Okay I want to boot Linux from a disc. What would be the best distro to use? I'm looking at Knoppix and PHLAK now. Also, if I like Linux enough, will there be a way to dual-boot or boot from a disc with XP or ME/9x so I can still play games (Final Fantasy XI). And, if I do dual boot, will it take up a lot of space?

Thanks,
Sam

Welcome to LQ As to your questions:

Q. Okay I want to boot Linux from a disc. What would be the best distro to use?

Knoppix, Ubuntu, any live cd distro would be fine

Q. Also, if I like Linux enough, will there be a way to dual-boot or boot from a disc with XP or ME/9x so I can still play games?

do a search of LQ, there are many many dual boot threads (and some Tutorials, too) - short answer is yes

Q. if I do dual boot, will it take up a lot of space?

when you decide on a distro, check with their homepage to see the system requirements - some need a few hundred megabytes, some need several gigabytes. It's hard to answer, but you shouldn't need more than, say, 6GB

Good luck with this.

^^ Thanks, Knoppix is at 37% on BitTorrent right now. My brother mentioned something about having risks for data loss and altogether messing up my computer if I dual boot or disc boot. Is this true?

Although I have never experienced it and have a dual boot up and running, yes, it is possible to have data loss, so be sure to backup your data before continuing.

There is practically no chance of data lose if you put linux on a separate hard drive and just use grub or lilo to boot into windows or linux. In fact, this is the easiest dual boot to set up.

If you try to partition the free space on the single drive to make romm for linux, there is a risk--so make sure you back up what you don't want to live without.

I agree with optimistic, but a second harddrive costs money

If you ever decide to resize your windows partition, bootitng trial is free and is capable of resizing ntfs without data loss. http://www.terabyteunlimited.com .

Thank you everyone, it's so nice to see a forum where everyone is proffessional and helpful. I will be burning Knoppix and PHLAK to an image tonight and booting off a disc tonight to see how I like it. ^_^

Yes, HDDs cost money, however I just saw an 80GB HDD for $29 - of course after all the rebates from Bestbuy, talk about cheap. try searching on www.google.com or www.newegg.com or www.pricewatch.com - these are some of the places that I go to search for hardware. You may even try to get a used HDD from a surplus store.
I agree with Optimistic, dual boot with a second HDD. There is less of a chance of destroying data or corrupting it on the windoze drive. plus you can boot from a floppy and not worry about modifing the MBR.