So the best way to get started is to flash a USB stick with Linux, and then boot to it from your Windows machine. Leaves your windows untouched and safe, and lets you use/learn Linux as well (with a bit of a modest performance tradeoff as you're running the OS from USB).

Here's one guide (there are many out there):

https://www.linuxfordevices.com/tutorials/linux/install-full-linux-os-usb

I prefer Linux Mint for this kind of thing--it's closest to Windows in look and feel...

(And you may have to look up the proper keys to boot from USB for your particular computer and BIOS - it's usually F12)