Finally! I'm a Windows user who has previously tried several versions of Linux Mint and Zorin, and they all had issues that were showstoppers for me. In particular, the lack of plug and play functionality. However, I just installed Zorin OS 17 Core on an older computer I had, and it recognized ALL my hardware, including the USB wi-fi adapter that previous Linux versions did not recognize without me using Terminal to manually install drivers. I still have to set it up with all my personal stuff, but it's off to a great start. The Zorin interface is very intuitive for a Windows user.
I had the same experience. Weeks of trying to get everything working on a few Devices with Linux Mint. Tried out Zorin and it all just worked. Now it will be my recommended OS for non Linux users.
I did a similar install, on a 13 year old Lenovo ThinkPad T510, i5 with 8GB RAM. I did switch out the HDD for a 500 GB SSD, though. It runs very well on that platform.
I'm impressed with Zorin. I also put it on recently on a 17 Manufacture year is 2007) year old laptop (Toshiba Satellite A305, with a maximum of 4G Ram, and I put an SSD years ago that has 256G storage). It actually ran up to Windows 11 pro 23h2 (unsupported hardware). The CPU did not have SSE4.2, so I decided to try Zorin again (I tried for a month two years ago, and i liked it then). It runs great, this laptop feels snappier and responds well. I know computer shouldn't be treated like an old '57 Chevy and kept running way over their technology lifecycle, ... but this ol' laptop is still quick and usable!
Zorin was the first Linux distro I used permanently on a drive and then never looked back. I have fond memory of it and always recommend it to someone just coming from Windows.
I recently came into possession of a 2011 MacBook Air, very similar specs. 2nd gen i5 and 4gb of ram. I put Pop OS on it but it’s a bit stutters at times. This vid has made me decide to see how Zorin performs
Good video. I have an old bag of crap Packard Bell Laptop made in 2011 and Zorin OS 17 runs sweet on it. It did have windows 10 on it and that was ok-ish but Zorin makes this laptop fly.
Windows 10 now seems to be so bloated - early versions ran great on older hardware. But this new release of Zorin OS is fantastic and I see no slowdowns.
@@IansTech Mkicrosoft have always done it. Release a new OS and then over time patch it and load it down. Then non PC users think their pc is old, slow and out of date. Thats wwhen they buy a new PC.
I put it on ibm thinkpad t420s 2011 i7 dual core with 16GB ram and 256ssd dual graphics. I have been using Zorin pro different versions over a number of years for my Plex system. This is running on my laptop above and on my Plex 12 core cpu 96gb ram and 256gb ssd with attached 4x8TB drives and 2gb nvidia graphics the version 17 pro ran slow for first few hours then got up to speed.
I am running OS core 17 on a 2011 Acer Aspire X3960 (3GB and i3-2100 CPU) RAM, works well, previously had Zorin OS lite 16. Just sometimes a little bit of lag if I have lots tabs open and I am switching between Windows, but I am confident that OS Core 17 will be fine on my Asus K53SC laptop (8GB with i7 2630qm).
Runs great in the i7 2630qm 8gb ram Asus k53sc, however doesn't not load on my partners Asus x540na think the CPU gets overwhelmed upon starting so will try zorin 17 lite. Overall great distro
U still can run windows 11 with no issues at all, and the updates are working just fine if you want. But yeah, zorin os definitely deserves a chance, i always recommend it to any one with okder hardware.
I run Zorin 16.3 on my laptop, it is running a new Ryzen 7 and 16 GB of DDR4 and a NVMe M.2 drive. Only issue I have is sometimes for some reason the audio will get this feedback or something scratching noise... but is very fast and responsive.
I used to get this weird issue with arch based linux where after hibernating and resuming linux then I would get a scratching sound unless I disconnect my headphones and reconnect again. Though only with laptop. Must be some old kernel, try a more modern kernel.
I have been using linux for years to revive my old laptops, a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to finally replace windows 11 with linux, so I installed zorin os 17 to an external HDD, and gave it a go. it was super fast, especially when considering it was running off of a ~15 year old HDD. I used it for 2 months without issue, so I took the plunge and installed it onto the computer. It was a really great distro, however, I eventually upgraded to bazzite. I never had any issues with zorin os 17, I only moved away from it since bazzite had some really cool features. anyhow, I have a 'new' laptop that I need to revive, and I think I will be using zorin os 17 to accomplish that.
