Zorin 18 Core Having to Troubleshoot more than do actual work

General Help
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TLDR: Been using Zorin for the last 2 weeks and everyday it feels like I'm going 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Everytime I want to add something new, fix something, or install an update, something else breaks. Should I stick with Zorin or move to a new distro?

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Hi, complete Linux newbie here (though I like to think I'm quite tech-savvy).
I've very recently switched over to Zorin OS 18 as I want to begin the transition away from windows.

I haven't used Linux much at all so my choice in picking Zorin was heavily based on it's promise that it's very familiar to Windows. Had some trouble installing as I wanted to do a dual boot setup, keeping my windows OS in case things went wrong, but I got it working keeping both OS's on different hard drives.

I won't ramble too much about the issues I've had, but put simply my experience over the last 2 weeks have felt like everyday I'm going 1 step forward and 2 steps back. Every time I wanted to add something new (or something got updated), it felt like something else would break. I would then spend hours googling how to resolve said issue, which eventually I'd find a fix, but then the next boot something new would break.

I can't tell if this constant back-and-forth of fixing things that break has put me on a path I can't return, as I definitely didn't have the hind-sight to make a time shift backup at any point. First thing I did with my fresh install was attempted to add Clip Studio Paint in the Bottles app, as I use CSP all the time and would like to keep using it. After following a tutorial on Youtube (and after several attempts/restarts) I got CSP working in bottles! I later found out about the app "Flatseal" that allowed me to grant Bottles access to all of my drives (which had my backup CSP files). I also learned to use Flatseal to give discord access so I could post pictures and media onto my friend's server again.

But then I attempted to access my external seagate harddrive, and failed. Though I don't think that was a linux issue as I feel that the drive might have been corrupted at some point. This did point me towards learning about the different format file systems and I came across .btrfs, which apparently is a better format option and would allow me to play my steam games across both Linux and windows on that drive. I can't confirm if that worked because BTRFS just wasn't an option I could use to format one of my extra drives. I tried this through the Disks app and I get an error "The utility mkfs.btrfs is missing". Tried looking in the software store to find an app, found btrfs-progs, installed it but it did nothing. Went down the rabbit hole of forums, couldn't find a way to enable that option at all.

At this point, my Astro20 USB receiver decided to keep itself stuck in the playstation mode, so I went down another rabbit hole until I found a way to disable snd_usb_audio, switch the dongle to PC mode, enabled the snd_usb_audio, started working again!

Then Bottles (or wine) upgraded itself to sys_wine_11.0, which broke Clip Studio Paint again (I originally had it on sys_wine_10.0 which it was working fine). Attempted to figure out how to either add an additional runner of sys-wine-10.0 or downgrade to 10.0 with no success. Eventually after downloading many different optional runners, I found that "caffe-9.2" worked for the Paint software, but I had to switch to "sys-wine-11.0" if I wanted to open the Clip Studio Launcher. Very annoying but I guess it works for now.

After this, the next day my Astro headset and Yeti mic weren't being detected again despite not touching anything around them (though I did do a couple of software updates, so maybe that broke them?). I've attempted to reinstall the pulseaudio drivers, to which I've had no success, tried using the "pulseaudio -k" command only to get this error: "Failed to kill daemon: No such process".
I've tried following tutorials on installing "Pipewire" the supposed better version of pulseaudio, but that didn't seem to do anything. I've installed the pwvucontrol app, but that didn't show me my USB audio devices. Attempted to use the Ubuntu Studio Installer to add the audio Package, which didn't seem to do anything. Install the HDAJackRetask app, still nothing. And so on...

Eventually remembered what I did to fix the dongle from not switching before and simply entered the "sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio" command to enable snd_usb_audio, and boom, both devices are being detected again. But I don't know if this is a permanent fix or not.

I've also had other issues like suspending the system (which I'm guessing is the same as hibernating on Windows), only to find on the reboot that I get a login error, forced to log out, and upon login again my entire desktop layout changes to something different. The first time this happened to me, I had no idea it was the desktop layout and through my taskbar completely broke on me. I eventually figured out how to change it back, but I still get this error if my system goes to sleep or is suspend (so I guess I just can't use those features?)

