Problem installing linux 7

[akagi]

I'm new to linux. Currently using winxp. Coz I'm keeping my xp, so I used partition magic 7 to resize the xp partition.
Problem is for linux, should I create partition specially for linux ext2 and linux swap? or I jus leave the unallocated space alone and let the linux installation to do it for me?
And do I need any 3rd party software to manage the os booting or will linux do it for mi?
Thanks
null (http://null)

[toolshed]

first u need to decide on distro....all linux distros come with a bootloader...lilo or grub.

decide on distro and then install...

i use rh7.2 and i like it...but all distros have a different flavor so look around and read up

redhat or mandrake are good for a newbie....

[mdwatts]

If you are using Linux (Redhat) 7 then you will probably have the older version of Lilo that does not support booting past the 1024 cylinder.

You can leave the freespace and doing the partitioning during the Linux install or preassign the partitions using Partition Magic.