Upgrading to Zorin OS 18 and disk partition

General Help
, ,
1

Hi!

I am considering upgrading to Zorin OS 18 and I have a couple of questions about that and my current disk partition.

Premises:

  1. I have no coding experience, so when I installed Zorin for the first time, someone else did all the hard work for me.
  2. When we installed Zorin, I partitioned my 500 GB disk into two equal parts, one for Zorin and one for Windows. I haven't touched this ever since.

Questions:

  1. Is it recommended to always upgrade to the latest Zorin OS version? I have been using OS 17 Core for a while and I have no major complaints, but I am afraid I may fall behind and be at risk of... something (?). I don't know what the general recommendations are.
  2. I want to change the size of my disk partition.
  • Is this possible? If so, is it safe to do?
  • Would you change the size of the partition before or after upgrading to Zorin OS 18?
  • What general recommendations do you have for me before I attempt resizing my partitions? I mostly use Windows to run a couple of programmes that are Windows specific (GraphPad Prism and other lab software that I tried running on Linux using a virtual Windows desktop (?) but it all looks very tiny and thus is not functional). [Extra question: Google Meet only runs on my Windows partition, is this normal or am I missing something?]
  1. I have a dual boot screen where I choose which OS I want to use. It sometimes runs into problems and crashes, so I have to press Ctrl+Alt+Del in order to relaunch it. Is this normal? What could be causing the crashes? What other information would you need me to provide in order to troubleshoot this?

Thank you in advance for all your help!

2

Zorin OS 17 will get upgrades and support until May of 2027. But you won't be at risk of 'falling behind' for many years - the extended support for that base is until 2037.
If everything works and you are happy with the system, there is no need to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

Yes. You can change the size of partitions using Gparted run from a Live USB and those partitions you want to change Unmounted. When ready - start a thread to focus on this one issue and guidance.

Would not make much difference either way, but before might be easier for you.

None, really. It should be a quick thread. You do not need to do any preparation procedures other than creating a LiveUSB Stick...

Are... you saying the Grub Menu crashes?

1 Like
3

Save your personal datas before you make changes to the partitions.

2 Likes
4

So happy to read this!

Ok, I will post a new thread when I am ready.

I will look up how to do that. If you have any recommended tutorial, I'll greatly appreciate it.

Sometimes it doesn't show the Zorin vs Windows options, instead, it tells me there was an issue and it only goes away after I press Ctrl+Alt+Del, sometimes I have to do that several times.

Sounds like there is no way around getting an external hard drive haha I will, thank you for the rec!

5

When Zorin 17 works for You, you can of Course continue to use it.

How are the Partitons set up? I mean what Partition is where? Comes first the Windows Partition and then the Zorin one?

You could use Boot Repair. When You have a Bootstick with Zorin on it start it and go in the Live Mode (Choose ''Try Zorin'') and there look for Boot Repair and let it run.

6

I don't really know how to answer that so I'll just tell you what my disk partition distribution says (if any of this is sensitive info, please let me know so I can delete it lol) From left to right on the diagram:

  1. Filesystem partition 1 (105 MB): Mounted at /boot/efi, EFI system, FAT
  2. Partition 2 (17 MB): Unknown, Microsoft Reserved
  3. Filesystem partition 3 (249 GB NFTS): Basic data partition, 60% 99GB full, Basic data
  4. Filesystem partition 4 (1.1 GB) - NFTS not mounted, Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment (System, No Automount)
  5. Free space 96 MB
  6. Filesystem partition 5 (261 GB ext4): Ext4 (version 1.0) — Mounted at Filesystem Root, Linux Filesystem, 94% full
  7. Free space 1 GB

Is that doable with a random USB? Where would I download Zorin to put it in the USB?

7

That is the world server. You can e.g. download Zorin versions from there (choose 17 if you want to download Zorin 17) or go to the website

there you can download the current Zorin 18 versions. Look for the core version.

8

Theoretically yes. I personally would recommend a Stick with a Capacity from 8 to 32 Gig's formatted in FAT32. And maybe not a NoName Stick if possible. The Download Links, @Forpli has already posted.

To create the Bootstick, You need a Tool to do that. When you have Windows, I can recommend Rufus. I used it in the Past on Windows, too. It never had disappointed me. The good thing of this Program is: You can set up the Partition Sheme. When Your BIOS is in UEFI Mode, You use GPT and when it is in Legacy Mode, You use MBR. To set it up properly can help to avoid Issues.

You have listed it but to give You a Tip: When You are on Windows, You have there the Disk Management Tool. With that, You can see the Partitions for Your Drives. On Zorin is a Program called ''Disks'' preinstalled what offers that, too. Also, You can install a Tool called GParted with sudo apt install gparted via Terminal. I personally like this Tool. It might not be the best looking Tool but the Layout and the Infos and how it is structured, I like.

And Alternative to use GParted would be to start the Zorin Bootstick and run it in Live Mode. There is GParted available and You don't have to install it.

So, now to the Resize: I guess, You want shrink the Windows Partition and then increase the Size of the Zorin Partition. Because of how the Partitions are layed, this is a bit tricky but doable.

First, You would have to shrink the Windows Partititon which would be in Your Case from Your List Filesystem partition 3. Then, You have an empty Piece. This, You would have to move behind Your Zorin Partition - so behind Filesystem partition 5 and when done, You can expand that over the free Space.

To do that, You could use GParted. But this, You would have to do from the Live Mode. This is neccessary because both Partitions doesn't have to be in Usage.