Total new newbie question
 

I would like to install/have a look at Linux and understand that there are some "mini" distributions that are designed to run as if it were a "program" under other operating systems (eg. Windows), without having to partition the hard drive.
Can anyone give me some information regarding this and let me now where I can download a version from - I have no idea which distro I need etc

Thanks

http://knoppix.org is probably what you really want. running linux "as a program" was popular a while back, but it's slow and very awkward to use normally. use a live, bootable cd like knoppix to get a feel for it.

you were probably originally thinking of cygwin and uwin. Cygwin runs in windows and gives a bash shell, expandable to include xwindows, servers etc.

Knoppix is much better though.