You should be able to, just be careful about your partitions. You can probably setup the partition in windows or using gparted or a other tool suggested. In the past, people have complained windows overwriting linux partitions, though it may have changed.
Alternatively, have you considered trying linux on a live cd on a usb thumbdrive? It won’t be as fast as a ssd, but is pretty useable. When I was first trying linux I booted off of a usb because my sata connector was broken.
I’d say linux mint is the closest to xp, tho steam OS’s desktop is pretty close to windows 7.
If you are on windows 10, you could try wsl to dip your toe.
Cli can be a bit overwhelming, but with the rise of AI such as chatgpt or open assistant, you can ask a chatbot the cli for doing X.
I remember when I started out on linux, I’d have to copy paste cli errors and crawl the web to find solutions.
If you need help, you can always start a thread or post your issue to this thread
If people can help, they will reply. For individual threads, it’s good ettiquite to show what solutions/commands you have tried or your thought process, as people are be more willing to help.
