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[skaldicpoet9]

Recently I rented a new computer and dual-booted Vista and Ubuntu on it. However, due to the fact that 1) Vista Sucks and 2) I am a poor college student, I have decided to return the computer and stick with my XP run laptop. Anyways, my question is: is there a small Linux environment that I could install on my laptop? I tried installing Ubuntu on it but admittedly I am not very Linux-literate so I couldn't figure out how to partition it without using the automatic partitioner (due tot the fact that I only have 23.6 GB left on my comp). I heard that Damn Small Linux is a good one for a small, streamlined OS solution but however, once again my ignorance has barred me from figuring out how to dual boot it on this laptop (if someone could help me with how to dual-boot this with Xp I would appreciate it greatly...). I am just really looking for something that is extremely basic, I don't really even want a GUI desktop or anything ,I am fine with just the console. Really, I am just looking for something that I can toy around with for awhile to get acquainted with Linux.

[Alevice]

Don't dual-boot, just use a virtual machine, like virtualbox, qemu or vmware. Don't use MS VirtualPC, it blows.

[skaldicpoet9]

Don't dual-boot, just use a virtual machine, like virtualbox, qemu or vmware. Don't use MS VirtualPC, it blows.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Apparently, DSL comes in a embeddable zip as well that also has a VM packaged with it. My only question is will it limit the amount of familiarity I can gain with Linux this way due to not being able to access some of the parts of the OS? Or will booting it in the VM provide me with everything I need to get acquainted with Linux?

[JP]

If you just want to tinker with the OS a VM will work fine.  VMs generally don't give you full access to your real hardware, so you probably won't be doing much 3D gaming or using certain USB devices, but aside from that it's a good solution.

[skaldicpoet9]

Yeah, I downloaded and burned Knoppix...

I like it a lot better then using a VM, the VM runs a little slow for my tastes but Knoppix is exactly what I was looking for.

[idiotmeat]

Another alternative (if you just want to get used to it) is use a live CD.  With Ubuntu, you can run it right off the CD, and it creates small enough of a filesystem where you can tinker around with it just a tiny bit.  Though if you're doing anything that requires installation or saving files to disk, it's not too good of a choice.

[skaldicpoet9]

Another alternative (if you just want to get used to it) is use a live CD. 

Yeah, that is how I am using Knoppix. I just boot it right from the CD, it rocks.