[mikkell]

i am currently using win xp , but am considering installing a Linux distro, probably mandrake or mepis... any suggestions or problems that you may have encountered would be helpful

[Whiteskin]

Problems will vary from person to person, machine to machine. When installing linux, the best policy is to just run with it, though I would probably dual boot just so that you always will have one working OS.

[Whiteskin]

Mepis is a live CD, which could also be very very helpful. That way you can learn without installing.

[Arky]

The only drawback would be if you are heavily invested in Windows software.

[saikee]

Can't see one got anything to lose.

One can boot either XP or Windows and have both worlds. It is just 5Gb for a Linux partition + 1 Gb for a swap partition. Less than US$5 worth of hard disk storage.

[mikkell]

i was thinking bout using something like mepis since it is a live cd, but if i wanted to install, should i de-install windows xp, or is it safe to install along side of xp?

[saikee]

You use a 3rd party software like Partition magic to squeeze empty space out of you XP partition. Say if you can get back 12Gb then create 2Gb partition for your Swap and 2 other partitions each 5Gb. Then you can install up to 2 Linux systems there, one Linux per partition.

During installation just tell the distro to go to the partition designated by you. Any Linux can co-exist with XP and fellow Linux and can be made to boot every system in your PC.

[subnet_rx]

Originally Posted by mikkell

i was thinking bout using something like mepis since it is a live cd, but if i wanted to install, should i de-install windows xp, or is it safe to install along side of xp?

you need tutorials, and a lot of time, before you go through something like this. I would suggest you know about things like partitions, boot sectors, and "de-installing"

Start with "Installing Linux on a dual-boot system" on google, and go from there.