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Why can't I run freshly-installed Python from the command line on Windows?

I tried installing Python on an old computer running Windows 8[^1]. I know for a fact that there was never any previous installation of Python on the machine. The installation appeared to be successful, but I can't run Python from the command line - I get the standard error `'python' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.`.

On Windows 10, I get a stranger result: `python` by itself opens the Windows Store, while more complex commands report:

```none
Python was not found; run without arguments to install from the Microsoft Store, or disable this shortcut from Settings > Manage App Execution Aliases.
```

or

```none
Python was not found but can be installed from the Microsoft Store: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?linkID=2082640
```

What's going on? I already installed Python from the official python.org distribution. I don't want to install it again from the Microsoft Store. I just want to run `python`. The `go.microsoft.com` link doesn't seem to be valid any more, either.

[^1]: This is a contrivance to simplify the question. At the time of writing, [current versions of Python (up to and including 3.12) are supported on Windows 8.1 and newer, but Windows 7 would only support up to Python 3.8](https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html) which is about to become unsupported.