I did it in that way: I installed a second hard drive in my laptop and installed Mint in there. Happy dual boot. But I must say that I knowingly did buy a laptop with an option for a second drive.

This is the way.

I suggest you to check out Linux Mint Cinnamon edition. I have been using it for years without any problems. I also have dual boot with Windows, but I think I will delete Windows soon and use only Linux.