My computer claimed for a while that my 40G hard disk was dead, though now it runs and makes funny noises. I figure it could die any time, so I took the opportunity to backup important stuff on CD and buy a 320G disk :D now I will partition it and get linux. (btw, any recommendations for a particular installation?)
Debian is my favorite distribution for the same reason that many people don't like it; it has a huge set of policies and guidelines for packages, so nothing gets in that isn't ready to get in. It's great for servers and users who like everything about their system to be perfect. :)
Then again, the best distro to learn on is probably either Arch or Slackware. Slack was my first distro, and it taught me all I need to know about the command line (and plenty more). I've never used Arch, but I've heard that it is similar.
Once you're set up, if you have a new enough computer, you can run Windows under Xen at full speed... so you can run Linux as your OS and open Windows on your desktop when you need it. :) I'm doing that once I get my Thinkpad.
Re: Imminent hard drive failure
Linux is gross.