Newbie wants to make PC dual-bootable 1

[KiloZ]

After reading through tons of forum posts and your answers, I am sure I've come to the right place for my question(s).
I want to make my PC dual-bootable; currently running XP Pro and want to install either Mandrake or Red Hat 9.0. I have two physical IDE hard-drives (140 gig of space total); my C: is a single partitioned (NTFS) 20 gig drive and the other is a 120 gig partitioned (FAT32) into two 55.8 gig each, comprising my D: and E: drives.
I want to leave my C: alone and install Linux on my D drive.
So, question #1: Do I have to reformat my D: for Linux or can I stay with FAT32?
Question #2: How do I install the file system needed by Linux?
Question #3: Any suggestions as to which type of Linux I should use? To help answer this; I have used IRIX at my old job for years, now I've been hired by another company and most of their stuff is Linux-based (not sure which type however - I just started). So I want to install a version of Linux that will help me learn Linux best. I'm guessing Red Hat will be the answer.

Thank you in advance!
- KiloZ

 

[RhythmAce]

When you install linux, the installer will ask if you want to partition the drive automatically using Disk Druid. Say yes and take the default. It will create "/" called root, "/boot" and "swap" which is like XP's virtual memory. It will create the linux partitions using what ever space you tell it to use. When ask where to install the boot loader, install it on the master boot record (MBR). There are usually two boot loaders to choose from, lilo or grub. Grub seems to be the loader of choice these days. As for which distro, I will bite my tongue and say either would be a good choice. They all come with pretty much the same packages. The difference is mostly in the directory structure. But for learning purposes, one has no advantage over the other. To answer your question about what file system linux uses, The default will more than likely be ext3.

 

[KiloZ]

Very cool - thanks RhythmAce for your post!

After I do all those things you mentioned, how do I boot my PC into Linux instead of XP?

 

[RhythmAce]

That is what the boot loader does. It will prompt you for which os you want to load. You will also be able to pick which will be the default. If the system reboots and no choice is made within about 15 seconds, the default system will be loaded. You will be able to change the default later.

 

[KiloZ]

Ok, right on! Thank you for the invaluable help!

Sincerely,
KiloZ