Question Dual-booting Windows 7 and Linux Mint: what do I need to know ?

[The Worker]

I've watched a few videos about dual-booting, and it is an ideal situation for my new PC. Before I commit to this, however, I am wondering if there is anything that could go wrong, is there anything I need to know. I want to continue using my old Windows software, such as Photoshop CS2 and Corel Painter, on Windows 7, and use Blender, Inkscape, etc., on Linux Mint. Thanks for any advice.

 

[TerryLaze]

New hardware doesn't support windows 7 anymore so you might have trouble installing it if drivers aren't available, and you will get messages about unsupported hardware in windows after the install, you can look on google about how to get rid of them.

 

[mmp09]

As already stated by @TerryLaze , newer HW does not support Windows 7. if you have newer Intel/AMD CPU & Mobo, then making Windows 7 run on it is a big challenge.

However I make some general comments here.

If your PC is new I assume your HDD/SSD is blank, then if there are any soft issues during install, you have no risk of data loss. You can wipe clean and try again. That's important consideration while going ahead with Windows + Linux Dual Boot. Wrong partition selection, wrong bootloader location selection, differences between legacy & UEFI boot and choice etc may cause issues.
If HDD has partitions and data on it, consider backups just in case. Otherwise first install Windows 10, then install VMware Player for Windows on it which is free for non commercial use. Rehearse the process in VM and then take it to real hardware. That's how I personally learnt dual boot Windows + Linux

 

[CountMike]

Do yourself a huge favor and have Windows and Linux on separate disks. Linux will run just fine on even cheapest SSD. If you start mixing on same disk you have to know Linux quite well.
If you are new to Linux and just starting try it first as a Live with persistence on a USB.