Brief: This detailed article shows you how to install Zorin OS alongside Windows 10 which is known as Dual boot, step-by-step, accompanied with proper screenshots
So you have decided to switch to Linux, Great decision! And you have chosen to use Zorin OS that’s even better. Zorin OS is one of the most beginner-friendly Linux. As it comes with tons of other apps and features that will make your Linux experience great. Using Zorin Os is very easy and installing it is also not rocket science. It’s even featured in our list of 5 Best Linux distros for beginners in 2020. Installing Zorin OS alongside Windows will be quite easy just follow these instructions properly.
To check if your system is compatible with Zorin OS refer to this link and decide which Zorin Os distro you want to install. The installation process for all Zorin Os distros is the same.
Trying Zorin OS Before Installation
If you are not sure to just install Zorin OS right now. Don’t worry just follow this tutorial till step 5. When it prompts to Install Zorin OS or Try Zorin select Try Zorin. The system will boot into Live USB mode here and you will be able to use Zorin OS without installation. Any changes that you make in this mode will be erased after reboot. But this will give you an idea if you like Zorin or not.
Requirements
- Blank USB thumb drive
- Zorin Os Iso Image
- A tool to write ISO image to USB(I am using Rufus.)
- Windows 10 Cd/USB (Not required but recommended if something goes wrong)
Its recommended to Backup your data before proceeding any further. It’s mostly a safe process but still, its recommended to backup data.
You can also watch the video tutorial below.
Step 1: Downloading Zorin Os
You can download Zorin OS from here. This is the Zorin Os official download page.
I am installing Zorin OS lite you can install any other Zorin OS distro which you like, the installation process will be the same.
I am installing a 64-bit operating system. You should choose according to your hardware. If your computer is not a decade-old PC chances are you should 64-bit only. But you should check first which operating system will be compatible with your system. For this go search bar and type “cmd” this will open the Command prompt. Type “systeminfo”, in output look for “processor” value if the value is “x64 based PC” then you should install 64-bit or else 32-bit.
To create bootable USB I am using Rufus you can download it from here.
Step 2: Create a bootable USB drive
Plug USB drive into the computer and open Rufus. Select the previously downloaded image of Zorin OS. Rufus should automatically select the USB drive, but please make sure that it has selected the correct drive (Note- This USB thumb drive will be formatted and all the previous data on this drive will be lost so Backup before proceeding.) Then click start and click “Ok” and wait for the process to complete.
Step 3: Boot Into USB
Plug the USB drive and restart your computer. As soon as the motherboard logo appears at the start of your computer press the boot key. The boot key is generally the F10 or F12 function key(varies from computer to computer).
This will show you the menu to boot from USB or Windows device manager. You should select the USB drive and press enter.
Step 4: Selecting to Install
When you boot from the USB drive you will be presented with this menu and select “Try or Install Zorin OS” and press enter. If you have an Nvidia graphics card you can choose “Try or Install Zorin OS (modern NVIDIA drivers)” and press enter. This will take some time to load.
Step 5: Prepare the Installation
Select Install Zorin Os. When prompted, please connect to the Internet (if possible) in order to make sure all necessary software is downloaded during the installation process. These software’s will be later required and will improve your Linux experience.
Step 6: Installation type
As we are discussing install Zorin Os alongside Windows here, you should select at this screen “Install alongside windows.“. And then press “Next” to choose space which you would like to allocate to the Zorin Os.
Even though Zorin OS can be installed in less than 10 Gb of space. I will recommend having 30 to 40 Gb of space as it can be helpful when you want to store music videos and other multimedia files.
Step 6: Finishing setup
After allocating space click next and follow on-screen instructions. As this process will be completed you will be prompted to do a restart. If everything goes right then you should see Zorin OS booting at the next startup. This completes the installation process. This will install Zorin Os alongside Windows on your system. If you find any problems you can ask me for help in the comments. I Will try to help you as much as I can.
Please give a screenshot of what the screen looks like when choosing to boot from a particular os (dual boot) preferably Windows, Linus(Zorin OS).
Hello Tarun, we have updated the post with a screenshot of the boot loader. This is what it should look like after completion of the installation of Zorin OS.
After following all the steps, i am unable to see usb drive option in boot menu,only windows 7 option is there
1) As your other OS is Windows 7 this should not be the case but still you should check if Secure boot is enabled. If its enabled you need to disable it. To disable Secure boot go into the BIOS menu which can generally be accessed by pressing F1 or F2 or ESC or DELETE key(Depending on your system) at startup. Then in BIOS menu navigate to Boot tab and disable Secure boot if its enabled.
2) Go into BIOS menu, then in Boot tab change Boot order and bring USB on the top. Then save changes and restart don’t press the boot key it should automatically boot from USB. If it didn’t work then also try disabling Safe boot in BIOS menu.
3) If the above method also doesn’t work then try using other USB flash drive. Some people have also faced similar problem with Sandisk flash drives.
4) After all of this it still doesn’t seems to work, then a little info about your system would be better so that I can help you.
Hi , installed zorin 15.3 alongside win 10,buutvwhen restart no options to choose os, boot directly to win 10 as before. What I need to do to see boot options?
Hello,
Try this, Press F2 at the start of the system this will open BIOS menu. In that menu navigate to Boot tab and you will a boot priority list. In that list if you see Ubuntu or Linux named entry, try to bring that entry at the top. You can do so by pressing F5 or F6 keys. Once the Ubuntu or Linux entry is at top press F10 to save changes and exit.
If you were able to see the Ubuntu or Linux entry in that list, you sould be able to see Zorin after restart. But if this doesn’t works then you might need to reinstall the the boot loader. Reply if the above method didn’t worked I would love to help you out.
I tried to install zorin 15.3 but got an error message that said that I need to instal the kernal first and that a program called caper/vmlinus was not found. What do I do now.
I think this is the error with the downloaded ISO file. Try downloading the Zorin OS ISO file again and it should fix the issue.
I am on windows 11 and i need to have secure boot enabled, so can i dual boot zorin OS with secure boot enabled?
Yes Zorin supports secure boot. Thats’s why there should not be any issue when you use Zorin OS alongside Windows 11.