im completly new to this...and clueless...

i need to install Red Hat on my computer for school assignments and i was told that it would wipe out the current windows os i have installed...is there any way to get around this and have both installed...i dont want to remove windows and i dont want to keep red hat [only need it for a few months]...

sorry if this has been asked before...

thanks...

You can configure your system to dual boot. This allows you to select which OS you want to use when you start up your computer.

When I did this, I used partition magic to create a separate partition on my harddrive and then installed linux there.

Forgot to mention, when you are done using Linux you can use partition magic and reclaim the space used by the linux os.

If you don't want to spend money on (or illegally download) Partition Magic, which is an okay partitioning tool, you can use gparted which can be downloaded and burned as a bootable CD. The interface is fairly easy to use and there is no installation of anything required. Once you've created free space, you can easily install Red Hat without affecting Windows.

Don't forget to defrag the Windows partition before doing any resizing.

there is no prob with having both linux and windows..
just free you any drive. like D: or E:
put your red hat linux cd and boot from cd.
setup is so simple. as like windows but just maybe you got problam at when you will select partion where to install linux. setup will never show you your partions as C: or D:
it will show you like /hda1 or hda/2 ...
just remember your partions space. where you have to install.
select that partions and choose EDIT . you will have to make this partions as "/" or SWAP.
and then start installation..

i think it will help you.
bye

thank you all for your help ...