Basically, I already have xp on my laptop and I do not want to mess it up, but I want to be able to learn how to use linux. Is there a way to install linux on my laptop and/ or is there a way to have linux on an external hard rive and only boot form it when I need to? If so, how would I go about doing that?

Yes, there is. The easiest way is to install a piece of software called "Wubi", which stands for "Windows UBuntu Installer. Wubi will install Linux like a program (although it is still a true OS and not running in any kind of virtual machine). With Wubi, all you have to do is download it, select your Linux "flavor", and press "install". When it’s done (which will take some time), it will prompt you to reboot. When you reboot, your computer will boot into Linux (although you still have the option of using Windows instead). See here:

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/windows-installer

Wubi is the best option if you are new to Linux and don’t want to mess with partitions and take the risk of loosing data. Wubi does have some downsides, though. It is *slightly* slower than a normal install, when it comes to I/O operations. It is also more susceptible to damage from a hard reboot. And lastly, hibernation is not supported directly (you can modify the swap file to enable hibernation, though). And if you feel comfortable with Linux, you can easily move it to a regular partition when you are ready (see here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1519354).

Hope this helps!

Try "remove Fedora."

Nothing.

Go to Ubuntu’s official documentation site and search for "uninstall Ubuntu."

You won’t find anything in the "official" documentation but in the "community" section you find two entries that state "Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu…."

In an installed Ubuntu distribution, clicking on Help and searching for uninstalling or removing Ubuntu finds nothing. A link “repeat the search online at the Ubuntu help pages” brings up a 404 – page not found.

If you look hard enough on the real community support pages you’ll find a post from July 2007 titled "HowTo: Remove Ubuntu (& Restore Windows)" .

Have a cow
The post starts out: "Okay, I know some people are going to have a cow because I’m posting this."

(No kidding. Just take a look at the excoriating flames that are sure to appear in the comments section of this blog.)

OpenSUSE does better. A search there finds the page titled SDB:How to Uninstall Linux from December 2006. The page includes more than 1,300 words to describe various processes.

Go to Google and search "install Linux" and you get about 1,450,000 hits. Try "uninstall Linux" and you get about 16,800. "Remove Linux" gets you about 53,300.

Why is it so hard to find instructions to remove Linux and then so hard to actually do it?

Why can’t you just easily find the uninstall procedure in a help file, and click a button and follow the instructions?

Windows makes it easy
Opening the Windows XP Help and Support Center and searching for "uninstall Windows" brings up, first thing, "Uninstall Windows XP" and a 5-step process from the Control Center.

Did you know that in a dual-boot install Linux will partition your hard disk and if you remove the partitions without restoring the Master Boot Record on your boot-up disk, your computer won’t start?

Did you know you’ll likely need separate applications such as fixmbr or fdisk or partitioning software to get your system back the way it was, hopefully having not lost any data? Or you may need to change a BIOS setting to boot to a Windows CD and use its "Recovery Console?" These all depend on your version of Linux. Again, openSUSE seems to do the best job in automating the process, with the "YaST2 Control Center."

Oh, and if that dual installation included Windows, and partitions were resized, "Microsoft does not support Windows installed on partitions manipulated in this manner."

So it’s just you and that Linux documentation. Good luck.

Now, I don’t have any great love for Windows and I like Linux. I really do. I’m going to use it and learn a lot more about it.

But if you’re a newbie like me, you’d best be warned. Searching various Linux forums finds a lot of users who have had problems uninstalling the OS and have lost data in the process.

Go back to Windoze? You’re stupid
And while there are some helpful Linux aficionados who try to help these people out — and others searching for uninstall help — there are too many posters who take the attitude along the lines of: "Why would you want to uninstall Linux? That’s crazy. You must be stupid to want to go back to Windoze."

If you want to try Linux out while keeping Windows, it’s a real good idea to try it from a "live" Linux CD/DVD instead of installing it on a hard disk. I’ve tried several. The response is slower, of course, but you get an idea of how it works and don’t risk losing anything. For Ubuntu the Wubi installer accomplishes the same thing by treating Ubuntu as a Windows application.

Do your homework
If you do install Linux on a disk, make sure you do a full system backup. And make sure you have a bootable "rescue" or "system" CD. And really do your homework. Read up on disk partitioning and logical volumes and extended partitions and mounts; and GRUB and LILO bootloaders; and NTFS, FAT 32 and ext3 file systems; and gparted and maybe the commercial app Partition Magic — which supposedly merges/resizes partitions without destroying data — and so on.

Then read it all again. And be careful our there.

Linux Mint Debian Edition Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=88

How To Dual Boot Linux Mint Debian Edition and Windows 7
http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2011/04/23/how-to-dual-boot-linux-mint-debian-edition-and-windows-7/

You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint Debian Edition then you need to create a Bootable LiveDVD
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

Linux Mint Debian Edition can also be run straight from the LiveDVD from Boot without touching your Hard Drive

LUg.

If you don’t see a menu, hold down Shift as soon as your BIOS splash / POST screen disappears. This should make the boot menu appear. if it still doesn’t work, try pressing Esc.

Note that if you have encrypted your home directory, you won’t be able to access it until you remember your old password.

Only secondly i would try Kiwi Linux. Haven’t heard of it till now and never used it. But its based on Ubuntu but with the codecs already installed. http://kiwilinux.org/en/

Linux Mint 9 LTS Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=52

Linux Mint 10 Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=67

Linux Mint 9 LTS/Linux Mint 10 Installation Guide
http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2009/12/03/linux-mint-8-installation-guide/

Linux Mint 9 LTS User Guide
http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_isadora.php

Linux Mint 10 User Guide
http://linuxmint.com/rel_julia.php

Also well worth considering is Linux Mint 10 KDE if you are looking for working with an alternative Desktop Environment

Linux Mint 10 KDE Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=76

Linux Mint 10 KDE Release Notes/User Guide
http://linuxmint.com/rel_julia_kde.php

You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint 9 LTS/Linux Mint 10 or Linux Mint 10 KDE then you need to create a Bootable LiveCD/DVD for installation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

All the above distros. can also be run direct from the LiveCD/DVD from Boot without touching your Hard Drive

LUg.

Linux Mint 9 LTS Download
http://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=52

Linux Mint 9 LTS Installation Guide
http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2009/12/03/linux-mint-8-installation-guide/

Linux Mint 9 LTS Release Notes/User Guide
http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_isadora.php

You download the ISO. image of Linux Mint 9 LTS then you need to create a Bootable LiveCD for installation
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

Linux Mint 9 LTS can also be run direct from the LiveCD from Boot without touching your Hard Drive

LUg.

That is LiSt Recursively All files starting with / (the top level).