Hi Angel,
Someone else will eventually pop up with a better answer, but here are a few thoughts:
It is possible to make both laptops dual booting, meaning you can load both Windows and Linux and choose which operating system you want to use at boot up. You can access your Windows files from Linux, but you cannot access your Linux files from Windows. Windows simply isn't capable of seeing the files.
For most people new to Linux, we recommend Ubuntu. The install is easy and the graphical interface is straight forward. There are also a lot of Ubuntu users out there, so finding answers to questions is pretty easy. It comes packaged with lots of software to meet the needs of the average user - an entire office suite, graphics editing, picture management, email and calendar, Firefox web browser, music and video players. It's a good place to start.
My only real complaint about Ubuntu is that it comes with only one software choice for each task and I think new users should try out several choices (there are so many under Linux) so they can choose the one that works best for them. I understand why the choices are limited for new users - it makes it less confusing for a new user in a new environment - but still, I would like to see a few options.
The answer of course, is to install the additional software after you have installed Ubuntu, which can be done ridiculously easy through the Synaptic package manager. You just find the software you want, click a button, and Synaptic fetches the files and installs them. If you would like recommendations for software, just ask.
Jennifer
PS - We also help with installations every month at the MazLUG meetings. Just let us know you are coming so we can have the appropriate installation media handy.
