Unfortunately for us, Linux installation is still not as user friendly as Windows. A lot of technical knowledge about your system is required. This is totally unlike windows in which the install process is totally automated and user friendly. A list of all technical details about your system will help. If you already know all this, then fine, no problem!  However if you are not the kind who has all the knowledge about his system at his fingertips, then the details given by me will help. Do NOT try to install Linux without these details.

Most of this information can be obtained from Windows itself. Go to the start menu > settings > control panel > system. Click on the device manager tab. A list of all devices will spring out. Collect the following information from them.

1. CPU: Find out the following details: 
   Make (Intel, AMD etc), processor speed, type

2. Hard Disk:
   Make, manufacturer, size.
   You will also have to know the size of Windows partitions present and the amount of space you have given over to Linux.

3. CD-Rom drive:  
   This is one of the first things during installation. If you have a relatively new drive (2 yrs or newer) you ought to face no problems. However, if the drive is older, it will not be auto-detected and you will have to get the port number on which it works. The details are too difficult to describe in this article. If your drive is bootable then it ought to work.

4. Display card:  
   This is required for X-Windows, the graphical part of Linux. If you have a SiS card then you will have a large number of problems. You should go to their site for the latest Linux drivers. The manufacturer, chip-type and the driver for the card should be known. You should know the amount of video RAM (VRAM). All this information can be easily obtained from the documentation, which came along with the card.

 The remaining part will be described in the next article.