I've heard that people do such things (using something called Rufus?), and I have an older machine -16 GB RAM, i7-6700 3060 Ti, ASUS Z170-A motherboard-- running Windows 10 Pro-- that I want to keep ...

Partitioning your hard drive is part of the process and could affect your current data. Make sure to back up your system completely before you begin. Depending on the arrangement, you may need to ...