Linux

Even with windows 10 support ending, critical bug fixes usually still go through to users.

Just because there’s “no support” doesn’t mean it will stop working. It may eventually have some security vulnerabilities. If you’re a normal user using purchased commercial software you probably have a good 3-5 years before you’d start to notice anything.

I'm savvy enough where I can adult Lego a PC together but struggle when it comes to software and troubleshooting and really don't have the time for that stuff.

Then Linux is not for you; it is nothing but troubleshooting.
If you have to use Windows, get the LTSC IOT edition. It's official and it has none of the crap people complain about in 11 (copilot, onedrive, recall, etc.). I've had no problems gaming on it, either.

Ableton and Cakewalk only work with Windows. Unless you have two PCs (one normal PC with Linux, and one workstation for audio-only, without access to the internet with Win10), then it's best to get a Win11 PC/solution.

I think you could still use that music software on Windows 10. I'm not sure when they'll cut off support for outdated operating systems but I don't think many would jump ahead of Microsoft. Windows 10 being unsupported doesn't mean that much if the software you use is trusted and you have a disaster recovery plan.

It's important to have a solid backup policy in place for any data you don't want to lose. Regardless of whether you're on Windows 11 or Windows XP. If you want to keep using Windows 10, you can. Just gotta only install trusted software and use a browser that is getting security updates for Windows 10 (so not Edge, don't know which others will be fine). You can watch porn on it too, porn sites are only as dangerous as your browser is insecure.

Now, the question of gaming. Dual-booting into Bazzite should meet your needs (I've never used it) but the question is how to keep it away from Windows 10. I live booted into a system with Windows 11 installed and could easily view and modify all the contents. Any malware that gets through Steam's and Linux's protections could easily install ransomware and cookie-stealers on Windows 11. This is true just as much for running the games natively on Windows 11.

Seperate devices would solve the issue, but that'd be a waste. Security in computing really needs SO much work. There are so many levels to this. If your security posture is relaxed enough you can just hope no malware gets through Steam's checks and onto Bazzite, or into any of Bazzite's dependencies. With meltdown and spectre I'm failing to imagine how I could keep Windows 10 or 11 safe from malware from gaming beyond Steam's protections.

TLDR: Stick to Windows 10, install trusted software only and keep backups, dual-boot Bazzite for games, hope Steam catches any game malware I guess.

Ima say something controversial but, a stripped down Win 11 is perfectly fine. I’ve been using various Linux distros now for a good while and there’s still something just not quite right for non-enthusiasts.

So the simplest way to score a light 11 is making an ISOQ with the official tool, or rufus. Then use the unattended script to rip out everything pre/during install.

The next level up is using something like AtlasOS playbook with WindowsAME tool to rip everything out post-install.

Or you can completely customise your own ISO with (I presume it exists still, nlite or similar).

Or start with the LTSC/IoT offerings.

I really hope Microsoft release their Xbox variant for general install and not just handhelds.

Whatever you do, don't switch to the react start menu OS.

Stay on win10 with an ltsc version, or don't. Get a second SSD or your crotch goblins mom's laptop that you install Fedora, LMDE or another "easy" distro on to experiment with. Either way, you are not in a rush. Win10 support ending is not as imminent.

Honestly, at 1.5 months it's hard. Really hard. But once you get the pattern down and sleep schedule starts stabilizing, say 4-6 months in, it may be your most productive time when you know the kid is asleep for the next few hours.

This is how I've learned to solder and build mechanical keyboards during the first kid hitting that age# and ditched ms shit for Linux during the second. There's always other challenges, but not having to deal with a user hostile OS reduces stress tremendously.

just buy an extra ssd (i'd recommend 200 gigs at least, but if you're gaming, obvs more space is needed), and install linux mint or pop os on it. imo pop is easier, but mint is more windows-like
set your bios to boot from the new ssd, and make sure you install everything on the same drive
and just keep the windows install, so if you need it or linux is too hard, you can go back easily
i think you have physical space for several more sata drives, so if you need even more space you can get a larger regular hdd, for linux stuff

fyi, while most games will happily run on linux, but you can't use the same steam library folder, i've tried lol, so take that into consideration (however other loaders, like heroic launcher and lutris can run stuff installed on a windows partition, as long as the prefix is on a linux one. technically i guess you could use drm free steam installs too, but i'm already getting into the weeds, for simplicity's sake, just use a separate drive)

you can use ntfs (windows) partitions, for example i use two for downloads, movies, music and other platform agnostic stuff

i'd be happy to help if you need it

Only get the odd releases.

No. Don't do it.

You're not experienced enough to install and maintain a Linux installation. Fuck those who says "Bite the bullet and just install Debian! It will never crash!" They won't fix it for you when it does.

You don't have anyone who's supporting you physically. They are not a phone call away. They are ten forum replies away and won't be there when you need them.

Windows 10 is no longer supported, but no one is forcing you to either uninstall or upgrade. You can keep running it if you don't care about potential security problems.

Windows 11 is bad, but not as bad as you accidentally sudo removed /etc/fstab in Debian. Between bad and unusable, ask yourself which one you want less. This is assuming you spent your whole life using Windows and less likely make major mistakes.

You can schedule your migration to Linux in the future though. Just build a second machine. You must have the money to build a second one. Don't fuck with your production build.

Running daws on linux is bad. Just go to win 11

Id recommend mint, but ableton I have no idea. If you want to bite a different bullet if you go with linux, buy bitwig instead - its very, very much like ableton in the sense that you can map pretty much any parameter to any other parameter and I have enjoyed it a lot. super modern interface as well.

the crotch goblin

you’re disgusting

Zorin linux - the closest thing to Windows you'll get. Highly recommend. Installed it on several computers for family members who just want a computer that works.

With windows 10 support coming to an end, I'm faced with a choice to either jump on the Linux train or take the safe way out and eat win11

Why do I keep seeing this fallacy everywhere?

Are you shilling for Microsoft?

Just keep using 10. Need support? There are literally millions of support posts on various sites and forums. Just google the issue.