I read the first 9 segments from Lesson 1 and 2 on Linux.org today and it looks somewhat complex and/or confusing.
Actually, the most confusing thing is that every site I attempt to download Linux from doesn't work. It freezes my browser for a few seconds to a few minutes, and when it finally takes me to the FTP site, I get an error message when I try to copy the files.
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Dell Dimension 8200 Mobo
P4 2.0 GHz 400 MHz FSB
512 MB PC800 (2x 256 MB)
80 GB HD
Samsung CD-RW/DVD-ROM
nVidia GeForce 4MX420
SB Live! Value
XP Pro SP2
There are certain things you should watch out for. As people have said, NVIDIA is easier to get working than ATI.
Be careful with soundcards. Look up specific compatibility first on that.
Also, if you're getting a WiFi card, note the chip it's based on. DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT get anything based on the TI ACX_100. It is possible to get working, but not easily, and I found it to be an unstable connection when it was. I changed that card pretty quickly. PRISM is a well supported chip. Broadcomm chips which I've found quite popular in wireless cards (many D-Links use them I believe), are doable with something called Ndiswrapper, which I've found works very well (this post will be sent through its connection momentarily ).
Other then that, hard drives, cdrom drives, CPUs, mainboards, all should work without issue.
I have drivers for my sound and video cards, but I don't have drivers for things like my HD, my CPU, or my CD-RW drive. Do these even need to be backed up? And if so, how do I do that?
It also mentioned drive overlay software. I don't know what that is, or whether it would be a concern of mine. I'm not sure if I can find out either because I only have a serial number for my HD (WDC800BB-75CAA0), not a manufacturer or anything.
I say just install Linux and see what happens. That's what I did when I first found out about it.
If you want to make partitions, then a good piece of software is PartitionMagic. I'm not sure how much it costs though. A lot of Linux distributions have partition managers included in the installation anyway.