How to install #! LINUX alongside Windows XP as a dual boot installation

How to create your own LINUX install disk

How to make backups - don't skip this step

How to install #! alongside Windows XP as a dual boot setup

Get familiarized with #! LINUX

I have a number of reasons for choosing #! over Ubuntu:

Compatibility - #! is extremely lightweight and fast, making it compatible with a wider range of computer systems. If your computer is running Windows XP it should have no trouble running #!, and older systems may also be able to run this distribution of LINUX also.

Debian - #! primarily uses Debian repositories, while Ubuntu uses its own. What this means is developers for #! will be simultaneously developing for multiple Debian based LINUX distributions, whereas Ubuntu developers tend to develop for Ubuntu. While software developed for Ubuntu may still be usable on other distributions (possibly with some work) with Debian there is more choice. Ubuntu is presently the most popular LINUX distribution, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and I'd rather bet on the little guy.

The Little Guy - #! is currently being developed by Phillip Newborough (aka corenominal) as a labor of love, and he quit his job to dedicate all of his time to this distribution. It is not being developed by a board of directors made up of people who have no practical experience with using LINUX in a desktop environment, and his motivations are more likely to remain pure.

Customization - OpenBox window manager (the software that lets you open programs in multiple windows) is easily modified to provide you with the custom environment you want. The tint2 toolbar is likewise easily customized. In both cases changes are made to text XML files and then appear as the programs are reloaded, without needing to reboot the entire computer system. Both programs are extremely lightweight and contribute to the #! distribution's wide range of compatibility with older computers.

Learning - LINUX will help you better understand that your computer is not some mysterious black box that IT professionals perform voodoo over in order to repair them. Ubuntu has been progressively obscuring the inner workings of their distribution in such a way as to entice users who are not interested in this understanding, and while it looks sleek and sexy, it tends to use more resources, and is also usually much harder to customize or repair when it stops working as expected. #! will require research in order to learn how to customize it and correct things that do not work as expected, but once you start figuring out how to fix problems by looking up the error message and performing searches on the internet for answers, you will begin to truly understand your computer at a more nuts and bolts level.

Community - The #! forums (http://www.crunchbanglinux.org/forums) are made up of like-minded #! users who are happy to share their knowledge or point you in the right direction if you get stuck. If you can't find an answer to your problem on their forums. then there's a good chance you will find the solution on Debian's forums instead. There is a large user base of experienced LINUX users to draw from when you need information. It is a virtual community that is very welcoming, and extremely unlikely to ridicule those who have just started to learn to use LINUX.