I want to make the switch but I want to test run first before fully committing. My PC has an M.2 SSD. I was thinking I could buy another one, swap them out and put Linux on that. In an emergency, I can swap the SSD back. Does this seem like a viable/sensible path toward Linux? I don’t really have too many files on my PC that I care about. I don’t want to dual boot. I did that on a laptop back in the day and it was annoying.
Testing a normal Linux installation sounds like a good idea. In my opinion it’s better to transition to Linux than switch. That way you can go back to your previous system setup and see what you are missing or need without having to open your computer and swap hardware. If you can add the old or new SSD as an external drive and so that you can can boot then your plan might work out.