Zorin installation stuck

Installing Zorin OS
#1

Good evening,

I recently got an old laptop, tried to install Zorin OS 15.2 (which I burned to a blank Sony DVD + R CD using the Windows utility), everything went well until the installation, 2 hours after validating my partitions and launching the installation the program is still on “copying files” and the cursor is in loading state but the disk drive does not do as much (see almost more, you have to stick the ear to hear it) of noise that when I was configuring the installation and the time on the desktop is stuck.

Is it really stuck or do I have to wait? What risk do I take if I decide to turn off the pc now to redo the installation? (or try another OS)

I want to clarify that the pc is normally under Windows, but remains stuck at the loading with the HP logo (perhaps dead hard drive ?)
The laptop is an HP 15-bw013nf

Thank you in advance for your answer

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#2

This really is too little to go on so I am speculating, here.
But these two lines are suggestive of a Hard Drive Issue. Did you (or were you able to) test the HDD prior to running the installation?
It may be disk damage or a stuck armature in the drive. As the disk is able to proceed a good distance prior to getting stuck, then the armature being a culprit is minimized sadly (Armature is easier to unstick or fix).
If possible, I would test the hard drive and the optical drive. As the installation is not complete, you can stop the process if you need, just keep in mind that partition will still be “used” by the attempted install, but gibberish. If the HDD is good, you would need to delete that partition and then allocate the space for a new install.

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#3

Thanks for your answer, i will run the built-in hard drive test and see myself. I indeed thought the hard drive might have issues since the friend who gave me the laptop told me it looked like it was slowly dying while using it (but it could also be a Windows problem, hence why i tried to install another OS)

#4

Likely what Aravisian wrote. In my experience, copying issues usually have stemmed from the source medium. My suspicion is on the DVD or even the optical drive more than on the HDD.

#5

Probably not optical drive problem as Parted Magic was successfully installed on the ram (so it could copy files correctly)

#6

It is definitely a hard drive problem. I’m manually fixing sectors to be able to fully perform a self-test (as it ends with read error because of bad sector)
Thanks for your answers.

#7

Yep, its a somewhat common issue with old mechanical hard drives. The old 80’s to 90’s drives had a life expectancy of 15 to 20 years. But all hard drives since made in the 2000’s and later are lower quality, and usually top out at about 10-years till bad sectors starts eating up the drive capacity, and crashing the computer.

My brother has an older dual core Acer computer that still has its original 3200 RPM 350GB mechanical drive, and its been failing. Computer is slower then it ever has been, crashes sometimes doing normal tasks, and crashes often trying to do advanced tasks like editing and rendering, and it refuses to print to a printer entirely.

When I did tests on the hard drive, it came up loaded with bad sectors that I was not able to correct. Its a sign of serious issues AKA physical damage, to probably the platter disks inside. I’ve been procrastinating on fixing his machine. But since he got a tablet, its not like it needed to be done ASAP anymore.

This winter I plan to stick a 128GB SSD inside and put Zorin OS on it. He doesn’t use his computer like I do, so he doesn’t need more space then that. I told him its going to be a world of difference when he boots the notebook up next time with an SSD inside. Can you say FAST? HAHA :grin:

#8

HDD: Usually three to five years.

SSD is claimed to last closer to ten years.

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