Slackware is not disappearing, version13_32 and the first 64 bit has just been released, and it is maintained by a very friendly group. The is nothing more true than the quote "if you use Ubuntu you will learn Ubuntu, if you use slackware you will learn linux".
To multiboot:
The easiest was is to make a third partition(plus a /home partition) after your PCLOS.
You then need to decide which boot loader to use before installing slackware.

1: You can keep your grub and edit it manually(very easy) to load slackware . Then do not load lilo when you install slackware.
or
2: Install lilo to MBR (the default) when installing Slackware and it will pickup the other two operating systems automatically (easier but not as flexible as grub).

You didn't say what type of system this is. If this is a desktop, consider adding a disk, and installing Slackware on it. The installer can partition and format a new disk.

If this is a laptop, that probably isn't a workable solution. It would help to know how big the disk is.

PClos has a disk partitioning tool in the control center. I would guess XP is on the first partition, sda1 ? And you installed PCLos on sda5 ( just a guess... ).

Once again, without knowing the disk size, and space available, it is hard to guide. You can shrink the PCLos partition, and leave the free space after PCLos. Install slackware to the free space.

You can use grub for all three OS's, no need to switch to Lilo. That is the default for Slack, or was last time I installed it. Grub will work with Slack. There are tutorials on how to make grub entries. It isn't any more difficult than Lilo, the numbering is a little different.

I guess I'm wondering why you feel the need for Slackware. BTW, I have it installed on one of my systems. I Also have PCLos on my laptop. Both work well. Slackware will cause you to learn a little more about linux in general. It does not have as many tools to make life easier. You have to do a lot of things command line. So if you want to learn, and don't mind the challenge, proceed.

Caution, make sure you have backup of any data you consider important before you start shrinking partitions. I have never had it fail, but it could. So, backup first.

Good luck....

Greetings & Thanks to Vigi and Cliff,

1.) The system I am planning to play with is this one:

1.)AMD 3200+ on A8N-VM Mobo with default graphix.

2.)The HD is 320 gigs, and I don't use any other program except Open Office.

3.)I had actually thought of installing a brand new hard drive but my PS is 400 watts, with two PC3200 512 mb DDR Cards, I guess I would also be required to upgrade my PS. Since it's an older system, I really don't want to spend as much as it had initially cost me, any suggstions?

4.) Yes WXP is on the first partition, but as I said I would be comfortable in redoing the HD to accommodate the third OS.

5.) I want to learn Linux inside out, as without that I feel as if the objective of my education is not fulfilled. I read on distrowatch that Slackware is a good option if you want to explore Linux. Please advise me if there is another way or distro which could help me attain this objective. I am naive and I would follow your suggestions in letter and spirit.

Thanks again to Vigi, yes I would edit GRUB. Cliff Bro please advise.

With Warm Regards,

Javed

I'm an old hardware guy. I think a 400 watt power supply should carry two HD'd without any problems.

320 gigs is a tone of space. No reason to install a second drive, unless you have it full of data.

It takes about 6 gig for the / directory, 10 is overkill, unless you install every program you can find. A 10 gig partition for /home is good for most users. ( total 16 gig ). You can make them bigger, if you want, those are comfortable numbers for most users.

Slackware is a very good distro to learn from, although I don't think it is a beginners system. Have a look through the sub-forum on this board for Slackware. There is lots of information there, and some very knowledgeable users.

Hope this helps.

For a full slackware13_64 installation I would suggest 10GB for /root (my system uses 5.6GB), /swap (600MB to 1GB) + /home = 5GB+? depends on your use.

To load slackware with grub: Edit this and add it to your menu.lst file.

# This entry added by the superuser manually for a gnu-linux OS
# on /dev/hda8 home on hda6
title Slackware 64_current
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/hda8 ro vga=791
savedefault
boot
#

Note: the above entry is for /root on partition 8, and /home on partition 6 on the first hdd. Remember grub counts from 0.

If you are starting from scratch it would be better to make your first partition extended...then you can have as many logical partitions as you like...as its limited to four primary partitions you can soon find yourself having to use test disk on something like Parted Magic to restore your former partition table which is what happens when you try for five partititons.