Can't get Steam (to load and run games) to work on Windows 7

first thing that comes to my mind is Virtualization, something like Virtual Machines... but really really dunno what i'm saying. be very ware :P

I'd wager it's not Steam client's fault but publishers who add a piece of code to their games making them unplayable on Windows 7. In your situation I'd look for a Linux version to play those games. Maybe it's even possible to use SteamOS which is Linux based.

Try reading here
Dont know if it will help.

It's probably not Steam, but the particular game that isn't supporting Windows 7.

What game is it? I know that many of Paradox's games no longer run natively on Windows 7 without some tinkering.

I'm still running W7 on my desktop PC, mostly because I keep procrastinating the switch to W10, and both Steam and any game that supports W7 are still running just fine.
When it comes to game that ask for W10 in the requirements tho it's a different story. Basically most things will run, although some might need some tinkering or have bugs/issues, but there's also games that quite simply won't even start. For example despite trying multiple things I wasn't able to get Forza Horizon 4 to start, it always throws an error message.