OK ... So, here is one simple solution to your ailments.

1. Dump microsoft.

but before you do: obtain a USB drive of say 8 Gigs. Go over to Linux Mint LMDE and download the ISO into your download folder.

Go over tot Rufus.io and download the package and install it on your windowsbox. You will need this to create a bootable USB.

Plug in the USB. Fireup Rufus, select the ISO in your download folder, and hit ok. Then create the live USB.

Once done, power off your machine. After that, power it on, but .... hit F12 or F2 into bios and change boot sequence to your USB drive.

Allow to run, and voila, now you have a working live CD. And you can choose to install it, after you have saved your data.

Extra points: full disk encryption.

Of course, you can even liven things up with KDE Desktop. It is really very beautiful. . However, it is also resource intensive. So if you want something lean and mean, go for fluxbox. There is a ton of niceties you can use, like conky's. (I can recommend (automatik)

2. IF, and only if you really must (I was confronted with those windoooooooozzzzz demands from employers, but I simply said: sorry, no can do, as it does not conform to my security settings and threat-model-alleviation-process. However, I would be happy to help you straighten it out. Here's my proposal .... ), you could run windows & its programs in a virtlib instance without internet access. I would not recommend it. But yeah ... situations always are different.

At any rate, you would then have a clean slate for engaging here and everywhere else. And you can leave windows to the moment you absolutely need it.

There are those who would recommend to do a duo install. But no, don't need to. You want windows in a cage.

Now here are a few recommendations:

1. Browser: use Librewolf.
2. Office: Libreoffice is fine. If you need something with projoects: librepojects is there for you.
3. If you want to losen up your creative side: go for GIMP and inskape/ scribus.
4. Get yourself at least a VPN like Mullvad.
5. If you want to go a bit more exploring: go Lokinet and/ Tor/ i2P.

So far, I have installed Linux on quite a number of laptops and computers, and I have not found any problem due to missing drivers, etc. Though, if there is a problem, set yourself for a steep learning curve.

Freedom, baby!