If you want to make the switch from Windows to Debian, there are a few different options you can take to help make it a comforable transition.
Switch to cross platform applications
Begin by installing and using Free, open-source, cross platform, applications in Windows, such as ["OpenOffice"] or ?AbiWord, ["GIMP"], ["VLC"], ["Firefox"] or ["Mozilla"], Thunderbird or Evolution, ["Gaim"], Audacity and Scribus.
Use a Live Bootable CD
Use DebianLive, without installing Debian to your hard disk. You need to have a ["BIOS"] that can boot CDs, or use a ?BootFloppy (a computer would have to be extremely old for it not to boot from CD).
Make Windows share your computer with Debian
Have both Debian and Windows installed on the same computer (known as dual booting). This way you can keep all your current data, including your Windows operating system, and choose to boot either Windows or Debian each time you start up your computer. This type of installation can be accomplished with the normal Debian installation [http://www.debian.org/CD/ CDs/DVDs], no special CDs/DVDs are required.
- If you have two hard disk you can make a dual split boot, this is, install each operating system in its hard disk (i.e. the first for Debian and the second for Windows).
More information on dual booting is available at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_boot Wikipedia].
Use a second computer to run Debian
With a second computer you can format and start afresh; no dual booting. This gives you the security that you aren't messing anything up whilst you learn. A second computer is more appropriate for server development because the server can run all the time. It isn't up and down every time you use Windows. You can also control it and test from the windows machine.?BR If you have a second computer it might be easier to share the monitor, keyboard and mouse with a KVM switch than it would be to find room for a second set on your desk. With a KVM switch you can switch between computers by just pressing a few keys on the keyboard. It will be like you just got up and changed chairs to sit in front of the other computer. A two port KVM switch runs from $10US to $60US. Models with more ports are also available.?BR If you are trying out desktop Debian, be fair in the comparison, should you use a vastly inferior machine. You probably won't overload a test server noticably.
Overview
[http://www.littlewhitedog.com/reviews_other_00011.asp] - How To Dual boot Windows and Linux
[http://www.littlewhitedog.com/content-53.html] - Question and answers
(It would be nice to have such page, specific to Debian though. ?HelpNeeded -- FranklinPiat ?DateTime(2007-08-07T07:45:11Z) )
See also
[http://goodbye-microsoft.com/ Debian installer under Windows] (for beginners)
[http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-roadmap.html IBM Windows-to-Linux roadmap].
[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-gloss/index.html Linux glossary for Windows users].
[http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/03/29/migrating_from_windows_to_linux/index.html Migrating from Windows to Linux for dummies ( 8 pages) ].
[http://migrate2linux.org/] Migration assistant
[http://enterprise.linux.com/article.pl?sid=04/07/23/2219257 Linux.com | Windows to Linux Migration Guide]
[http://markhobley.yi.org:9070/migration Migration from Microsoft Windows to a GNU based system]