fun tip, if you have a samba share and your devices are in the same network, use a file manager that can connect to local network (like explorer by speed software), and transfer your files wirelessly. it seems to be equally fast too, i haven’t used a cable for ages except for killing updaters and bloatware with adb.
yes partitioning is the correct term, and windows already has a tool for managing disks. you should find it as disk management or something similar. then as you install linux, it should give you the option to install alongside windows. but for this to work you need the usb drive to be flashed correctly as gpt or mbr depending on which one your windows has (type “list disk” in cmd and see if theres * under gpt), and rufus lets you choose this for your distro, so pick the same one. i have heard windows updates may wipe the bootloader, but you should be able to just install it back if that happens. i never update as i only use windows for my school stuff anyway. linux will not wipe windows unless you choose to do so in the installer.
i often play gta online with two friends who use windows. they have crashes, sounds disappearing, issues joining sessions and they keep falling through ground. on mint my only problem is no cursor in social club. my framerate is not great though, 80 - 100 vs on windows it stays above 120. except for the random massive lag spikes.
3060ti here, and two critical issues. #1: parts of the UI like taskbar, title bars of random windows and entire windows behind those become unresponsive or black after about 1 hour of use, needs a reboot. #2: suspend pc -> monitor (oled tv) goes to sleep -> no signal when i resume. needs forced reboot. same thing if it automatically suspends. happens on both, official and kde versions, and no amount of googling has helped. i suspect something may be wrong with my card, because even windows had intermittent issues when resuming from sleep, and tons of crashes on nearly all games. curiously though, mint has none of these issues?!
i value my time so much i could never accept a job from 120 km away, or really anything over 20 km or 20 mins by car. and biking in the rain ain’t that bad, you can get all kinds of waterproof clothing. personally i find it easier to just get wet and let it dry off in school or work. it’s a horrible thought but you get used to it pretty easily, though i wouldn’t do that if i had to commute for longer than 15 mins.
i live in finland, we have bike lanes everywhere. it’s often shorter and faster to use an e-bike if you own one, especially during rush hour. but the new problem is that dumb people have bikes too! i get even angrier on a bike than behind a wheel.