Xp system recovery question

[AMD]

Hi all,

Well what i to do is install Kubuntu linux on my machine alongside Win Xp home.
Im just courius to know if i accidently mess up something after making a new partion on my hard drive or i somehow manage to mess windows up to the point that windows wont load ,will my system recovery disk be able to restore windows Xp back on my hard drive or would i need the full Xp disk?

My windows Xp is a OEM Version so i didnt get the windows disk,I just got a system restore disk.

EDIT:I forgot to ask,How much space should i create for a linux instilation?

[GaryRouth]

Your best bet for information on what options you have for your Restore/Recovery set is to go to the support website of the brand of your computer manufacturer.

Some recovery sets give options that allow you to only restore the operating system or drivers or programs - or various combinations of those. Most recovery sets have one option in common (and for some, it's the only option) - to wipe the hard drive clean, repartition, reformat, and write a disk image onto the drive that is the exact same image that the drive had at the time of purchase (all data, all programs added since are erased entirely & aren't usually recoverable after that).

Depending on your vendor, you may also be able to call or email your question for no charge.
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Regarding the space for Kubuntu - it depends on what you want to use it for, and what data you want to store on the Linux partitions (since Linux can read NTFS partitions, you can keep your music and images stored on the XP partitions, and both Kubuntu and Linux can have access to them). I'm not sure of the minimum space for a Kubuntu install, but Ubuntu was around 1.8gb for a smallish install (it can be done on less, I'm told) - I would imagine most users would give it more breathing room to be able to try out the wide range of open source software available. Seems like 10gb - 20gb would be comfortable.

Best of luck
. . . Gary