Operating System

Remove Zorin OS & Install Core

A complete, permanent reference for removing Zorin OS Education from a dual-boot Windows laptop and replacing it with Zorin OS Core — no more searching through old AI conversations.

Estimated Time
15–30 minutes
Difficulty
Intermediate
Platform
Windows 10 / 11
Steps
4 Steps + Installation

Prerequisites

Make sure you have everything ready before beginning:

Dual-Boot Laptop
Windows + Zorin OS Education installed side by side
Administrator Privileges
All CMD commands must run as Administrator
USB Drive (8 GB+)
For creating the Zorin OS Core installer media
Zorin OS Core ISO
Free download from zorin.com
Balena Etcher
For flashing the ISO onto the USB drive
15–30 Minutes
Uninterrupted time to complete all steps safely
1

Delete Linux Partition

Use the Windows DiskPart utility to permanently remove the Zorin OS partition from your drive.

1.1 — Open Command Prompt as Administrator

Press Win + S, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. Confirm the UAC prompt.

1.2 — Enter DiskPart and list partitions

These are read-only listing commands — they display information only and will not modify anything. After running, look carefully at the output to identify your Linux partition.

CMD 
diskpart
list disk
select disk 1
list partition
How to identify the Linux partition

In the output, look for a partition of approximately 56 GB with no assigned drive letter and no NTFS label. It will appear as a Primary partition. Note its partition number — you will use it in the next command (replace X with it).

1.3 — Delete the Linux partition

Replace X with the actual partition number of the Linux partition you identified above.

CMD 
select partition X
delete partition override
exit
Expected Result

DiskPart displays: "DiskPart successfully deleted the selected partition." The ~56 GB space now shows as Unallocated in Windows Disk Management (Win + R → diskmgmt.msc).

2

Remove GRUB from EFI

Delete the GRUB bootloader files from the EFI System Partition to eliminate all Linux boot traces.

2.1 — Mount EFI and remove the GRUB folder

The EFI System Partition is hidden by default. These commands temporarily assign it the drive letter Z:, remove the GRUB folder, then dismount it. Run dir to verify the ubuntu folder exists before deleting.

CMD 
mountvol Z: /S
cd Z:\EFI
dir
rd /s /q Z:\EFI\ubuntu
mountvol Z: /D
What each command does
  • mountvol Z: /S — Mounts the EFI System Partition to drive letter Z:
  • cd Z:\EFI — Navigates into the EFI directory
  • dir — Lists the EFI folder contents (verify ubuntu is present)
  • rd /s /q Z:\EFI\ubuntu — Recursively and silently deletes the ubuntu folder
  • mountvol Z: /D — Dismounts the EFI partition, removing the temporary Z: drive letter
Expected Result

The ubuntu folder is gone from the EFI partition. Running dir after deletion should show only the Microsoft folder (and possibly Boot). GRUB files have been completely removed.

3

Remove Boot Entry

Delete the Ubuntu/Zorin entry from the UEFI firmware boot list using bcdedit.

3.1 — List all firmware boot entries

This command enumerates all entries registered in the UEFI firmware. Find the entry labeled Ubuntu or Zorin OS and copy its identifier.

CMD 
bcdedit /enum firmware
What to look for in the output

Find the entry with description Ubuntu or Zorin OS. Look for its identifier line — it is a long string wrapped in curly braces, for example: {a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890}. Copy that entire identifier including the curly braces.

3.2 — Delete the Ubuntu/Zorin boot entry

Replace {identifier} below with the actual identifier you copied. Keep the curly braces { } included exactly as they appear.

CMD 
bcdedit /delete {identifier}
Expected Result

bcdedit confirms: "The operation completed successfully." Running bcdedit /enum firmware again should no longer show any Ubuntu or Zorin OS entry in the list.

4

Verify Windows Boot Manager

Confirm that Windows Boot Manager is the primary bootloader, then restart.

4.1 — Set Windows Boot Manager as the active bootloader

This command explicitly points the UEFI firmware to the Windows Boot Manager EFI file. This ensures Windows loads cleanly on the next restart without GRUB intercepting.

CMD 
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} path \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi

4.2 — Restart your computer

Close all Command Prompt windows and restart. Windows should now boot directly — no GRUB menu, no Zorin OS selection screen.

Zorin OS Education Has Been Fully Removed ✓
  • Windows boots directly with no GRUB menu
  • No Zorin OS or Ubuntu entry in the UEFI boot menu
  • The former ~56 GB partition appears as Unallocated in Disk Management
  • You may optionally extend an existing Windows partition into that free space

Final Installation — Zorin OS Core

With Zorin OS Education completely removed, you can now install Zorin OS Core onto the unallocated disk space.

  1. Download Zorin OS Core

    Visit zorin.com and download the latest Zorin OS Core ISO. It is free and available for direct download without any account required.

  2. Flash the ISO to USB with Balena Etcher

    Open Balena Etcher. Select the Zorin OS Core ISO file, select your USB drive, then click Flash! The process takes approximately 5–10 minutes. Balena Etcher will also verify the flash automatically.

  3. Boot from the USB Drive

    Insert the USB drive, restart your computer, and press the boot menu key (typically F12, F2, Esc, or Del — check your laptop's manual). Select the USB drive from the boot menu.

  4. Install Zorin OS Core

    Follow the Zorin OS installer. When prompted for installation type, choose "Install alongside Windows" or "Something else" to manually assign the ~56 GB of unallocated space created in Step 1. Complete the installation normally.

Note about GRUB

Installing Zorin OS Core will reinstall GRUB as the dual-boot bootloader. This time GRUB will correctly show both Windows and Zorin OS Core. This is normal and expected behavior for a clean dual-boot setup.

Final Checklist

Use this interactive checklist to track your progress through the guide. Your selections are saved automatically in your browser.