? If so, can I do it using the same Windows program that I used to create the 50 GB partition, before I start to install Zorin, as I am familiar with using the Windows software?

13

Ntfs is not supported for Linux installation, First you need to format it to ext4 and then set the mount point /

14

Thanks, I've just formatted the 50 GB partition to ext4.

I've also added a 10 GB Linux swap partition before the 50 GB partition, so the 50 GB partition I want to install Zorin Linux is now called:

/dev/sdb3 ext4

but I don't know how to seta mount point, so the Zorin installer won't let me past the Installation type screen.

How do I add a mount point to the partition point (and why doesn't Zorin have the option to format a partition to ext4 and then add the required mountpoints?), please?

15

Did You formatted it in the Installer? If yes, You should find there the Option to set a Mount Point.

16

No, I couldn't find how to, so I exited, formatted the 50 GB to ext4 in Windows, then rebooted the Zorin installer, went through it to the installer page, and now when I right click on '/dev/sdb4 ext4' (the 50 GB partition, which I wrongly named as '/dev/sdb4 ext4' in the above post, sorry) I get a box with:

"
Edit Partition - X

Size 53687 - + MB

**Use as: do not use this partition / **

[ ] Format the partition:

** Cancel OK**
"
That is all, and the format box is unclickable.

If I click on the drop down arrow (in the line: Use as: do not use this partition) then I get:

"
EFI System Partition

Physical Volumes for Encryption

Do not use this partition"

Which should I use please?

17

So, You don't see this?

grafik
grafik971Ă—593 56.5 KB

On the last Point is ''Mount Point''.

18

Yes! I mean, no I didn't have your box, but it did make me think that maybe my mistake was in making a pre-existing 50 Gb partition, so I deleted it and clicked on the now empty 50 GB, and I get your exact box. Thanks so much for showing me the cause, I hadn't got a clue what was wrong.

Alright, so two questions, please:

  1. This 50 GB partition is the third partition on the SDD drive (the first being a Windows partition full of games, the second being a 10 GB partition that I apparently have to use for Linux' swap file), so do I set the 50 GB Linux partition to Primary or Logical (I imagine Logical)?

  2. What option should I select for Mount Point, please?

19

Let it on Primary and as Mount Point choose simply / and on ''Use as'' choose ext4.

20

Done, thanks.

In the main installation menu it says "Device for boot loader instructions"

/dev/sda ATA ORICO (1.0 TB)

and

/dev/sdb ATA EDILOCA ES106 2T (2.0 TB)

And it defaults to /dev/sda ATA ORICO (1.0 TB)

which is the laptop's boot hard drive, which seems the correct choice.

However, when I click on 'Install Now', with:

/dev/sdb4 ext4 /

highlighted in the partition box, and with

/dev/sda ATA ORICO (1.0 TB)

in the 'device for boot loader installation' option, then when I click on 'Install Now', I get the message:

"Go back to the menu and resume partitioning?

No EFI System Partition was found. This system will likely not be able to boot successfully, and the installation process may fail.

Please go back and add an EFI System Partition, or continue at your own risk."

What should I do, please?

21

Choose the drive that has your windows application for boot loader, whole drive not a specific partition, not the one that has your Zorin partition.