reliable? Windows is the only operating system you have to constantly reinstall because it gets slower after a few months. To the point people think it's totally normal to do that!
Back then the other options for home computers are just too technical for normies. I tried to install Linux back in early 2000 and I couldn't even get through the install process. Skill issue for sure, but if I couldn't do it back then I'm sure none of my class mates could.
My WSL instances end up getting overwritten when I reinstall Windows so I thought that was just a general OS thing...
Every bare-metal Linux system I have in my home is upgraded in-place. My oldest is roughly twenty years old. My newest is around four years old.