Do you guys think there is a safe way to dual boot Linux on a pre-installed Windows 10 Dell Inspiron desktop? I don't want to fully replace it, because I'm not sure yet if I can live without my Windows games

What's stopping you? You can just download your Linux installer and install from scratch.

The SMART way is to use the Microsoft storage tools in Win10 to reduce your disk partition first.

I have had luck using the Linux tools only with earlier Windows versions (XP and Vista), but that is not well tested against Win10. People started recommending using the Windows tools before Win8.1 came out.

Aside from that, installing dual boot Linux with Win10 is just the same as installing dual boot Linux with any other Windows version.

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Since almost any windows 10 which is pre-installed will be booting UEFI, I would suggest that you first determine if that is the case with your machine and also read the link below, at least through the 'General Principle' section. That part is general information while the rest of it applies specifically to Ubuntu. It would be useful if you indicated which Linux distribution you plan to use when you make a post as there are over 500.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

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I'd live with a free virtual machine till I decided to swap it out.

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I'm assuming you mean with both Win 10 and Linux both on the internal drive. It should be safely doable. If you're hesitant, you could always to a full installation of your favorite distro to a USB flash drive and boot from the flash drive. That's how I'm currently boot Ubuntu-Mate on my HP Stream-11, which has Win 10 on its internal 32GB SSD. I'm using a low-profile 64 GB flash drive, so I don't have a massive protrusion from the side of the laptop.

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If you just want to try it out, you can load Linux in a VM (or live CD...)

I just put the Linux DVD in, rebooted, and let the installer walk me through repartitioning and such. After that, it boots to Windows 10 or Linux just fine, and everything in Windows works just the way it always had.

I'd recommend pre-partitioning with a bootable CD first. Back in the day, PQMagic was the way to go but now free tools with more power, more compatibility and similar user-friendliness are available for the download. I am particularly fond of Hirens Boot CD 15.2 . It is divided into 3 sections by the boot menu

1) DOS Tools
2) Windows Preinstall_Environment (XP or 7) Desktop
3) Linux Full Desktop

Most of these are extremely powerful low-level tools so be sure you know what you're doing before you commit but once you have such tools you will wonder how you ever got along without them. Another great Tools Disk is the bootable CloneZilla CD which can image partitions and whole drives, create mini and major backups both complete and incremental. By complete imaging of your Windows install, you can restore it completely including bootability so you have the best Safety Net possible - complete restoration.

Incidentally if DOS tools seem outdated then just know they are the fastest, safest way to do such things as deep hard drive diagnostics, preparation, and maintenance/repair. Data loss, for whatever reason, is ALWAYS best handled from OUTSIDE what you wish to recover. Even deleted and formatted data is recoverable with such tools, not to mention some kinds of electro-mechanical failure in which the fewer times you attempt startup, the better. Outside looking In rules in these cases.

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