Wondering about Trying Zorin

Hi. I'm not a girl who is very technically inclined. I have only used Windows until now (currently Windows 7). I just got a new computer though and it can boot from flash devices and usb drives and was thinking about giving Linux a try. Zorin sounds appealing because of the advertized Windows feel to it. I have some questions though.

I wonder how much technical knowledge one needs to install it? Also, with Windows 7, I had to install drivers for my motherboard for the Realtek Ethernet controller and the USB 3 ports. Gigabyte does not have Linux drivers on their site; only Windows. Does Zorin come with such drivers?

All of my hard drives are ntfs and most are usb hard drives. Will Zorin automatically recognize them or does it take some kind of 3rd party software?

Assuming I can access the drives, they're labeled with letter names under Windows, will they be labeled differently under Linux?

If you've got a decent internet connection just download the version you need, burn it to CD and then boot from that into the live version, that way you can see what works without changing your current system at all.

Alternatively you can boot from a USB stick, instructions are here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7171&p=34368

Be aware that it will be quite a bit slower than if you installed it though

Hi, and welcome to Zorin! Just to supplement to what Steve D has said, if you have never tried GNU/Linux before be aware that the boot screen has changed from earlier versions - unless you have used Ubuntu or Ultimate Ediiton, you may not know what to do when you see a keyboard symbol and accessibility symbol sitting at bottom middle of the boot screen on a pale blue background - when this appears, press the space bar on your keyboard and the F2 option will flood your screen, (Language) with English pre-selected - if this is your language, then press Escape Key - next press the F3 key to choose your keyboard map - this defaults to US - if you are in the UK just use the up arrow of yur cursor keys (to bottom right of main keyboard space) and UK will be highlighted - just use your cursor keys to the keyboard language you use. Then press the Esc key once more - we don't know if you are using a notebook or a desktop - you may want to press the F5 function key to access the various options that could resolve graphics issues - leave this alone for now but if you have difficulties with seeing the desktop in live mode revisit the F5 key on a reboot - please also be aware that after you select the first option to try it live you will eventually see a 'glowing Z' after which the screen goes blank for a considerable time before you see the mouse cursor appear and then the desktop.

Keep us posted!

As regards the drivers:

Linux has a different mentality from windows. In windows, as you said, the drivers come separately from the OS and you need to install them afterwards.

Linux is based on a main kernel (think of that as the heart of the system) and all the drivers are already included in there.
This means that in 90% of the cases, you just install the system and everything just works out of the box. Your wireless, your BT, your motherboard, your graphics cards, everything.
8% of the cases that something might not work out of the box, you need to have an internet connection and you download the firmware/drivers needed from the linux repositories (a main server). For the last 2% you may need to visit the website of the manufacturer for linux drivers or find a workaround if there is no linux driver offered.
This is also the way you download and install programs. In windows you would have to google the program you want, try to locate it, download it without knowing if the source is trustworthy, then extract it, double click it, follow a series of question that you have to answer "yes", and after installation try to find it in your menu under no category.
In linux you just open the software manager, you write the name of the program you want or just a key word, you find it, and click it for installation. You know it is trustworthy as it will be downloaded from the main server. The program is then put into the correct category of your menu (i.e. a music program will automatically be put in the media category, an office program in the office category etc). - And then they say that installing programs in Linux is difficult.

In other words, you need to convince your mind to start thinking differently when using linux. Don't expect linux to be a free windows OS.
But I truly and highly suggest that you try Linux. It will open your mind, it will offer great experiences, it will be fun and in the end you might like it so much that you will find your self using (or wanting to use Linux) rather than windows.
The magic of linux also offers this great situation that you can try it on a usb stick in a live session without messing with your computer. So there is actually no excuse for not trying out linux.

Great post madvinegar - just as an aside, its been an awfully long time since I booted into Windows 8.1!

I was a Windows freak till this year and to keep it short (as Swarfendor and Madvingar have covered all the points), Zorin is different to Windows like a bike is different to a car. They both follow the same rules but they are just different. Zorin is different but it more stable and easier to use and in most cases there are alot less driver issues. You will find that you can do more with Zorin then Windows and to be honest with you, I have 3 out of our 4 computers now using Zorin. One more to go and then we will all be using Zorin instead of Windows.

Just like the Dr. Pepper advert - What is the worest that can happen? Nothing if you boot from a flash drive or live CD.

Good luck and look forward to hearing how much you love this OS.

PS: How knowledge do you need for this OS? Well if you know how to use a keyboard and a forum then you have all the skills needed.

Thanks everyone. After reading all the replies and especially madvinegar's, I downloaded and tried the live cd. I was so happy when it did work right off the bat with seeing all my usb drives and the network connection too. About the only thing that didn't work was my printer but it was able to identify it and download the driver to make it work. When I can get out and buy a flash drive I'm going to try installing to that and hopefully it will go as smoothly. Thanks again

We are all glad we helped - aren't we guys?

Glad you are having a great time with Zorin!

Everyone is glad. Especially madvinegar...