Installing a new OS (linux)

[Wellingtons]

I have a copy of me on my new computer and i was wondering how i would install a new OS (linux) aswell as keeping my old copy of ME on my computer?

could someone tell me please

[OOPS!]

Hi,

Well, first of all you will need to pick a distro. Every distro has an installer that is a little different than the next. So any help for installing will have to be geared to that distro. If you have ever only used Windows, then I recommend Red Hat, Mandrake, or SuSe. Any of which have very nice graphical installers (ala Windows). Plus, they are probably the best distros at automagicaly detecting hardware.

On the brightside, any distro you pick will be very easy to setup to dual boot with WinMe. Linux will detect its' presence and automatically setup a bootloader for you. The only thing to remember is always install Windows first. The 9x versions assume they are the only OS in the world, and will cause your Linux install grief.

Getting a book is a very good thing. Check out some book stores and find one you are comfortable with, and read it.

Linux is fun and easy to use. So find a distro and then you can get started!

OOPS!

[Computer Hobbyist]

Regardless of the distribution, the first thing you absolutely need to do is backup your data. Because you will be creating separate partitions for ME and Linux, it is pretty easy to make a misstep and wipe out the entire drive. If you have never dealt with FDISK or a similar partitioning utility, carefully read and re-read the chapter on preparing your Hard Disk in any book you buy.

CH