@anon96359095 I don't see any checksum errors when installing/booting. Like I said: I can login and Zorin OS works fine. Only problems are:
- black login screen
- brightness controls don't work
@Aravisian So, I did a bit of testing and this is what I've found.
Zorin OS Lite 15
Install works, even with disk encryption. But after boot and putting in my password to decrypt it goes on to an entire black screen. The screen is just off. No cursor, nothing. Waited 15 minutes, nothing. When I pressed the power button I got a brief look at the Zorin logo fading before the laptop turned off. So the Lite version is even worse.
Linux Mint
Install works, also with disk encryption. Everything works, even login screen. Only issue is the brightness control keys. Same as in Zorin. Did some googling again and found Fix Brightness Control Not Working for Ubuntu & Linux Mint - It's FOSS and applied that fix. That script worked great and it was a 1 minute fix. That makes Mint 'problem free'.
Zorin OS Core 16
So, after Mint I tried Zorin again. Used the "safe graphics" option, just to be sure and did NOT connect to the internet during installation. Again, problems arise.
- No login screen, only cursor (same as before)
- After login, brightness keys don't fuction (just like in Mint)
- Applied the fix I found for Mint for the brightness keys, but this fix doesn't seem to work in Zorin. Checked everything again, but nothing.
- Googled for another fix and found @Aravisian post in Brightness keys NOT WORKING! - #5 by arnavpadwal You mention the same script, but also 2 grub fixes. Applied both grub fixes but they also do nothing.
My conclusion so far? This is a software issue within Zorin OS.
TL:DR
- black login screen is a Zorin only thing and no fix works.
- brightness keys is a universal thing, but the fix for Mint doesn't work in Zorin.
I have no clue how to diagnose these problems further. All the 'fixes' I've tried for Zorin don't work or even make it worse and just corrupt the installation.
Let me know if you have any ideas/suggestions on this issue.