Virus

if you download linux mint 13 image..and burn to dvd....install it in your dvd drive and boot from the dvd drive...it will walk you thru ....Mint will partition the drive to allow a dual boot set up...windoze and mint...

but as said about with a dual boot....it is nice to keep all your files (pictures and documents) on a separate partition from the two operating systems..

after you learn linux you will boot windows off your computer...

what i did was install one of the linux distro onto an old computer and learn how to use it...been using it for 4 or 5 yrs now...not an expert...but learning ....