This is it, spuds—the last full day of extended support for Firefox v.115 and, thus, the last day we can safely connect our Windows 7 computers to the internet. Some of us have to maintain Windows 7 for whatever reason (for me, it's my job as a composer and graphic artist), whilst others are simply overwriting it with Linux Mint; whichever of these you choose, I have a few last-minute recommendations to make.
First, if you intend to remain on Windows 7 and either use live-session or dual-boot Linux, track down scene releases of all the games you play. Whether you have the space to have them all installed at the same time or not, get installers anyway, because you're entitled to them. You did buy them after all. While I hope you did this after Valve announced EOL for Windows 7 last year, don't be swayed by EA Desktop continuing their support. A, it's only a matter of time before they pull the plug, too; and B, Windows 7 is in no position to connect to offsite servers anymore, not even for software launchers that don't involve the greater whole of the internet. If you need assistance finding scene releases of your games, you can probably find that information on Reddit.
Next, download an optical disc copier that can defeat copy protection (AnyBurn comes to mind) and use it to make disc ISOs out of all your disc-based software. Again, I hope you've already done this as a matter of routine computer maintenance, but if you haven't, now's the time.
If you haven't already created a Linux Mint boot drive, this is your absolute last opportunity to download Mint and Rufus and get that done. Even if you don't have a large enough flashdrive at the moment, get those programs anyway and leave them in your Downloads folder until you do. Also, use SingleFile to download a copy of the wikiHow article on how to use Rufus and the installation guide on the Linux Mint documentation. All the relevant links are on my page on the subject.
If your plan is to replace Windows 7 with Linux Mint, make sure that 1 of these 2 things is true: A, there's a dedicated Linux version of the software you want to use; or B, the Windows EXE can be run in Wine. It's really going to sting if you get locked out of important programs because they don't play well with Linux. If it's a program that uses plugins, like a digital audio workstation or software development kit, you might want to consider dual-boot instead of full replacement. This is because some or even all of the plugins might have been written specifically for Windows, presenting potentially dozens of vectors for failure and hours spent on forums trying to find someone familiar with your particular use-case.
Maybe it's just my nature as a datahoarder, finding the idea of deleting files distasteful to the point of owning a ballooning amount of removeable storage media, but I would recommend dual-boot instead of replacement, just as a matter of course. If this means you need to buy a new ATA hard drive, so be it. But, I guess I've sort of fossilised around Windows 7. I'm so accustomed to using it that I can't imagine ever being without it. Sure, uninstalling Firefox is going to sting a bit, but I already have a Windows 10 computer that I installed Mint onto, so I don't actually need to replace Win7 for any reason short of catastrophic hardware failure.