I've got the E6510 with a spin up drive and 8gb ram. I like Zorin OS, but for some reason any Linux OS including Zorin runs like a dog when it comes to Google maps. How does your system work running Google maps, any tearing or stuttering when dragging the map with the mouse? MS Win10 doesn't have this problem on the same laptop. TY
@@IansTech it was on a MacBook air, on research there were other laptops involved. There are fixes posted, but none of them worked for me, and the people offering solutions said it might not work
Hi, I have installed and tested zorin 17 core. The sleep issue on MacBook seems to be fixed as it didn't happen in a week. Overall it is very good and very nice to use, but I have switched back to mint as the battery life using zorin was not that good. The battery drained more in use and during sleep, whereas mint is as nice to use but much better on battery life. Cheers
I considered Zorin OS, but everyone I talk to about running windows apps and things like Blizzard's battlenet launcher keep side stepping the question I ask; "will it run using Wine or Bottles". The straightest answer I can get is that "there are compatibility problems". So I'll pass on Zorin because I've already got Linux Mint running with that and a few other windows programs I need to run that there is no Linux alternative to.
I have a paid version of Zorin OS 16 on an old Dell 2 in 1. I haven't made much use of it but kept it up to date. Zorin OS 17 looks interesting, is the Pro version a paid upgrade? Or can I install it and use my Zorin OS 16 Pro Support Code for Zorin OS Pro 17? The updater version is not yet available but I don't mind making a clean install if it works. I'd really like to start playing with Zorin OS 17.
I think since you paid previously you wouldn’t pay again for this update (don’t quote me on that) Not sure how the pro version works if it’s attached to your email. But hoping the update comes to version 16 users soon.
I''d be give it a go on my old 2012 iMac but...on whatever the distro I tried none would let me use my Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. Each time had to revert to corder Kb and trackpad. Something I don't understand or doing wrong? Cues welcome. Thanks.
Been looking for something to replace Ubuntu for one my personal machines, installed MX Linux but gestures/hot corners I miss too much. How would you guys compare these two distros?
I just installed Zorin OS 17 Lite on a decade old Acer 5553G laptop (Tri-Core CPU) and I gotta say I'm disappointed! Basic desktop stuff works well enough, but it does not play well with the Radean Mobility HD 5650 graphics. Apparently the card is too old and the drivers for it aren't supported anymore by modern Linux kernels? Gaming is abysmal. Half-Life can run at 60 fps, but Skyrim runs at 1-2 fps while some other games won't work at all.
i am running win10 on e6510, for a matther of fact it is i7+nvidia, 16gb, but it is still pretty decent. only thing i can't do i play 4k at full screen
The 1.5gb ram needed is a gimmick. You can run ubuntu or Mint or others with 1.5gb of Ram. But actually using it for anything other than staring at the wallpaper is another story. Xubuntu uses about 300mb less Ram on startup vs Zorin 17. Edit, just ran it on a virtual first with 4gb of ram. Only t hing I did was sudo apt update and sudo apt install neofetch... ran neofetch, was already using 1.6gb of ram without ANYTHING else running. Then set up a VB with 1.6gb of ram, ran it, and it wouldn't even open up the terminal and locked up.
Linux is great, if all you want to run is Firefox. If you need to run anything else, it's not terribly useful or good at anything else. The problem with all these desktop distros is the panel / taskbar isn't all that great or well thought out. Basically on the level of Windows 11. When what you really want is something as good as Windows 10 or Windows 7.
Q: Does it have a "Drivers Manager" ? Linux Mint DOES - LBME does NOT - for me making Linux Mint ( Ubuntu Edition) the goto of the Linux Mint options. 🤔🤨😔
My Laptop is a Toshiba A215-S7414, really old, AMD Athlon x2 64 dual core, 32bit processor. I have Linux MX 32bit installed right now. I just want to watch RUclips videos, not sent my ex-wife to the moon. Does Zorin have a 32bit version?
There aren’t any new 32 bit versions of Linux distros that I’m aware of. You can find an older version that will work but everything now is for 64 bit machines.
@@IansTech I recently acquired this doa (no ram, no hdd) laptop for free. So I added two 1gb sticks of ram and a 320gb hdd and tried to load a 32bit version of win10, and of course, failure...driver error. Brain storm...Try loading linux. It worked. I got the gillion updates and it appears to be stable. The main problem is the RUclips video's buffer and freeze real bad. Lowering resolution does not seem to help much. Any ideas?
Well try using Windows on an older machine and tell me the same thing. Plus Windows 11 only runs on machines maybe 5 years old due to the limitations they placed. At least OS’s like Zorin give older PC’s a new life when Microsoft leaves them behind.