The point I'm getting at is that my Zorin experience has been less than ideal. I want it to "just work", but I feel like I'm spending more time trying to troubleshoot problems with about 50/50 success rate, only for more things to break on me the next day.

So my real question: Is it worth staying on Zorin 18 and hope that the troubleshooting is over? Or should I consider moving to a new distro entirely?

I'm hesitant to move as I just went through all this trouble to leave windows (but I still have the dual-boot system). However my main concern is that if I move to a new distro, I might be able to re-use the license key for Clip Studio as there's a chance they might not let me move it to a new PC for like the 4th time.

But if another distro might be a better option for me in the long run, is it worth taking the risk? And if so, would just base Ubuntu be better for me or something else entirely?

Sorry about the narrative-long post, I'm just super frustrated right now and needed to vent this all out. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

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This sounds a lot like my experience, years ago, now.

And I vented a lot, too.

Part of it a lot like learning how to drive.
When you switch from WIndows OS to a GnuLinux OS, it is a lot like having to learn how to drive all over again.
And mistakes can be made due to unfamiliarity with the system. Or, trying to extend beyond the initial system.

This will be true on any distro - just as it would be as true if you migrated from having been only ever a GnuLinux distro user to Windows OS.
Will switching distro's solve your problems? Probably not. It might solve some and offer new ones.

Switching back to Windows OS would put you back in familiar territory. Not on better footing - just footing where you know the file system, know what to look for... Usually have some idea of what to do.

What usually happens:

When a new user struggles initially, as time goes by that they iron things out and in the process, really learn the system, it gets easier. Problems go away or become minor.
After all the hair pulling and frustration, as things smooth out and concepts become familiar and start clicking into place, you begin feeling Back In Control.
It Does Get Better.
And you have experienced a peek at that when you realized that snd_usb_audio had been changed - that is your sound. With that experience and connection, you returned to the problem and made it smaller.

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Agreed. Keeping your Windows installation via dual boot was a good idea. Setting it up via separate drives for each operating system was also wise, eliminating potential booting conflicts that windows can otherwise cause.

Is your computer hardware comparitively new, and if so is it by chance a laptop?

You have been searching the internet and forums. May I suggest a better quicker way to get answers? Detailed answers? - Perplexity.ai. It was this tool that afforded me the confidence to cross the bridge to Zorin Linux.

Designed primarily around this principal: document the sources of every answer. It's unbelievably fast, designed for conversation, and highly contextual (remembers the conversation better than you do). You'll notice it has been programmed to be a bit overly optimistic and overconfident and perhaps a little too eager to please (but only a little) - so I pepper it with followup questions. I ask it "but why?" or "I don't understand" or "that's not consistent with what you told me here: [quote inserted]. Or maybe "is there another way to do this?" and the answer is yes and it comes back with several options, "which of these has proven to be the most successful the most often with the most people?" Then when I'm about to pull the trigger, "Ok so if I do this, what are the possible downsides or risks?" Triangulate!
Major caveat: it can be half right, almost completely right, or sometimes completely wrong....but it is always extremely useful, due to the sheer breadth of information it place right at your fingertips instantly. I go to the forums too of course, specifically the Zorin Forum. With my prior research, I am able to ask questions way beyond my initial understanding, and understand better the sometimes complex answers I am given. Having learned to exercise this level of caution in advance means I don't bork my system and have to reinstall nearly as often as I first did. Which brings me to

Timeshift.
Starting out as a Windows refugee, I trashed my Linux system THREE TIMES before I decided "no more!" and the next time I installed and set it up Timeshift before doing anything else. (Timeshift is sort of a Windows Restore, but better.) That way if I trashed the system I can always pick one of the Timeshift saves rather than starting over, (like pounding in a piton every now and then so I don't fall all the way down the mountain if something goes wrong.) Timeshift doesn't come with Zorin, but you can add it. Ask Perpexity.ai how as an exercise. I like to give it my operating system first before the question: like this: "Zorin 18: What's the best and easiest way for me to install Timeshift?"

Don't give up! The more you consult with Perplexity.ai as an aid in your learning, the better your questions will be for members of the forum. And I have to say, they are eager to help - especially those who do a bit of homework first. However confusing your situation may look to you, they've seen worse.

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The other caveat is that you are using the A.I. tool properly and correctly.

And the sad part is - you are uncommon in this.
For many, the answers are accepted and even tried at initial face value.

