Install Linux on a WinXP box

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

I'm trying to install linux on my WinXP machine

? do i need a second hard or a partition in order to get it running

[chilifrei64]

yes. you need to either format your current partition and get rid of XP

or

partition your current hard drive to allow for enough space for your linux distro

or

get a second hard drive and install linux on that..

basically same rules apply if you wanted to dual boot a windows OS.