I'll start off the Linux installation section with a few tips for preparing a computer to dual boot Windows and Linux on either the same hard drive, or two different hard drives. If I miss something, someone please correct me.
For this example, we'll use and existing computer with Windows Vista installed, and the latest release of Ubuntu Linux.
First off we need to consider the hardware requirements.
At a minimum, you need a CD ROM drive, at least 4 GB of hard drive space and at least 384 MB of RAM. Obviously if a person is already running Vista, they have more than enough RAM in their machine. While 4 GB is the minimum requirement for installation, I recommend at least 10 GB to install updates and/or other software.
In Vista, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management. Most likely Disk 0 is going to be the partition where Vista is installed. Right-click on that partition and select "Shrink Volume". In the space where it asks for amount to shrink down, enter a value in MB. For 10 GB this would be 10000. Enter more or less depending on your preference, just be sure that it is more than 4000. Click "Shrink" and let the process complete. You should now see some free space next to your Vista partition.
Obtain and burn the latest release of
Ubuntu Desktop Edition.
In the next step we will boot from the CD and install Ubuntu on the newly created free space that we made.
A few notes to keep in mind.
ALWAYS make a backup of your data before doing this. It's a good idea to have your Windows disk handy in case something goes wrong.
You don't have to use the same disk that Windows is on. Rather than using a separate partition on your windows drive, you can use a totally separate hard drive. If that's the case, you don't need to shrink your Windows drive as outlined above.
This can also be done on a computer running any other version of Windows, however, shrinking the Windows partition would have to be done differently.
Finally, if you happen to be starting off with a fresh install of both Windows and Linux, I find it easier to install Windows first.
