Linux

Normally I don't suggest distro-hopping for newbies but sometimes it's a good idea to try a couple distro before settling in. Since there are tons of different hardware, some distros offer a better out of the box solution for some hardware.

Try openSUSE Leap for instance. ~~Also someone suggested trying KDE Plasma on Mint, so try that first. It might alone solve your problems.~~

By the way, if your need for Windows can be covered on a virtual machine, go that way instead of dual boot. Windows really can mess with your bootloader.

tl;dr:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprinting_(psychology)#Baby_duck_syndrome

i had a similarly confusing and frustrating experience when trying Ubuntu on a netbook many years ago. It has come a long way since then but sometimes you can get a bunch of annoying issues all at once.

It could just be bad luck with the hardware you have (no one really ever cares about the bluetooth adapter in their system until it causes issues) or Mint being behind the bleeding edge.

You might find Fedora KDE to be more compatible with your setup, or you can leave it a bit longer and check back later. No harm in patience!

Wasn't a fan of mint when I tried it. IMO, I found popOS to be an overall better experience when I first started using Linux and have since switched back to it after having a few issues on Fedora.

You might give that a shot especially if you are using nivida. PopOS hasn't given me much grief (aside from Gnome but that's more a personal distaste for it)

Even after being on Linux for a year and considering myself a fairly capable guy in tech, Linux is kind of a pain in the ass if you're doing more complicated things like in my case music production.

But it sounds like you've had an even worse go doing normal things which sucks. I feel for you man. I hope your next go is better.

It took me a few tries and Windows being a privacy nightmare to switch. It can be done but it wasn't (and still isnt) easy.

Thanks so much seriously. This is great