I'm trying to run my computer with Windows XP Professional. Currently, it crashes more than a bumper car does. My question is...would it be possible to make a dual boot (until I'm confident enough with linux to wipe Windows off my system) PC without getting a 2nd HD or partitioning? I'm currently running:

AMD Athlon X2 3800+ dual core (with hypertransport)
1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory RAM
250 SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM HD
NVIDIA Geforce 7300 LE 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS video card
Intel Pro Gigabite 10/100/1000 Network Card
Creative Labs SB AUDIGY 4 SE sound card

I would like the system to play games when I'm done the conversion. I'm a total newb to Linux and have only read up on Fedora Core Linux. I'm open to other distros and any relevant info (books, forums, tutorials, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.

A lot depends on the current disk and how it is partitioned. If there is say 10 gig of space that is not allocated to windoze, then you could install to that. Note, you are probably using NTFS file system on windoze. Linux can read it, but not recommended to write to it.

I would strongly urge you to download a live CD of linux before you venture into installing a dual boot system.

This will help with several items, 1. hardware compatibility - this will show you clearly what works out of the box and what items you may own that need some research, and drivers etc.

2. Hands on, it will allow you to try some applications, and give you an ides what software is available. ( there are thousands of programs for most distros. )

Your disk is more than large enough, but I would guess you have one big C drive. If this is the case, you really have two choices, add a drive, ( not all that difficult ), or shrink the windoze partition, add a partition(s) for linux.

As for which distro, for a live one try Knoppix, it has very good hardware detection, and has a lot of software available on one CD. It won't mess with your hard drive, unless you do a 'mount'. Knoppix will by default mount read only.

For an installable distro, there are several good choices, Kubuntu, Mandriva, Fedora are all good for your first adventure into linux.

No...

Why do you want to avoid partitioning??

If you do not wnat to make a new partition, then your only option will be to get one of the "liveCD" distributions. I am not sure if Fedora has this yet.

I initially avoided partitioning because I had already started transferring data to my new PC. I thought partitioning would involve a full reformat and loss of data. I'm such a newb, I had to look up the phrase "live CD". My next question would be...Will I be able to use GParted, or some other program, and partition my hard drive without data loss?

AN operating system needs a home to reside in so that the user cannot mess it up other systems.

If you have empty space in a hard then you can create partition (or partitions as two would be needed for the first Linux, one for itself and one for swap of size 10Gb and 1Gb).

There is no need to use another disk. You can put about 60 systems in an IDE disk (or 15 in a Sata/SCSI disk) and boot all of them by one boot loader in Linux. The systems can includenany number of Dos, Windows, XP and Vista you care to install.

Caveat Emptor: Any time you mess with partitions on your hard drive you stand a chance of losing data. That said you should be able to use any of the partitioning programs without data loss. I have many times. Get a live cd - most if them have one on it. Boot into Linux and run the program. If you get lost or unsure of what is going on cancel the program without saving any changes.

I have already started to install Linux on my computer. Dual booting worked with minimal problems. (small glitches that were fixed with a re-install) I'm just deciding which distro I want to make my permanent OS. Thanks for all the help.