Hello everyone! I'm new to Zorin, but I've been using Linux systems for many years.
Zorin is a phenomenal product that with release 17 convinced me to put it on almost all my PCs (except for my work PC which I can't currently afford to reinstall in favor of Zorin, I'll see when I go on holiday at the end of the month). I use it satisfactorily on my Lenovo Thinkpad T440p, an Acer Extensia 2519, and a small Chinese OEM HTPC that I use mostly as a samba server, torrent machine etc.
However, on this latest HTPC I have a problem with Zorin which has never arisen with any other Linux distribution. After the screen turns off to save energy and stays that way for a while (imagine maybe leaving it on at night) when I turn it back on, I see the lockscreen, I try to enter the password, but instead of unlocking the session it's as if crashed and threw me back on the original login screen, so when I logged in all the open software was closed unexpectedly like chrome which asks me to restore the previous session, torrent which checks all the files for compliance etc.
This is a big flaw for me, because I can't leave the PC turned on for hours unused to work in the background as I would expect from an HTPC.
However, these problems do not arise on laptops (at least, I have not encountered them yet).
The HTPC is a simple OEM with a Ryzen 5500U, 16GB and 1TB of nvme
Several users have reported this issue for Zorin OS 17: You are not alone in this.
Zorin OS 17 defaults to using the Wayland Protocol instead of Xorg (X11) standard display protocol.
Have you tried switching back to Xorg (Zorin desktop on X) from the Login screen > gear icon?
I've seen this issue 2-3 times on this forum now, which makes me assume that this is a bug. Considering that many people here are experiencing this I would assume that the ZorinOS Developers know and are working on a fix.
I doubt that it is an issue with the display protocol being used, but for what it's worth it may be a good idea to try the older X11/Xorg session from the login screen[1]
there is a gear icon after selecting a user in the bottom right of the screen, click it and select Zorin Desktop on Xorg ↩︎
@Aravisian - I have to assume you are at least in touch with the Zorin Group now and then or as needed (in your position as "Community Leader"). Have they said anything to the effect of, "we're aware," or "we're on it"? Then we'd know they're working on a fix for sure. Thanks. EDIT: If you're not at liberty to say, then OK.
Yes, they are aware and the issue is prioritized among many.
Finding a cause and a solution can take time; as many threads on this forum attest to. And getting a safe and stable release for it also can take time.
It is very rare that the ZorinGroup requests that moderators withhold information. Such events have always related to Release Dates, never to patches, troubleshooting or to user experience.
Need-to-know applies; and issues, fixes and bugs all fall into the User Needs to Know.
I have a similar problem when I use the Zorin Desktop Xorg on Z17 Pro the only difference is it doesn't lock the screen just turns the screen off and as I'm on A/C power all the time with my laptop I don't need this ....
It doesn't do it on Cinnamon DE so I never mentioned it as I don't use Gnome or Zorin Desktop ....
Wanted to come back here and mention that this started happening after the 17.1 update. So something happened between 17 and 17.1. That's what the Zorin Group needs to look at.
Me, too. I have seen a considerable uptick of chatter online from people who said they're moving to Linux from Windows. Zorin OS has come up as something of a "viral" choice for new users (from what I can gather both on Reddit and on this forum). I would hate to see the Zorin Group lose out on new users because of this crummy bug. It's a potential dealbreaker for these new users. For me, it's not necessarily a dealbreaker because I've already been using Zorin OS for a while now and I know this wasn't present in the original release. It came up only after 17.1 came out. So it's obviously something the Zorin Group can fix with some effort and investigation. Aravisian has said this is a priority, so OK.
Yeah, it's really unfortunate that there are so many issues with this new version of Zorin OS. My experience upgrading from version 15 to 16 was excellent.
At first I thought the Direct Upgrade tool was still a little buggy, since it's the novelty, but one of my virtual machines is also having trouble with the random logouts as well even on a fresh install. For the time being, I'm staying on Zorin OS 16.
I have given a bit of thought to downgrading to 16, honestly. But at this point, I'm too invested in 17 and paid for the "pro" version. So I don't mind dealing with this bug - for now. But if it inexplicably keeps up interminably without a resolution, I may switch to another distro (which I don't want to do; I really like Zorin).
The changeover from Zorin OS 12 to 15 had a few initial bugs as did the release of Zorin OS 16, mostly found with the .iso installer. They were swiftly resolved.
Over-all, the changeover to 15 and to 16 were both nowhere near as hectic or busy as the change to 17. They were pleasant and smooth.
There is a lot going on with Zorin OS 17 that is new and different.
I am still on Zorin OS 16.3. It's running like a champ, as it did from day one.
Rant follows:
Summary
Folks, newer does not automatically equate to better.
The ZorinGroup has been under constant pressure from users demanding new for the sake of new. I have seen few feature requests; few bug reports requesting new for valid reasons. The majority just say they want new because it is new and new=good.
When Zorin OS 15 was released, a week went by from initial release to users posting asking when Zorin OS 16 would come out.
When Zorin OS 17 was released, users posted demanding that it be based on Ubuntu 24.04. Ubuntu 24.04 has not even been released, yet!
And how often in the last year have users posted calling Zorin OS "outdated" at every turn and excuse, however speciously? (Way too often, that's how much).
"Like... omg... that software was first like released like 9 months ago... seriously? Zorin is like, omg soooo outdated... it's like burning up my vocal fry."
Ok... so, the users got what they wanted and begged and pleaded for: Sacrifice stability for the sake of New Latest and Greatest. At least the developers know and have the ZorinGroups back, right?
Nope.
Gnome has been pushing hard for LibAdwaita in order to seize control of the desktop. Gnome has been pushing hard for the Wayland protocol in order to advance "new at all costs whether its working or not". Gnome has pushed hard for Flatpak because it is their pet project.
Canonical has pushed hard for Snapd, to the point of violating the user agreement and applying force, replacing APT with Snap without user confirmation or consent.
Canonical and Gnome have been brawling and feuding about which package management system is better, if only to replace APT for no particularly viable reason except to elevate themselves to the top of the pile, then feuding some more because Gnome wants to dominate the desktop environment with locked in shells and Canonical protested...
The very reason so many people want to leave Microsofts Windows is because the human nature involved wants to control the users and dominate the landscape. Well, GnuLinux is just as infected with that mentality, now.
Bewteen the user base demanding something new and the outside developers demanding something new, we got something new.
Not stable. Not reliable. Not time tested. New. This is what Shiny and New and Latest looks like.
Learn from it.
I completely agree with this, and it's why I really like what System76 has done:
First, they announced they would not be releasing a new version of Pop!_OS along with Ubuntu, only with LTS versions (every two years, same as Zorin OS) to prioritize resources on working on their COSMIC desktop environment.
Second, just last week I think, they pushed back the alpha release of COSMIC because it wasn't as ready as it could be.
Those are two difficult decision to make because people are used to having a new release every few months. But they were willing to put up with people calling their distro "outdated" because they knew it was the right thing to do.
It's unfortunate that Zorin OS is having a bumpy release, but I understand and I'm happy to wait. They've done a good work before and I trust they'll do it again.
@Omnimaxus I wouldn't be too worried about using Zorin OS 16, or at least try it. At the end of the day you should use something that works for you.
