I downloaded and installed the Unity Hub just fine, but every time i try to download Unity itself it sends me back to the download location screen once it hits ~20%. I have no clue what to do at this point, I am a complete beginner to all of this.
If you can’t get it installed using the Hub, you can download the installer from the download archive site. After you install, you can just add it to the Hub.
But I’d check for obvious issues first, like verifying you have sufficient disk space. (you need space to install, but also space for files to be temporarily downloaded and unpacked in your temp folder, which is usually on your system drive even if you are installing to a different drive)
Can you install Unity on an Acer Aspire 5 laptop?
Looks like there are lots of models with a wide variety of specs. No idea which one you’d have.
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/models/laptops/aspire5
But from a quick look over, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t install Unity. Though the performance will vary from terrible on the low end models, to mediocre on the high end ones. It depends a lot on the scope of your intended project though.