Hi Bakaa, yes it's safer to install Linux on a 2nd
hard drive, versus installing on the one you already
have.
As for how to proceed, I would recommend going to
http://www.redhat.com, click the Download button on the
upper right, and read all the instructions there
("how to download red hat", and "red hat installation
guide").
Then, go to their ftp server to get bootnet.img
and rawrite.exe, then make a boot floppy, and tell
it to install via FTP, and point it to the Red Hat
server! You don't need to get the iso images, point
it to the os/RedHat directory. RH 7.1 is pretty
good now about identifying your hardware. The install
worked perfectly for me.* It'll take a long time to
install all the packages, and you'll find Linux is a huge time sink after you get it installed, because then you
have to configure it. Which is a full time job. :-)
BTW, I actually would *not* recommend buying a retail
version. The online installation guide for RH is
all you need, and if you don't have the necessary
skills to get RH off the network, then you're not
going to be able to take what comes next...
:-)
-Mike
*Once I figured out how to.... but that would be
telling.
P.S.
http://www.linuxdoc.org is an essential resource.
Go to the HOWTOs for vital information; the Guides
are useless for the most part.