When I bought my inexpensive Laptop Lenovo G4030 14" (N2840/2GB/500GB/HD), I was very glad to grab a bargain.
It is a slim machine that has more than stood the test of time and proved to be an investment that paid back many times over the years.
Unfortunately, however, just like all good things in life that come to an end, the time that I feared the most arrived, and, suddenly, there was a black screen that wouldn’t turn on in front of my eyes.
Linux vs. Windows
I forgot to tell you that I had already changed the default Windows 8.1 operating system of my laptop to Linux Mint 20.2 Xfce at some point.
I did so due to the fact that the original Windows 8.1 OS was a bit heavy on the system.
For example, when I opened multiple windows while working on translation projects, the 2GB RAM seemed to struggle, making the laptop really slow.
After changing to Linux Mint 20.2 Xfce, my laptop got a new life, and seemed to work even better than when it was brand new!
So, Linux literally saved my life then.
When I found Zorin Linux OS Lite
Overall, I am very satisfied with using Linux Mint all those years.
In the end, however, I had problems applying Linux updates to the system.
I am not a programmer or developer myself by any means, and to be honest with you, I expected to run into problems with the Linux commands sooner or later.
When the screen went black and my laptop wouldn’t turn on for a second time, I was in the middle of a translation project.
I tried to use another, older laptop that I had kept for emergency cases like this one, but it wouldn’t turn on, either.
I went to my sister’s shop and asked her to use her computer to search for solutions to my problem online.
I tried to turn my laptop into a Chromebook, but I couldn’t do it.
Then I started searching for other, lightweight operating systems that I could use on my laptop.
I visited the Linux Mint website, but I couldn’t remember how I had changed my OS the first time, and now, everything seemed to be very complicated to me.
Finally, I came across Zorin, which proved to be a life-savior, as well.
Useful features of Zorin Linux OS Lite
To tell you the truth, I couldn’t believe that an operating system as user-friendly and lightweight as Zorin Linux OS Lite existed, let alone for free.
In spite of its minimal layout and user interface, Zorin Linux does its job more efficiently than many other operating systems.
For example, there are versions and distributions of Linux-based operating systems that come with installation instructions that an average laptop user would find hard to follow.
This is not the case with Zorin Linux OS Lite, and I can testify to that, based on my own experience.
The people who developed Zorin made sure that its installation is as easy as possible.
On top of that, they made things easier for non-developer users by making the software updating process really smooth.
At least, this has been my personal experience with Zorin so far, and I hope that things will stay like that in the future, without any nasty surprises in store.
Just like Linux Mint, it has LibreOffice pre-installed, and I would dare to say, with a better user environment.
It’s definitely worth giving Zorin a try.
If you don’t want to permanently install it on your system, you can install and run it alongside your current operating system.
Sometimes, it is a matter of personal taste and choice, and some PC and laptop users may not like the simplicity of Zorin Linux OS Lite that much.
In this case, Zorin offers other options that can meet the needs of more demanding users.
For me, however, it can more than meet my needs as a laptop user.
This article was originally published by me on Vocal.Media.
You can read it here.
Linux can also be run from a (usb) thumb drive. You just have to play with some settings to get the boot reader to check for it before loading your machines main os.
Yes, you are right.
I use Zorin from a 16GB USB on another, older, laptop.
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Hi, and sorry for that.
I copied and pasted my own content on "My blog" that I have already published elsewhere myself. I am the copyright holder of this content myself.
Can I do that on Ecency?
If not, please give me some time to edit/delete the posts, due to low RCs.
I usually add about 2-3 video links to a 300-600 word article.
Shareable/embeddable video links are encouraged by YouTube itself.
The way I use them, they add to the discussion.
I usually do that, when I can't find any relevant Creative Commons images that I can use.
If you have had to reinstall an operating system multiple times, there may be hardware issues with that laptop. Maybe the hard drive/SSD?
Also, 2 GB is a very low amount of RAM. Even if you get a lightweight Linux OS running relatively smoothly, web browsing will be very difficult because modern web browsers are real memory hogs. That laptop should be upgradeable to 8 GB. You should be able to do that very cheaply and it would be well worth it.
If you can find a low cost SSD, that would be a huge upgrade in terms of speed as well (if that laptop doesn't already have an SSD anyway). It sounds like the existing hard drive may have issues anyway given that you have had to reinstall an OS multiple times.