

I started with a Raspberry Pi connected to an external hard drive. As my collection grew I built a server. It has NAS rated drives in RAID with a low end CPU and modest GPU. Now I have a large collection and everything is transcoded on the fly.
I also use the server to host Immich. So I no longer need to use Google photos or drive.







Yes you can. However, if you are not familiar with systems administration then you will experience much more difficulty than just using the USB method.
Whatever you do, backup all of your important files and data from Windows before you attempt anything. To be extra safe create a Windows recovery USB.
After you have backed up important things then just read as much as you can regarding your OS of choice, like MX, and then try it. Having a second source of internet for any problems that may arise is recommended, like a smartphone.
And then try it. My first foray into Linux dealt me about a week of struggles before I got ot working. That was 20 years ago and thing have gotten better since then.
You will struggle at first. You may even fail a few times, but the feeling of accomplishment and the freedom of having an OS that allows you to do what you want and not what a corporation deems profitable is priceless. You will enjoy that feeling.