So which one is the simplest, most practical version for an ancient Windows 7 machine?
[So which one is the simplest, most practical version for an ancient Windows 7 machine?]
https://www.amazon.com/Acronis-True-Image-2021-Computer/dp/B08KFRY61F
And purchase an SSD roughly the size of your existing hard drive. Do yourself a favor and keep the original drive as a backup.
I highly recommend Zorin. It is very much like Windows 7.