I have 4 older laptops that are either WinXP or Win7. I’ve made all dual boot with Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop. Mint is very easy to install and, for older machines, the Mint 13 version is generally compatible. The current version is 16.
I haven’t used Mint. But heck but it is except for the time to set it up and test it. Plus, Linux is indeed more secure.
My laptop would be collecting dust right now or be recycled. I have replaced the battery and keyboard. Pretty cheap to maintain since it is an old laptop.
I still keeps on chugging along. Using it right now.