well hi everyone. i am new in this linux thing but have read great reviews about it. i just want to learn about it all so am really going to ask simple questions.
i grabbed a copy of ubuntu-8.04.1.
now my system details are that i have a ram of 1 gb and a hard disk of 160gb. i have a biostar motherboard. this is all i know about my system. i dont know how to divide my hard disk and stuff. i also cant imagine how to use both microsoft xp and linux together, so i am looking forward for someone to help me out.
i would really appreciate your help.
monojit banerjee

Welcome to Linux! Its really not as bad as you think, probably the first thing you'll want to get over is the fear of screwing something up, so if your system has data on it already, be sure to back it up so you can stop worrying about it.

Ubuntu is a good choice for beginners, its easy to install and it has a large community if you run into any problems. Just follow the installation guide and you should be up and running shortly: Ubuntu Install Guide

Setting up linux to dual boot with windows is pretty simple, and Ubuntu even automates the process for you.

First step is to burn yourself an install cd and give it a try! If you have a more specific question, feel free to ask.

Congratulations! You are now one step closer to converting into Linux - when you decided that "now's the time to switch", I think that's the very big first step that's needed! ^^

Well, we have a long way to go if I have to explain it step by step, but generally if you follow Anaconda's (Linux installation GUi setup program - don't worry, it's pretty user friendly) setup and follow each page carefully, you should have no problems at all.

Ok, first thing's first, I assume you have Windows in there at the moment and that takes up the whole HDD space. First you need to make a bit of room, you can do this using Partition Magic. Just resize your NTFS partition and make some empty space. Click on apply changes and you should be taken into a series of things (reboots and stuff).

Once it's done, reboot and boot the Linux installation CD/DVD. Go through the installation setup, leaving default for most should be OK. When you get to the partition screen, I guess you just have to click on "use available space and create default Linux partition" or something similar to that.

Everything else should be smooth sailing if you ask me. Follow your intuition and try it out! Worse case scenario you just have to reinstall your Linux which isn't a big deal if you just installed it.

Good luck!

Welcome to LQ!!

There is a huge amount of information on dual-booting. Simply search here and on Google. You might also be interested in virtualization.

Is Windows already installed? If so, you need to boot up from any of many "Live CDs" that are out there. Then re-size your Windows partition to make room for Linux. (You should try to free up at least 15Gbytes) A popular tool for resizing is GParted. (Available on a stand-alone bootable CD.)

Be sure to back up any important data before doing anything. If the system has been running more than a few months, you should also de-frag before re-sizing.

Do some searches and "read yourself into the problem"--look also at the "booting" link below---then come back with stuff you don't understand.

it also might help to do a little reading
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

why don't you download this ebook.

http://rapidshare.com/files/13607104...e.May.2008.rar

you will find it interesting..

Like they said, you can use Live CD's which will very helpful to you to "get your feet wet" without actually tampering with your Hard drive - such as Dynebolic, which I use (it's absolutely lovely! ) - btw, it also includes a partitioning tool which you can use.

you dont need partition magic, there is gparted on ubuntu live cd, you can resize your existing drive with it (and its free). i think it would be best to defragment windows drive from windows before you do that.

Please don't hijack threads like this. Also, Red Hat 8 is no longer supported, so please consider installing something newer.