That kind of BS narrative might've held truth back in 2011. But today, after Win7? Nah, modern Microcock Wontworks are pure, utter cancer. Modern Linux is all round superior: lighter, smaller, faster, more secure, way more customizable, does not spy on you, and does not force hardware-bricking "updates" on you at any point. Even gaming's become more than plausible during these past 5 years, thanks to the advent of Proton (DXVK) and SteamDeck, allowing majority of big Windows games and app to be ran almost natively.
Gaming on Linux is worse than on Windows and nothing changes that. Especially on older hardware lacking vulkan support making compatibility worse + compatibility layers lower fps
Finally! I'm a Windows user who has previously tried several versions of Linux Mint and Zorin, and they all had issues that were showstoppers for me. In particular, the lack of plug and play functionality. However, I just installed Zorin OS 17 Core on an older computer I had, and it recognized ALL my hardware, including the USB wi-fi adapter that previous Linux versions did not recognize without me using Terminal to manually install drivers. I still have to set it up with all my personal stuff, but it's off to a great start. The Zorin interface is very intuitive for a Windows user.
Zorin 17 has the 6.2.0 kernel, which probably hits a sweetspot with much of the hardware out there ready to take a Linux distro install.
I had the same experience. Weeks of trying to get everything working on a few Devices with Linux Mint. Tried out Zorin and it all just worked. Now it will be my recommended OS for non Linux users.
@@cndjonno THANK YOU for this, helps me decide which distro to try myself.
Zorin is underrated. I had Ubuntu and it caused lot of problems. Zorin is perfect.
I just ordered that laptop from eBay and will test it out tonight
I own a Dell Latitude E5440 Intel Core i5 with 4G Ram and Zorin OS 17 Core runs on it like hell.
Zorin team did a great job on consistent theming on all installed apps...attractive indeed!
Very good review !!! I really like that you demoed it on an old laptop... that honestly helps sell the performance to me.
Thank you! I thought it would be a great way to test it and it runs great!
I did a similar install, on a 13 year old Lenovo ThinkPad T510, i5 with 8GB RAM. I did switch out the HDD for a 500 GB SSD, though. It runs very well on that platform.
I'm impressed with Zorin. I also put it on recently on a 17 Manufacture year is 2007) year old laptop (Toshiba Satellite A305, with a maximum of 4G Ram, and I put an SSD years ago that has 256G storage). It actually ran up to Windows 11 pro 23h2 (unsupported hardware). The CPU did not have SSE4.2, so I decided to try Zorin again (I tried for a month two years ago, and i liked it then). It runs great, this laptop feels snappier and responds well. I know computer shouldn't be treated like an old '57 Chevy and kept running way over their technology lifecycle, ... but this ol' laptop is still quick and usable!
Sounds fun!!
Zorin was the first Linux distro I used permanently on a drive and then never looked back. I have fond memory of it and always recommend it to someone just coming from Windows.
I recently came into possession of a 2011 MacBook Air, very similar specs. 2nd gen i5 and 4gb of ram. I put Pop OS on it but it’s a bit stutters at times. This vid has made me decide to see how Zorin performs
Good video.
I have an old bag of crap Packard Bell Laptop made in 2011 and Zorin OS 17 runs sweet on it.
It did have windows 10 on it and that was ok-ish but Zorin makes this laptop fly.
Windows 10 now seems to be so bloated - early versions ran great on older hardware. But this new release of Zorin OS is fantastic and I see no slowdowns.
@@IansTech Mkicrosoft have always done it. Release a new OS and then over time patch it and load it down.
Then non PC users think their pc is old, slow and out of date.
Thats wwhen they buy a new PC.
Nice style of video! My BEST machine is a 6410!
Zorinos 17 to be downloaded and given a runout soon...
This review is one of the best I have come across. Bravo!
Thanks for the detailed explanation.
I put it on ibm thinkpad t420s 2011 i7 dual core with 16GB ram and 256ssd dual graphics. I have been using Zorin pro different versions over a number of years for my Plex system. This is running on my laptop above and on my Plex 12 core cpu 96gb ram and 256gb ssd with attached 4x8TB drives and 2gb nvidia graphics the version 17 pro ran slow for first few hours then got up to speed.
I am running OS core 17 on a 2011 Acer Aspire X3960 (3GB and i3-2100 CPU) RAM, works well, previously had Zorin OS lite 16. Just sometimes a little bit of lag if I have lots tabs open and I am switching between Windows, but I am confident that OS Core 17 will be fine on my Asus K53SC laptop (8GB with i7 2630qm).
