[re_nortex]

How would I acquire Unix or Linux for my W-7 machines? Do I have to unload Windows first? What are my odds of getting thru it with my puter still operating?

One possibility is to run it on a virtual machine to get an idea of what it's like. Since I don't have any form of Windows on my systems (Linux and Solaris), I have no experience with dual booting or adding/replacing Windows with Linux. That's why I pinged those listed above who are more savvy on that matter than I am.

[Conservative Gato]

Here is a site where you can read about different Linux OS's and download the ISO's and burn them to a disk for testing and installing. I use the LTS's or Long Term Service versions since they will be updated longer than the others.

http://distrowatch.com/

CGato