Linux Box

I have a laptop that currently has Windows 7 installed.
I want to install Linux on the computer as well, and have the choice to boot into either of them.
How can I do this? Please elaborate on the formatting/partitions part, as this seems to be very unclear anywhere I have looked.
I thoroughly recommend Linux Mint [...]

I have a Dak Tech computer with Intel Pentium 4,Ubuntu Studio 11.04,and Linux For Creative Humans.I forgot my user account user name and password.I need to know how I can bypass it or get new name and password so I can use my computer.
If you see a GRUB boot menu, scroll down to the recovery [...]