WHats the verdict now that you have zoronOS?
Runs great in the i7 2630qm 8gb ram Asus k53sc, however doesn't not load on my partners Asus x540na think the CPU gets overwhelmed upon starting so will try zorin 17 lite.
Overall great distro
This is a great video. Thanks!
VERY NICE PRESENTATION - THANK YOU ! !
i have a 7th gen core i5, i will wait till windows 10 is not supported before trying this, i think it is a good replacement for windows 10, nice video
U still can run windows 11 with no issues at all, and the updates are working just fine if you want.
But yeah, zorin os definitely deserves a chance, i always recommend it to any one with okder hardware.
I run Zorin 16.3 on my laptop, it is running a new Ryzen 7 and 16 GB of DDR4 and a NVMe M.2 drive. Only issue I have is sometimes for some reason the audio will get this feedback or something scratching noise... but is very fast and responsive.
I used to get this weird issue with arch based linux where after hibernating and resuming linux then I would get a scratching sound unless I disconnect my headphones and reconnect again. Though only with laptop. Must be some old kernel, try a more modern kernel.
I did the same thing but with a dell latitude E5510! Crazy how linux can run on so many things
I have been using linux for years to revive my old laptops, a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to finally replace windows 11 with linux, so I installed zorin os 17 to an external HDD, and gave it a go. it was super fast, especially when considering it was running off of a ~15 year old HDD. I used it for 2 months without issue, so I took the plunge and installed it onto the computer.
It was a really great distro, however, I eventually upgraded to bazzite. I never had any issues with zorin os 17, I only moved away from it since bazzite had some really cool features.
anyhow, I have a 'new' laptop that I need to revive, and I think I will be using zorin os 17 to accomplish that.
I'm going to give this a go. Looks great 👍.
I've got the E6510 with a spin up drive and 8gb ram. I like Zorin OS, but for some reason any Linux OS including Zorin runs like a dog when it comes to Google maps. How does your system work running Google maps, any tearing or stuttering when dragging the map with the mouse? MS Win10 doesn't have this problem on the same laptop. TY
Could u please tell me what u did bse mine always stops and says installer has crashed...and input/output failure
sir can you teach us how to install zorin os on chromebook too?
My old toshiba laptop (i3 1gen) runs gnome very good.
Is it faster than win 7
I have it on a 11-year old Panasonic. It isn't as fast as Debian with LXQT, but it's o.k.
Has the sleep issue been fixed? This was apparent on some laptops where the system would hang after the lid was closed forcing a power button reset.
I can install on another laptop and check. What type of laptop did you see that issue on?
@@IansTech it was on a MacBook air, on research there were other laptops involved. There are fixes posted, but none of them worked for me, and the people offering solutions said it might not work
Hi, I have installed and tested zorin 17 core. The sleep issue on MacBook seems to be fixed as it didn't happen in a week. Overall it is very good and very nice to use, but I have switched back to mint as the battery life using zorin was not that good. The battery drained more in use and during sleep, whereas mint is as nice to use but much better on battery life. Cheers
I considered Zorin OS, but everyone I talk to about running windows apps and things like Blizzard's battlenet launcher keep side stepping the question I ask; "will it run using Wine or Bottles". The straightest answer I can get is that "there are compatibility problems". So I'll pass on Zorin because I've already got Linux Mint running with that and a few other windows programs I need to run that there is no Linux alternative to.
Intel i5 4th generation release date is June 2014. So, it's 10 years old and not 14 years old. 🙏
Have old mini PC but the screen resolution doesn't fit. I too have 4 gb ram and 128 SSD.
Please guide me
What resolution is the monitor you are using?
I have a paid version of Zorin OS 16 on an old Dell 2 in 1. I haven't made much use of it but kept it up to date.
Zorin OS 17 looks interesting, is the Pro version a paid upgrade? Or can I install it and use my Zorin OS 16 Pro Support Code for Zorin OS Pro 17?
The updater version is not yet available but I don't mind making a clean install if it works. I'd really like to start playing with Zorin OS 17.
I think since you paid previously you wouldn’t pay again for this update (don’t quote me on that)
Not sure how the pro version works if it’s attached to your email. But hoping the update comes to version 16 users soon.
How hard is it to install it on a 2013 MacBook Pro?
Not hard, I'm throwing it on an older iMac we have today as a matter of fact.
Thank you all !!!!
Geez that new version of Zorn OS is pretty Snappy on that old computer how much quicker would it be if you actually put more RAM into it
How is the battery life of Zorin on Laptops, does it last as much as Windows or way less?
