Dual Booting Linux and Windows XP

To start off, I am strictly a Windows user. I've used a Mac, and especially never used Linux before. However, I would like to learn more about Linux in general, and I figured the best way to do this is to dual boot Windows XP, but I've got a few questions.

Can you partition a hard drive which already has an operating system on it? I've got Windows XP installed on my harddrive, and my total harddrive usage is around 56GB (out of 465GB LOL). It is just set up as having one hard drive (the C: drive), am I able to partition this hard drive without losing my install of windows (and all my files?). I would then install Linux on the other partition.

What is the most user-friendly Linux Distro? I'd like to install a Linux Distro that would hopefully have most things already configured, and loaded with necessary programs and drivers such as a wireless internet driver.

How can I back up my entire hard drive? I'd like to back up my entire hard drive to some sort of external media (be it 20 DVD's or an external hard drive), so if something goes wrong, I can wipe the hard drive, copy the 'image' back onto it, and I'd have my installation of Windows (with all programs, settings + drivers already installed.) Is this possible?

Will my hardware work with Linux? For exmaple, I have a Wireless Network Adapter, and it has a Windows driver. Would it get automatically installed on Linux? How about my Microsoft Wireless Keyboard + Mouse?

Thanks. I really want to try Linux, but I'm a bit worried about completely destroying my hard drive. I've got some quite important information on there.

First off, you should take a look at Ubuntu with the WUBI installer. Now lets answer your sub-questions :).

Can you partition a hard drive which already has an operating system on it?

Yes, and most Linux distributions include tools that will do this for you easily, and without negatively impacting your Windows data right inside the installer. WUBI will install Ubuntu just like any other Windows program without impacting your partitions at all.

What is the most user-friendly Linux Distro?

Ubuntu is probably the most popular at this point, I recommend it strongly as it is built on a very solid base (Debian) and it was designed to be user-friendly.

How can I back up my entire hard drive?

I would get an external USB hard drive and copy data to that. Thank you for considering this before you start!

Will my hardware work with Linux?

Probably. Most common hardware is well supported, and improvements are made in this area every day. Ubuntu's wiki has a comprehensive guide on hardware compatibility.

Hardware compatibility is a hard problem on all Operating Systems, not just Linux. Linux just has a reputation for not having strong hardware support. This is a fault of the hardware manufacturers, not Linux.

Yes, you can partition a hard drive that already has an OS on it. That is how you dual boot. I would recommend Ubuntu if you want some-thing user friendly. But then again, if you want to learn about coding more, get something that will require you to use the terminal and commands more. You can back up your entire hard drive. One option would be to create another partition using a free download-able service (find one at downloads.com) and copy all you files to the back-up partition. Another would be to back-up the files to a portable hard-drive. You won't need to partition your hard drive for Ubuntu, the installer will do it for you, making it much lesser stressful to do. Wubi is a good option if you just want to see what Ubuntu looks like without doing anything serious. Do some online research about partitions and what they are if you would like to feel more comfortable partitioning your drive, as you can lose data. Oh, and one last thing, when you install Ubuntu, it will be set as the main OS. Look up some GRUB info and find out how to set the default OS and work with the list of options for boot you will be given. Furthermore, remember that if you remove Ubuntu, make sure to remove GRUB, because otherwise you won't be able to boot.