Currently, I have an old PC, no backup and out of the 4G HD, only 1.5G is left. Moreover it is not partitioned. Under these conditions, it seems safe for me to start with Knoppix first. This will help me get used to Linux while avoiding any big problems while partitioning/installation. Otherwise, I am afraid that my system might crash and I may loose everything.

Down the road I plan to get a new PC. Then I might be more comfortable to set it out right from the start and install/use Linux on it. This seems to be a safe choice for me. Comments welcome.

Vijay

You should do whatever you are comfortable with.

When you feel like you want to install a distro, I again would suggest Mandrake, the partion tool will setup your partitions nicely. I would suggest running Defrag before starting.

I would also suggest going to this Ebay auction for a 2.5 gig hard drive, the buy it now is only $8.99 you could then intall linux on it and not have to mess with resizing your current hard drive.

Just a couple of thoughts.