Sure, this is definiately doable. Use a program such as Partition Magic, fdisk, etc to set some room aside for Linux, and make at least two partitions for it. (When you run the Linux install, you'll set at least one of these to Linux native file system and the other to Swap.)

While windows uses a pagefile, linux uses a separate swap partition, which, by rule of thumb, should have a size that is twice the amount of ram you have in your machine.

Reserve at least 5 gigs for a linux installation. The most you'll ever really need is 10 gigs if your hard drive has the space and you plan on installing a lot of software or need storage room.

can i partition the drive and it wont disturb my windows installation. if not i mite jst say heck with it since im finding everyone is having problems installing linux on this laptop

which partition program do you recommend. and where could i get it. prefferably free. thank you

The Knoppix CD has QTParted to manipulate partitions and Partition Image and Mondo to back it up. I have used them to great effect -- QTParted seems to work as well as anything commercial. Knoppix is a free CD-bootable Linux distro that doesn't mess with your HD unless you tell it to. It's also a quick way to check compatibility without the hassle of a full Linux install. Oh, did I mention it's free?

Of course, this assumes that your Windows partition isn't full. How many partitions are on your drive now? What capacity is it?

Normally, the linux installation would be able to partition and format your hard drive for you. However, it seems like you have an existing Windows partition, and you'd like to shrink it to make room for Linux. To do that, I'd recommend PowerQuest Partition Magic. Unfortunately, this program isn't free ... fork over the dough to www.powerquest.com or play with warez (which we don't deal with here).

You can use Partition Magic (or another program that does the same thing - check download.com) to shrink your current Windows partition and make room for linux. Once you do that, you can use Partition Magic to partition the unpartitioned space you just created as linux native and linux swap. (the program handles linux partitions.)

Or, you can just leave the unpartitioned space. Then run the Linux installer and create and format the partitions in the installer, which is very easy to do.

If your heart isn't so content on Red Hat 9, the Mandrake 9.1 installation cd's can preform the same duties as Partition Magic (resizing partitions and retaining data).

Mandrake is known as the newbie linux, and is very easy to use. I suggest you try that over Red Hat (Dani is going to kill me for saying this...). I'm typing this post on a Mandrake box right now, and with the proper tweaks, it runs great!

its jst that i seem to like redhat better then mandrake. but the mandrake i tryed was an older version. and i dont want to do the download again it takes so long even on cable. but if it comes down to it that mite be the next best option.

one more thing has anyone heard much about Paragon Partition Manager like is it any good and is it as good as partition magic cause i refuse to fork out 70 bucks for a software im only goin to use like once or twice. and paragon is only 40 but still out of my price range. but if its as good i mite think about it.

I never heard of Partition Manger until I just read your post. I went to www.partition-manager.com and it looks like it does the job. I can't really say much about it though.