My recommendation would be to have Linux on the 500gb drive and then install windows directly on the other drive without partitioning. I wouldn’t install Linux on a partition as Windows likes to mess with the bootloader but if Linux is on it’s own drive you can always boot it from EFI without issues.

Easy actually. I’m on arch (Hyprland) right now, so no longer EOS but it’s been refreshing. I’d recommend EOS as a base for any arch install, better than “arch installer” by a long shot. If you have dedicated storage I’d recommend using it and booting to the respective system through EFI rather than relying on software bootloader (windows likes to break it). I am running arch on a dedicated SSD and it’s been smooth so far.

I’m on windows 10, use my PC for work and gaming. The thing with windows is that it works right out of the box, all major softwares are developed for windows in mind. When shit stops working is when you start messing with stuff that isn’t your typical “start the PC -> download program -> install -> run the program -> shut off” which is what most users do. Updating the os, softwares and GPU drivers are easy tasks.

It’s when you start messing with python or softwares that aren’t too mainstream and require a bit more effort that things have the potential to break. Even then, the os itself won’t break on you unless you really try. I broke windows a few times in 15 years but it’s worth mentioning that I was manually and willingly changing registry keys and messing with a lot of other stuff. Even then most of the time I was able to fix it.

With Linux is different. If you just use the OS for basic stuff like browsing the internet and editing documents you should be fine for the most part (if you choose a user friendly and stable distro like Ubuntu or Mint). The moment you try getting to run niche softwares or something that requires you to manually open the command prompt to change things in order to accomodate what you’re trying to achieve, that’s where it gets tough for most people. That’s how Linux works, it’s the user’s fault though not the machine’s.