I too am new to linux (and have no clue what i'm doing).
I don't have an answer to your question. Not sure where to start. But, I noticed you haven't gotten a response on this, I thought I'd suggest something. Maybe it help, it may not. Check out this forum
here, and post your question. They seem quite helpfull there and obviously the whole forum is geared towards linux and the various distros. They even have a newbie section that i've been reading for the last few days to answer my own questions about linux. There is another forum you should check out, but I'm still trying to find the link for as I am currently at work.
Good luck!
-- jolt