Help? 2017 iMac Intel running Ventura 13.7 - won't open photos, won't read ext HD, freezes.

Updated my 2017 iMac to Ventura. 10+ years of photos won't open ( either on the device or on ex HD). Won't read or recognize external hard drives. Wacom tablet needs to be reinstalled every time I use it. Adobe doesn't work properly and freezes. (I need a more recent update to use Adobe products properly, and even using the available old apps causes issues.) To get the computer to read external hard drives, I need to restart the computer with the hard drive plugged in. I can usually grab a document or two before the computer freezes. I've uninstalled most products that have added AI (except Adobe for now) because AI causes my computer to freeze.

Memory isn't an issue. I store most of my work on the now unreadable external hard drives. Can't use Cloud because it corrupts some files -- not a new issue.

More recent updates are not available for my device.

Are there any fixes for these huge issues?

I've been using Macs since my Quadra 610 and had an amazing custom-built G4 for twelve years, and this disaster has convinced me to jump ship.

Thank you for any advice.