I installed Linux a few months ago without dual booting, and now I want to go back to Windows. However, when I insert the USB drive with the Windows installation, the drive isn't recognized, and I can't switch back to Windows. Could someone help me?
You might try setting to RAID in your EFI settings.
Wipe the drive with Zorin OS first (after backing up any critical personal files).
Windows OS cannot read ext4 the way Zorin OS can read NTFS; much less if LUKS or other features were also used.
Wiping the drive (which would reset the partition table) can make the drive readable again to Windows OS.
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Welcome to the Forum!
What Tool did You use the create the Bootstick with Windows on it? And how is the USB Stick formatted?
I'm probably about to return my laptop for an audio output fix under warranty, and to save the inevitable "But it's not running Windows so it's not our problem" I'll reinstall Windows. My intended path is:
- Use my Zorin live USB to delete all partitions and format the entire drive to NTFS
- Reinstall from backup
- Factory reset Windows to its initial state
Does anyone have any thoughts on potential problems with this course of action? I'm not 100% confident that it will work, but Im guessing it will.
Are You not have a USB Stick over for creating a Bootstick with Windows on it? Then You don't need to do the Backup and Rest thing. You can directly install Windows.
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Well, after using Windows for 30 years I still can't get my head round MS's licensing policies. Since my backup image already contains whatever keys MS demands, the process should be simpler. For me, anyway,
Okay. In this Case the Way sound okay. The only Question would be if You can set up the BackUp without a Windows Install on the free Disk. When that works, I think, it should be okay to do it that Way.
There could be an Issue with the Windows Licence when the BackUp is from a different PC.
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I know better than to try to restore a backup to a different PC... 
I decided to chicken out. If a repair shop can't understand Zorin then they shouldn't be repairing PCs, no? Besides, it's a good verification of just how Windows-like Zorin is. I've just reinstalled a fresh Zorin, wiping the disk.
This doesn't help @R4ph, I know (sorry), but I'm still pretty sure that his problem would be solved by formatting the laptop disk to NTFS so that the Windows installation can recognise it.