I am New to Linux - Check My Specs' Plz

[ABSOLUT3]

Hello everyone i am new to the whole linux area. I have been pondering over it for awhile actually but now i am thinking about trying it out.
I would like to see if any one could help me out in these few areas to start

-Can i run Linux inside of winows as if it were just a program ??(<probly a stupid ?)

-What would be the best linux to use
Im running a
System Manufacturer: Gateway GT5058
BIOS: )Phoenix - Award WorkstatsionBIOS v6.00Pg
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+(2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 1918MB RAM
Page File: 10 66MB used, 3021MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002)

-Where do i start ? (lol)

-Can Installing Linux Be HarmFull to my computer ?


Any information would be appreciated i will be checking this daily to update
Thank You For Your Time

[GNU-Fan]

Hi,

yes, you can run another operating system (GNU/Linux in that case) inside Windows. (And vice versa). This is called virtualization.
VMware Workstation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You won't get full speed, because the computer must handle two operating systems, and much accelerator functionality (like 3D cards) is not available. But it is a good start to get first impressions.

The next thing would be a LiveCD.
Comparison of Linux distributions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a CD you put in your drive when you boot. It directly boots to the new operating system and you can try things out, find your favorites, etc.
If you played enough, you remove the CD and reboot your computer. It will start Windows again as if nothing happened. You can play nearly as much as you like without breaking anything, as nothing is saved.

The last step, once you found a favorite distro by testing LiveCDs, would be to install a distribution to your hard drive. This will give you the full performance.

As a distribution for newbies, Ubuntu is often recommended.

Theoretically, although rarely, you can break things when you install some another operating system. For example, if you don't know how to partition a hard drive and overwrite/delete old things. Therefore always make a backup of important data before starting point 3. But until then, have fun playing and testing as many LiveCDs out as you can.

[oz]

-Where do i start ? (lol)

-Can Installing Linux Be HarmFull to my computer ?


Any information would be appreciated i will be checking this daily to update

Welcome to the forums!

Check the link in my signature for lots of good information on getting started with Linux. You'll also find a couple of quizzes there that might help you to pick a distribution or two that would be suited to your own personal tastes.

Yes, installing just about anything to your computer could be harmful if it is done incorrectly, but I don't recall anyone ever harming their computer by installing Linux correctly.

Hope you will enjoy running Linux.

[Rubberman]

You can also install Ubuntu with the Wubi installer which will create a virtual Linux disc as a file on your Windows NT file system, letting your dual-boot your computer without the need to repartition your drive, which can be problematic unless you have a new, clean Windows installation.

[ABSOLUT3]

You can also install Ubuntu with the Wubi installer which will create a virtual Linux disc as a file on your Windows NT file system, letting your dual-boot your computer without the need to repartition your drive, which can be problematic unless you have a new, clean Windows installation.

now is there a tutoria on how to do this somewhere on this site ??

and as for liveCD is that just a burned .iso image to a disk ??

[Rubberman]

Just boot Windows, and insert the Ubuntu install/live CD. There should be an autostart function or setup.exe command on the disc.

[devils casper]

Check this tutorial : Installing Ubuntu From A Windows System With Wubi.