A.I. will not just get things wrong - but invent fictitious terminal commands. It presents an output that is based on aspects found all over the web and can conflate, mix up or just invent assumed commands.

When it comes to a daily driver you use - I would not discourage using Perplexity.ai (Which does give reference links you can check which is good) on a personal level, but do not trust it with terminal commands or file modifications until you have vetted them. It must be challenged, questioned and tested, with vigor.

And... Since this comes up... I will repeat: In the moderator forum we are in discussions to see if we can improve forum accuracy by addressing A.I. output given in user responses.

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Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I'm looking into using Timeshift now, since I feel like I'm in a somewhat decent position right now. Though now I've noticed that the snd_usb_audio module doesn't automatically enable during the bootup process, but I can input the command "sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio" to at least get my headphones working on each startup. It's a bit annoying, but it's a solution for now.

As for the Perplexity.ai, personally I think I will avoid it for now. So far during my troubleshooting for the other issues, the google ai has done nothing but bring me pain as it keeps suggesting answers that I feel aren't true at all. Especially when it comes to the terminal codes it suggests. And I am not familiar enough with Linux yet to consider even looking at those codes let alone trust that the ai is giving me something useful. Last thing I need is to copy a google ai terminal code that corrupts my system.

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Try

sudo nano /etc/modules-load.d/snd-usb-audio.conf

That opens a terminal based text editor. If you prefer, you can launch Files as admin - elevated to root, navigate to that path and use the Text Editor "Gedit" instead.

If it does not exist, create it.
Add this line:
snd_usb_audio

If using the terminal text editor, tap ctl+o to overwrite, then enter to save current configuration.
Tap ctl+x to eXit the editor.

See if it is working next boot without manually module probing it...

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Hello to the Linux world,

when I first started using Linux 7 years ago, I had the same situation.
I used Ubuntu, Debian, Kubuntu and Zorin OS.
If you think switching to Ubuntu/Debian would fix this, definetely not. Zorin is like a better version of these with helpful extensions.

Even today I take note everything I do, otherwise next time something breaks I don't want to spend hours in forums. When I ask help, of course some people said "skill issue" and demotivated.

I really don't think other distros any better but good luck. Most of the apps on Linux miss features a 15 year old windows app has.

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"Gedit" is not preinstalled on Zorin 18, but you can use gnome-texteditor as texteditor instead of nano if you prefer that. It is the default text editor.

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Welcome to the Forum!

Of Course, you can try a different Distro. Why not? Trying and seeing what suits and works best for Your Usage and Needs isn't something bad. That is Part of the Linux experience, too. Nobody would blame You for that.

An easy first Look you can get it when You put the Distro ISO on a USB Stick and run it in Live Mode. The Performance might not be the Best because it runs on a USB Stick but to get a general Overview it is fine in my Opinion.

For Discord: Discord offers a .deb Version what You can download. Then You don't have to fiddle with Flatseal.

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Ah, did Gnome deprecate Gedit? I had to look this up.

GNOME Text Editor replaces gedit as GNOME's default text editor, and was created due to the GNOME developers' intention of having all of their programs comply with the GNOME Human interface guidelines (HIG).[5] The adherence to their HIG is done by using the libadwaita library

GNOME Text Editor - Wikipedia.

Oh, I see. Microsoft Force.

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But Gedit can still be installed if prefered. But it isn't longer the default Text Editor. It is available:

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Hey Aravisian

Sorry for getting back to you so late, life had me pretty busy lately.

Tried your solution and double checked I did everything right, restarted my PC, but sadly it didn't seem to make any difference. But I did notice that the snd-usb-audio.conf file was empty before I added the snd_usb_audio line to it.
I'm assuming that it's expected for the config file to be empty? Or should there have been something there before I edited it?

Thanks again for the help.

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Yes, it is, as you are making a new configuration.

Since it did not change the issue, however, there is no sense in keeping it.

Do you still need to sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio on every reboot?

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Yep, every time I shutdown or restart my PC, I have to enter in sudo modprobe snd_usb_audio in the terminal in order for Zorin to pick up on my headset and usb mic.

On a side note though, the suspend system seems to be working fine now, with everything restoring exactly how I left it. Even the snd-usb-audio driver remains active after I suspend the system.