Zilbandy illuminated alt.os.linux.ubuntu by typing:
> All I know about Linux is how to spell it. I'd like to learn a bit
> about it without giving up my Windows Laptop. I'd like to dual boot
> WinXP and Ubuntu and was wondering if someone could point me toward a
> "Dual Boot for Dummies" type site that would help me get going. The
> system I want to set up is a 4 year old Compaq laptop with a 1.4ghz
> Celeron Processor and 512mb ram. Any advice would be appreciated.

http://wubi-installer.org/

Could be just what you're looking for.

--
Moog

"Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the
leather straps."

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:42:38 -0700
Zilbandy wrote:

> All I know about Linux is how to spell it. I'd like to learn a bit
> about it without giving up my Windows Laptop. I'd like to dual boot
> WinXP and Ubuntu and was wondering if someone could point me toward a
> "Dual Boot for Dummies" type site that would help me get going. The
> system I want to set up is a 4 year old Compaq laptop with a 1.4ghz
> Celeron Processor and 512mb ram. Any advice would be appreciated.

As well as Wubi that Moog mentioned, the regular install will resize
your partitions and set up the dual boot for you, a lot easier than
reading a dummies book first.

--
You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.
Stan Laurel

> http://wubi-installer.org/
> Could be just what you're looking for.

Seconded - but it might be worth waiting another week to get the
newest release of Ubuntu (although the wubi installer might take
longer to update).

Not that it matters much if you just want to have a general dabble...

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:42:38 -0700, Zilbandy wrote:

> All I know about Linux is how to spell it. I'd like to learn a bit
> about it without giving up my Windows Laptop. I'd like to dual boot
> WinXP and Ubuntu and was wondering if someone could point me toward a
> "Dual Boot for Dummies" type site that would help me get going. The
> system I want to set up is a 4 year old Compaq laptop with a 1.4ghz
> Celeron Processor and 512mb ram. Any advice would be appreciated.

1) you should be able to boot the CD as a Live CD - meaning it boots and
runs from the CD without even doing an install.

2) once you tire of that, you click the install icon and follow the
onscreen instructions. It is not rocket science. You'll need to defrag
your MS drive first, and use the included partitioning tool to set up a
swap partition (about twice RAM in size) and a partition for the
installation. At completion it will set the dual boot up for you
automagically.