After spending the last several years running Linux on my main computer, I finally gave up and decided to move back to Windows.  Here, I will briefly cover some of the reasons why I made this decision, and then outline many of the steps I took to make it happen.

Why Linux?

The first questions that may come up for many of my readers is, "Why were you using Linux in the first place?"

Since much of my business is online, and there have been situations where I needed to go into the web server and make changes to support various scripts, I wanted to have a Linux machine at home where I could explore without having to think about how my explorations would affect the public websites.

At first, I installed Linux on a completely separate computer.  After verifying that nothing would blow up, I took the next step and installed it onto my main computer, where both Linux and Windows were available as a "dual boot" setup.  Each time I booted up the computer, I could choose to use either Windows or Linux.

Rather quickly, I grew to appreciate some of the Linux differences, and became comfortable enough with it to use it exclusively.  When I upgraded my computer, I made it a Linux-only machine.

That was fine for quite a while.  As I encountered various glitches and incompatibilities, I took it as an opportunity to learn.  Upgrading my system every 6 months or so became a part of my regular schedule.

Why Switch Back?

Eventually, though, I realized that I was spending an inordinate amount of time fussing with my computer system, and this was taking time away from more enjoyable activities.  On many occassions, I found myself thinking, "But on Windows, this JUST WORKS."

Although I started with Fedora Linux, packaged by what many call the leaders in the Linux world, Red Hat, I had moved to Ubuntu Linux when I heard that it was more stable and better supported.  Sadly, though, it was the same old story with a new set of glitches and problems.

During this time, I had heard many good things about Windows 7.  The more glitches Linux had, the more I felt I would switch back to Windows.  After all, with all the time I was spending on fixing problems, I had never gotten around to exploring the web server aspect, which was the main reason I chose Linux in the first place.

The "last straw" was after I installed a separate sound card to record high-quality audio. In the system settings, I selected the built-in audio interface to be the default, and the new sound card to be available for special purposes.  However, not all programs respected this setting, and many times I wouldn't be able to hear the sound associated with various things, like an ecard on the Internet.

So, I decided that not only would I switch to Windows 7, but I would do it right away.

How The Switch Was Made

Step 1: Backup to a New Hard Drive

My first step was to purchase a new 2 TB hard drive.  Not only would this give me more room to keep multiple backups of everything, but it would also give me plenty of room to clear off the main hard drives I would use.

This was necessary primarily because all of my previous hard drives were formatted for Linux, and I needed to clear them off so they could be formatted for Windows.  It's a technical thing, and if you don't understand it, that's okay.  Just know that having a spare hard drive makes this process a lot easier.

After installing the new hard drive and formatting it for Windows (NTFS), I copied EVERYTHING to it.  All of my data, my previous backups, and anything else I wanted to keep.

Once this was done, the next step would be to install Windows.  But before doing so, I wanted to take every possible precaution, so I opened up the computer (after turning it off, of course) and disconnected the new hard drive with all my data.  If it's not connected, there's no way it could be erased in the install process.

Step 2: Verify Hardware Compatibility

Before starting all this, I had checked online to verify that my hardware was compatible with Windows 7.  Since I was running Linux, using the Microsoft compatibility checker  wasn't feasible, so I had to rely on information I could find online.

The main questionable part was the motherboard -- the part that includes the CPU, BIOS, and provides connections to all the hard drives, CD drives, and USB ports.  The word was, as long as I had a decent graphics card, Windows 7 would run on it.

Well, I had been using the on-board graphics, so there was a possibility that I'd need to buy a new graphics card.  I don't do a lot of graphics stuff, and this would be an expense I'd try to avoid if possible.

Step 3: Install Windows 7 (32-bit version)

Realizing that it may not work, I put the Windows 7 disc (32-bit version) into the computer, and restarted it.

In moments, I got a pretty blue screen with a dove and flowers.  Nothing else.  I sat and waited a minute or two, but still nothing else showed up.  Okay, maybe this won't work without the graphics card.  So I pressed the power button to turn everything off, and that's when I saw a box pop up on the screen.

I quickly took my finger off the power button, and responded to the form.  After clicking the button, everything seemed to freeze up again.   This time, I fired up my laptop and started searching for an answer.

It turns out that if your BIOS thinks that a floppy drive is attached to your computer, but there isn't any, Windows 7 spends a LOT of time looking for one.  After rebooting, entering the BIOS setup, and disabling the floppy drive option, the Windows 7 install process goes a lot smoother.

