Hello,

I have a PC running Windows, and want to install Linux ASAP.
What is the suggested approach? My requirements for distro are:

-*must* be capable of recognizing wireless internet
-must be fairly straightforward, I was told that
Ubuntu would be a good starting point, but I hope to
move on to Gentoo after I get comfortable.

My main questions:

Do I partition(best approach?)?
Can I download Linux and then install?
Is Ubuntu right for me?

What is the best step-by-step process to do this?



-Thank you very much. The support I have recieved within
programming/computer forums never fails to amaze me. You folks are great.

"Is Ubuntu right for me?" No-one will answer that one for you. **I** like Ubuntu...

Are you going to dual-boot, or just have Linux?

Yes, you have to partition--but it is part of the install process.

Download and install--yes. One nice thing about Ubuntu is that you only need one CD to start---everything else is done by download**.

Step by step process? Pick a distro and follow their instructions

**For me, trying to phase into Linux without a high-speed connection would be pure unmitigated hell.

Be prepared just in case your wireless doesn't work immediately after install. Some cards require some post install steps to work correctly

Buy a second disk drive, put it in, and install Linux on that drive, leaving your existing drive completely alone.

Initially, when starting-up Linux, you should designate the new drive as your startup drive in the BIOS "setup" screen. The BIOS should be told to ignore the Windows drive for booting purposes.

Now... with no further ado... you have a way to switch from Windows to Linux and back again, by changing the BIOS Setup. It's not the only way of course, but it will put you in the position you need to be in: viz, you can reliably switch from one OS to the other at-will, and you can experiment with Linux while making no changes whatever to Windows.

Use a Linux distro of very recent vintage. It will probably recognize your wireless hardware right out of the box. But now you always have a fall-back position. You can always get back to a known position, and you can always make your forays into Linux with safe experimentation.