In my case, trial and error. Did stuff, looked up things, used online resources like forums from search results, Reddit, YouTube, and more.

You may even find that the basic free to use ChatGPT of use. A lot of my basic scripts I used ChatGPT to make for example.

I've found Ubuntu and steam to just work with very little need to ever open the terminal (aside from setting up mic noise canceling w/ speakers). Most stuff that you install via terminal has its own guide. GPT / stack overflow can fill in most other gaps.

You can use Copilot to ask about the problems you face after installing Linux, it will save you time instead of using normal search engines. Good luck!

I have minimal computer expertise.

This is the source of your problem. Unless you learn more about computers and how to use them, you're guaranteed to have more problems on Linux than you've had on Windows.

The majority of the Windows gripes this community complains about are unlikely to ever be encountered by people with minimal expertise. Windows is fantastic as a layperson's operating system (and many Linux distros are, as well), so your problems are probably user-caused.

This might be cliche, but the For Dummy's books by Wiley were how I started learning about both Windows and Linux when I was a teenager. In fact, they were how I learned that Linux existed and sparked a curiosity in IT that is culminating in my graduation with an IT degree in July.

Linus tech tips on YouTube