I’ll have to test on a laptop with a good battery. This one was older and had a bad battery.
@@IansTech ok, please let know if u test it
gaming on zorin is also better compared to windows if you have a low end pc( intel hd graphics)
If old hardware does not have vulkan support then gaming is 100% worse
@@YoStu242 I forgot to mention this.
ChromeOS could never.
Llyr my computer brand name
I''d be give it a go on my old 2012 iMac but...on whatever the distro I tried none would let me use my Apple bluetooth keyboard and trackpad. Each time had to revert to corder Kb and trackpad. Something I don't understand or doing wrong? Cues welcome. Thanks.
Been looking for something to replace Ubuntu for one my personal machines, installed MX Linux but gestures/hot corners I miss too much. How would you guys compare these two distros?
that processor is not very old
my laptop with a celoron and 4gb of ram with a new ssd from runs slower than this what do I do? my laptop is only 5 years old
I just installed Zorin OS 17 Lite on a decade old Acer 5553G laptop (Tri-Core CPU) and I gotta say I'm disappointed! Basic desktop stuff works well enough, but it does not play well with the Radean Mobility HD 5650 graphics. Apparently the card is too old and the drivers for it aren't supported anymore by modern Linux kernels? Gaming is abysmal. Half-Life can run at 60 fps, but Skyrim runs at 1-2 fps while some other games won't work at all.
can i download fire toolbox or iTunes on Zorin os
i am running win10 on e6510, for a matther of fact it is i7+nvidia, 16gb, but it is still pretty decent. only thing i can't do i play 4k at full screen
The 1.5gb ram needed is a gimmick. You can run ubuntu or Mint or others with 1.5gb of Ram. But actually using it for anything other than staring at the wallpaper is another story. Xubuntu uses about 300mb less Ram on startup vs Zorin 17. Edit, just ran it on a virtual first with 4gb of ram. Only t hing I did was sudo apt update and sudo apt install neofetch... ran neofetch, was already using 1.6gb of ram without ANYTHING else running. Then set up a VB with 1.6gb of ram, ran it, and it wouldn't even open up the terminal and locked up.
Linux is great, if all you want to run is Firefox.
If you need to run anything else, it's not terribly useful or good at anything else.
The problem with all these desktop distros is the panel / taskbar isn't all that great or well thought out. Basically on the level of Windows 11. When what you really want is something as good as Windows 10 or Windows 7.
Q: Does it have a "Drivers Manager" ?
Linux Mint DOES - LBME does NOT - for me making Linux Mint ( Ubuntu Edition) the goto of the Linux Mint options. 🤔🤨😔
Zorin 6.1 for me on a AMD 5600. Zorin 16 and 17 are too slow.
Is that even supported now?
My Laptop is a Toshiba A215-S7414, really old, AMD Athlon x2 64 dual core, 32bit processor.
I have Linux MX 32bit installed right now.
I just want to watch RUclips videos, not sent my ex-wife to the moon.
Does Zorin have a 32bit version?
There aren’t any new 32 bit versions of Linux distros that I’m aware of. You can find an older version that will work but everything now is for 64 bit machines.
@@IansTech I recently acquired this doa (no ram, no hdd) laptop for free. So I added two 1gb sticks of ram and a 320gb hdd and tried to load a 32bit version of win10, and of course, failure...driver error.
Brain storm...Try loading linux. It worked. I got the gillion updates and it appears to be stable.
The main problem is the RUclips video's buffer and freeze real bad. Lowering resolution does not seem to help much.
Any ideas?
Nothing is better than that of Windows.....only windows is the best all the way .. others os are just bullshit 😂
Well try using Windows on an older machine and tell me the same thing. Plus Windows 11 only runs on machines maybe 5 years old due to the limitations they placed. At least OS’s like Zorin give older PC’s a new life when Microsoft leaves them behind.
Windows is a monopoly
Yes, Windows is the best, that's why the internet runs on Linux
Good troll
That kind of BS narrative might've held truth back in 2011. But today, after Win7? Nah, modern Microcock Wontworks are pure, utter cancer. Modern Linux is all round superior: lighter, smaller, faster, more secure, way more customizable, does not spy on you, and does not force hardware-bricking "updates" on you at any point. Even gaming's become more than plausible during these past 5 years, thanks to the advent of Proton (DXVK) and SteamDeck, allowing majority of big Windows games and app to be ran almost natively.
Gaming on Linux is worse than on Windows and nothing changes that. Especially on older hardware lacking vulkan support making compatibility worse + compatibility layers lower fps