https://github.com/tuxera/ntfs-3g/wiki/Manual
... as an Administrator the [Microsoft] Windows command which disables both hibernation and fast restarting :
powercfg /h off

If your MS system uses Bitlocker, you may want to verify that you can access the drive(s) using Linux...
https://www.system-rescue.org/Detailed-packages-list/
dislocker 0.7.3-2
gparted 1.3.1-1
gptfdisk 1.0.8-1

https://superuser.com/questions/376533/how-to-access-a-bitlocker-encrypted-drive-in-linux

re: backing up partition tables...
https://www.partimage.org/manual/Backing-up-the-partition-table/
http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/mbr2gpt.html

When presented with a new system, before running for the first time I back up the partition tables and disk, using above method and using clonezilla (https://clonezilla.org/).
https://clonezilla.org/screenshots/?in_path=/00_Clonezilla

I then make a second backup using the proprietary built-in backup.
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/1838/using-backup-and-restore-in-windows-7/
https://www.howtogeek.com/356063/how-to-fully-restore-macos-from-a-time-machine-backup-in-recovery-mode/

If using MS, you may want to grab the latest ISO images...
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

https://github.com/WoeUSB/WoeUSB
"A MS Windows USB installation media preparer for GNU+Linux"


I go into a little more detail at my blog
https://youcanlinux.wordpress.com/2022/03/05/backup/

regards,
Daniel Villarreal

On Fri, Mar 4, 2022 at 4:27 PM D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
... If you want to install Linux beside Windows, [free] some disk space.  ([and/or]... add another disk.) ...
I use gparted ... to shrink a Windows NTFS volume...
 
Here are the tricks ... 
- if Windows is using bitlocker, you need to turn that off in Windows.
....
- ... Windows ... leave[s] the filesystem in an inconsistent state when it shuts down.... 
  ... Windows' Control Panel ...  Power Settings, and untick "turn on fast startup ...
 
- (old advice; may be obsolete...
  After resizing ... , reboot to [MS].  Don't do anything else with the disk in Linux first...
 After booting [MS], you can reboot to a Linux install medium safely.