🐧 Should I put Linux on my old laptop?

I have a 5 year old laptop lying in a drawer for almost a year. It still works but it's painfully slow. Windows takes ages to start, and opening a browser with 2 tabs feels like a test of patience. I only try it for something quick, like checking a mail, and then I give up and use my phone. Last week a colleague said I should install a light version of Linux instead of throwing it away. He says old machines run much better on it, because there's less junk running in the background. I've never used Linux. All I know is Windows, plus a Mac at work that I never set up myself. The idea scares me a bit, but people online say some versions are easy for beginners. Most videos I watched keep pointing at 1 or 2 light versions made for old computers like mine. My worry is the software. I open a few kinds of document files for work and use 2 or 3 apps. I don't know if they exist on Linux, or if they'd work differently enough to drive me crazy. The laptop isn't worth much, so I won't lose money if it goes wrong. Only some weekend time. It's also the only spare computer we have at home, if my main one ever breaks. So has anyone done this on an old laptop? Did it feel usable again, or did you give up? I'd like to hear about the first week most, because that's where I think I'd get stuck. If you can name the version you picked, that would help me a lot. I'll try it on a USB stick first before I wipe anything.

Gave an even older laptop of mine a proper second life this exact same way about two years ago, still using it today as a dedicated writing machine since it boots almost instantly compared to how painfully slow it used to feel running Windows toward the end.

I put a light distribution on my own 5 year old laptop last year and it felt like a new machine. Browsing and documents got quick again. It took me a weekend to get used to where files live. Try it from a USB stick first like you said, because you can click around without touching Windows. Mine has stayed on Linux ever since and nobody at home has complained.

Ended up using LibreOffice instead of the document software I was originally worried about compatibility with, opens and saves in fully compatible formats without much noticeable friction for basic everyday document use. A few specialized programs simply do not have real equivalents though, so check exactly what you personally rely on daily before committing fully to the switch yourself right away.