Hey guys kind of a newbie here so bear with me. What exactly happens when I install the 18 beta? For me to not lose my data (pictures, music) will I need to separate them into another partition? The system itself will be like a fresh reinstall and all my "customizations" will have to be redone right?
If you upgrade your stuff will be safe. ---> HOWEVER <--- always backup your stuff before anything. An upgrade can go wrong.
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Yes, it is the best to put them to a separate partition.
You can't upgrade from Zorin 17 to Zorin 18 beta and need a fresh install. This will remove your configurations and customizations.
When you wait until Zorin 18 will be released then you can upgrade.
I'm not sure what would happen if you only install /boot and /root and keep /home if it is on a separate partition (and don't format /home). Perhaps someone can tell you.
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Hi there, welcome to the community 
An actual installation would definitely overwrite your data. But heed to @Storm's advice and be sure to have any important files properly backed up anyway because even when the upgrade is available (once Zorin OS 18 is no longer in beta) there's still a chance that something goes wrong.
One way you could keep your files and most of your configuration would be to have a dedicated partition for them, mounted at /home. I say most because it depends on what applications you have installed, and how, so it's not something that I could guarantee right away.
By "mounted at /home I simply mean having a partition in your drive that is used exclusively for user files, that is, your documents, pictures, music, etc. This is a slightly more complex setup, and it might not be worth doing it right now. Typically, you want to do this while installing from scratch, but it can be done if you're up for the challenge.
Keep in mind that Zorin OS 17 will still be supported until 2027, so you can continue to use is safely. There's plenty of time for you to decide how you want to proceed.
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Welcome to the Forum!
You mean install the Zorin 18 Beta beneath Zorin 17? If yes, I have done that, too. When you start the Installation, You should get in the Installation Window the Option ''Install Zorin alongside Zorin''.
When You choose that, that works like a Dual-Boot Creation with Windows. The Installer makes everything and You only have to choose in the next Window how much Disc Space You want use for the Beta.
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I have done this when re-installing ZorinOS using "Something Else" method.
HOWEVER: My advice would be to back-up /home any case (backups i.e. deja-dup will do that), just as a precaution. It is possible to forget to mark /home not to be formatted, or make some other error during installation.
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I would back them up to be on the safe side to an external USB or to the cloud rather than a seperate partition because with any operating anything can fail so then you can give it a try with a straight upgrade
Do we have a date of release?
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No, the exact date is not known. But It will probably be available in the upgrader tool a few weeks later after Zorin 18 is released.
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They said "With Windows 10 reaching its end of life on 14 October 2025, an estimated 240 million computers that don’t meet Windows 11’s strict hardware requirements will be left behind. Many users are faced with the choice of either buying a new computer soon or [switching to a supported, modern operating system." so I'm hoping at least October or November? Since they're targeting W10 users.
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It's great and pretty stable I think it should be released I've been trying kodi on it, smplayer, really good and seems all good.
Agree and many windows 11 updates broken where as Zorin is nice and stable
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