Def not true. The secondary drive has had 7/8 for a few years now running perfectly fine w no work arounds.
So back to the topic.. I got it!
Had to reset the bios a few times and switched to IDE and I'm good! Now my next step is learning how to get my wifi adapter setup in zorin os 9 and I'm all set.
Thank you all very much for the help. I learned a few new things and will certainly use my new knowledge from here on out. It probably wouldn't have taken so long if there was more time from work but you all did a great job.
My next project is loading windows 98 se on a dell xps 400. Shouldn't be too hard. Got a free system from a co worker yesterday and it'll be my nostalgia machine. Thanks again everyone! It's been fun!
Heaven7 I got a 12 pack with your name on it lmao!