And for reference, I saw that it is also recommended to disconnect any unnecessary USB devices too.

The install process suggests that after you answer a few questions, you could walk away and everything would be handled for you.  This is not completely correct, because if you leave the install disc in the CD/DVD drive, you'll end up back at the beginning again rather quickly.  You still have to remove the disc from the drive when it's time to reboot the computer the first time.

Overall, the install process is rather quick.  A few minutes to copy files from the disc to the hard drive, several more to decompress them and configure your settings.

Step 4: Install Windows 7 (64-bit)

Installing the 32-bit version was merely a test, to make sure that my system could run Windows 7.  (My system is several years old, using a Core2Duo E6300 processor, which is technically not a 64-bit processor.)  If the 32-bit version wouldn't install, I knew the 64-bit version certainly wouldn't.  According to Microsoft, as long as I used 64-bit anti-virus software, and my hardware drivers were available in 64-bit versions, everything else should work.

A quick check verified that my anti-virus software of choice had a 64-bit version available, and the new sound card offered 64-bit drivers, I pushed forward and installed the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

And yes, I probably could have started with the 64-bit version, and installing the 32-bit version could be seen as wasted time.  However, installing both gave me additional information, such as the fact that my system is equally as fast with both versions.

Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised to find the 64-bit version of Windows 7 installed flawlessly.

Step 5: Install Device Drivers and Antivirus Software

Interestingly enough, after downloading the 64-bit driver for my sound card, Internet Explorer scanned it for viruses.  This was before I had installed my own antivirus software, so it was quite a surprise.

Anyways, I installed the sound card driver, which worked great, and then installed my antivirus software.  No problems with either of them.

Step 6: Make a backup of the clean system

Because the installation process up to this point takes an hour or two, I made a quick system image backup with the Windows 7 backup program.  This works great, and produces a 5.65 GB backup set which may be used to recover a clean installation if anything goes wrong in the future.  I just needed to copy the image file to another folder on my backup drive to keep it long term.

Step 7: Install Application Software

With a clean installation of Windows 7, my next step was to install the software I tend to use on a day by day basis.  Although Windows always comes with a variety of programs to do various tasks, it won't do everything.  Here's a list of the software I installed on my system:

1. A collection of fonts I've purchased
2. Firefox (web browser)
3. Thunderbird (email client with calendar/tasks add-on)
4. OpenOffice
5. NoteTab (text editor)
6. WeBuild (HTML/PHP/CSS editor)
7. FTPVoyager
8. Audacity (Audio Recording and Editing)
9. Inkscape (Vector Drawing)
10. GIMP (Photo Editing)
11. Scribus (Page Layouts)
12. Adobe Reader
13. Mind Workstation (Entrainment)
14. Neuro-Programmer 3 (Entrainment)
15. Winamp (Media player)
16. Exact Audio Copy (superb CD ripping)
17. WinFF (Media converter)
18. Dragon Naturally Speaking
19. WinRAR (Archiving)
20. ManicTime (Time Tracking)
21. Freemind (Mind Mapping)
22. Skype (VoIP)

There are others I'll install later, such as Camtasia, my Endicia postage software, AnyBook (an accounting program for publishers), and a virtualization program called VirtualBox to run Linux as a Windows application.  I'm also looking into other software, such as other HTML editors, screensavers, label makers, and CD/DVD burning software.

After installing each piece of software, I made sure to enter registration codes for any that required them.  This way, restoring a backup will restore fully registered versions.

Step 8: Fresh Backup of Complete System

After copying the previous system image backup to a new folder, I told Windows to make a new system image backup, including all the applications I had just installed.  This way, if the system ever gets unstable, I can always go back to a fresh install quickly and easily.

Benefits of Switching

Since making the switch from Linux to Windows 7, I have to say that I'm enjoying it very much.  It's a lot easier to connect to the other computers in the house over the network, I can use software which has many more features than those available on Linux (FTPVoyager and NoteTab, most notably), and it's a whole lot prettier.

And whenever there's an update for a program I use, such as OpenOffice, I don't have to wait for the next Linux release to use it, or be forced to be a software engineer and compile my own copy.  And when I connect a new device, odds are that a device driver is readily available and will self-install without a lot of tweaking of configuration files.

And having ALL my software running on a single machine is definitely nice.

Although Windows is a prime target for many viruses and spyware, running good antivirus software eliminates much of the risk.  And this is a small price to pay for the increased productivity, reliability, and flexibility provided by Windows-based software.