From Windows 7 to Linux - Part 1

I've decided to give linux another shot. Windows 7 is solid, but I like the principles behind FOSS and similar ideas and want to support them.

There are pros and cons inherent in this decision. The pros are that there is a vast pool of free software to make use of, a modern high performance operating system and a large user base that is willing to share and help out when you encounter problems (for the most part). The cons take some swallowing.

I will not be able to view netflix movies online. I will not be able to play a large number of my games, and I can no longer make use of iTunes to purchase and manage my music. (Most people would not consider that to be a con). I also generate my tax documents with software that will not run on linux. I'll worry about that next April. Other cons include shaky graphics drivers and a willingness to get under the hood from time to time to make modifications to the OS. No problem, I like doing that.

The first step to moving to linux, which I have already begun, is to preserve my music and movies in such a way that I might continue to enjoy them. To do this I need to back my DRM-laden media up to non-DRM media. I am doing this with legally purchased software, and while I might be walking a thin line of legality, my thinking is that this is my music, my TV shows that I purchased and I'll be damned if someone is going to say "no you can't watch them anymore" because of the operating system I have chosen to use.

Once this process is completed I can begin copying files I wish to keep from one disk to another (backups of a sort) so that I can wipe at least two of my 3 disks for the purpose of creating my system and user disks in linux. After that, another copy so I can reformat (and alter my mount table) my third drive for my work files.

I have several shared drives that are formatted in FAT32... they can stay that way for now. Linux does fine with FAT32.

After that is all the tweaking and configuring that will need to happen so that I can work effectively and also play some of my games on Steam.

So to summarize:

1. back up important data and media (in progress)
2. initial install
3. restore data
4. tweak install
5. restore some semblance of a gaming environment

Once step three is complete, I'll post more about steps 1-3.