Installing to USB (and Running In Windows?)

[mahesh]

Greetings,

I am familiar with ubuntu through school, but very new to actually using it on my own computers.

I am currently (but wishing I wasn't) a Windows user, and trying to find a way o transfer over to a linux system completely, although that will take time to accomplish.

To get started, I know it is possible to install and operate ubuntu from a USB drive, but I dont know the details of how to do it and have included two starter questions below.

1.) Do I need a completely fresh usb drive with nothing else on it? Or can I put Ubuntu in a folder alongside other folders on the thumbdrive?

2.) Assuming it gets installed correctly, when you go to run ubuntu - can you run it inside windows, or do you have to redirect windows at startup/boot?

Any helpful pointers much appreciated!

Thank you!

wm