If you are unsure how determine your type of hard drive I'm not sure you should be dual booting your system (nothing personal, it can be a risky operation).
If you are just wanting to try out Ubuntu, you may want to try out a Live CD.
If you do decide to dual boot, BACK UP ALL YOUR DATA!!!! You will be playing with the boot manager and a mistake will prevent you from starting your system (and probably require a re-install unless you are very good or very lucky).
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"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
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