Just follow the handy dandy Microsoft guide to installing Linux https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/linux/install

But seriously. Yes, it’s true that installing a new OS is a level of effort the average person is unlikely to want to put in. But they’re going to have to start because I believe the situation this Windows monopoly is causing is far worse than it appears on the surface.

It’s estimated that around half of PCs in the world won’t be able to run Windows 11 https://www.computerworld.com/article/3657628/more-than-half-of-pcs-cant-upgrade-to-windows-11-report.html

Sure, a good chunk of those machines probably can’t even run Windows 10. They’ll still be on earlier versions of Windows, even going back as far as XP in some cases.

Because of the “latest Windows” benchmark PCs depreciate only slightly slower than bananas. Part of the reason I got into Linux as a young and poor nerd was because it could run on much older and significantly cheaper hardware. But most people and organisations aren’t going to bother trying to resell their computers for the measly sum they’d get when they bite the bullet and upgrade, adding millions of still perfectly usable machines to the ever building toxic soup of e-waste and using more resources than necessary when creating new Windows compatible devices.

On top of that those who are unable or unwilling to upgrade end up with an OS full of more holes than swiss cheese that diminishes cyber security for everyone.

At this point, not switching to Linux (which is really the only viable Windows alternative) and getting the longest lifespan possible out of your hardware in a safe way is frankly irresponsible.