OK, this sort of crap has really done it for me.
I need a basic understanding of optional systems like Linux, etc. Is it an OS like Windows? Desktop, etc? DO I just do a clean build and install it instead of Windows?
Oh, and also, this will cut down on pirating...NOT! But that's ok, as they push more and more people away from being able to install Windows on seperate personal systems with only 1 purchase, people will find another option.
We already have the damn popup at home telling us we have an illegal copy of Windows, even though it isn't.
And all the crap that always has to be running in the background for the machine to work? Double Grr.....
I feel your pain, my new XP just started freezing up from time to time, and for the life of me I can not figure out why. I've uninstalled EVERYTHING, and it still freezes! It started freezing when I was checking out virus software. And I think the uninstall did not uninstall some invisable service that scans my stuff. Might be totally wrong about that since I can get any meaningfull info from task manager or msconfig. A Unix ps with proper arguments would tell me what I need to know.
Linux is a derivative form of the original System V UNIX (SVR4), which was pioneered by Bell Labs and spread from there. The Linux kernel was authored by Linus Torvalds (hence the name "Linux").
Right now there are over 100 variants of SVR4- and BSD-style Unix. Some are incredibly user-friendly and others require a higher skill set to maintain. Red Hat and Debian rank as the more user-friendly editions of Linux and can be found at most computer superstores like Fry's, Best Buy, et al. There is also Linspire (formerly "Lindows") which touts itself as the easiest-to-use Desktop Linux.
Linux graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are a lot like Windows, only much more stable. And yes, you can even emulate the Windows environment on a Linux system using any number of software emulators like WINE or Win4Lin.
As for how to install, you can either scrub your system and load Linux exclusively, or you can use a product like System Commander to have dual-boot capabilities; keeping both OS's on one computer.
Hope this helps.