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? :-)
Thank you so much!