Hey, that's a great way to ask for help.
The word is "howto" and there are hundreds of them...
You should find sufficient advice from others here on the partitioning bit but as far as Wine is concerned, allow me to interject one tid-bit.
Once you are set up with Linux, go here:
CrossOver Linux from Coed Weavers
Read all about it then buy it. It is not expensive but is sooo much better than trying to wrangle Wine. It uses Wine as its base but has been done over with a beautiful interface that makes using Wine a breeze.
My husband loves linux and just recently installed this particular brand of it, IIRC--let me see if he's got any tips for you. Might be a few minutes, he's eating breakfast and watching the Sunday morning financial shows! :-)
Ahem...."Coed Weavers" would be something entirely...er...different. Wouldn't it?
BTW...do some searches for assistance on setting up a "dual boot" Linux install. Many help sites available on doing the Windows/Linux thing. You'll have to set up a thing called the GRUB loader.
Okay, I have my husband nearby and I'm asking questions. He says Fedora Core 6 is much better but you have to do a lot yourself--Ubuntu is okay if you aren't well versed in linux.
He says Ubuntu will do the partioning for you, changing the boot record, etc. Yes, do degrag the Windows drive before installing Ubuntu. He says you can find Wine at winehq.org.
He also says once you install the Ubuntu, if you have further questions, email me privately and we'll try to help you if we can. :-)
(Why do I feel like the "Ghost Whisperer" or "Medium", LOL? :-)
Method 2: The hard way
1. Make sure your Windows partition is defragmented and backup any important data.
2. Boot from the Ubuntu Desktop CD, double click on the Install icon on the desktop and follow the normal installation instructions. When you arrive at the Partitioning screen, select the option that let's you resize IDE1 master, partition #1 (hda1) and use the free space.
Note: Remember that IDE1 master, partition #1 (hda1) represents the First partition on the First hard drive.
The partitioner will ask you how much space you wish to distribute to Linux partition, just enter the desired amount of space (I recommend around 5-6 GB). Continue with the installation.
3. After the installation is over, reboot the machine and you will be able to select from Windows or Ubuntu at boot time.
Everything about Linux
http://www.linuxquestions.org/
I've been using it since "Slackware 8". Great site.
and also:
http://rute.2038bug.com/index.html.gz
If not, I'd tend to that first. If you're not familiar with changing the partitions on your disk, it's an easy way to destroy all your data.
Hit next several times then press the start button.
I can't emphasize this enough, make sure you have defragmented your Windows hard drive first, you will not be able to install Ubuntu properly until you do that.
Remember to log on.
Or when I do through the whole install bit will linux set that up for me?
Here is a great website to walk you through what is known as a dual boot system. Pretty easy. Read a lot first.
Here is another great site for step by steps.
When I partition, how much should be partitioned for linux and how much for XP?
How big is the drive? I have a 80Gb drive on my laptop that has 60Gb for WinXp and then 15Gb for Linux (swap space included).
Should I defrag my drive before I do anything?
Yes. Absolutely.
People have been talking about something called Wine, which runs MS stuff. What is that and how do I get it?
Don't worry about WINE now. Get Ubuntu running and then go and Google Crossover Linux. It uses Wine but has a much easier to use interface. Besides, with a dual boot system, you won't really need it.
But then I looked at the date that you posted the thread and...well...how do you like Ubuntu?
How big is your hard disk? I would leave around 20GB for XP just in case you ever need to use it in the future. A fully updated XP installation can get close to 10GB for the OS alone after the huge amount of updates. Since you are working with a laptop, I assume you linux installation is going to be for typical ‘home’ type use. Around 15-20GB is all you should ever need for a Linux install, unless you are planning on storing lots of data.
Let us know how it works out for ya. Best of luck with wireless drivers. lol