Installing Different Linux Distro

I can find a couple of posts on various forums / faqs that are CLOSELY related to this question, but none that answer it exactly:

I installed Linux-Mandrake just to get familiar with X Windows and the console, etc. etc. Now, I would like to remove it, and replace it with Red Hat Linux 7.1. However, I also need to preserve my Windows installation.

Do I need to take any special steps BEFORE beginning the Red Hat installation to:

1) Replace the Linux-Mandrake partition / distro with Red Hat Linux?
2) Preserve the existing Windows partition / install?

Thanks a lot!

Sorry! I figured out what it was that was throwing me off:

When I had created the Mandrake partition it had given less than 1GB of space to Linux Native / Swaps, leaving the rest in the hands of Windows. When I went into Disk Druid to try and set the partitions, I was confusing the Linux partitions that already existed with new ones I wanted to add (for a larger native space), and for some reason it wasn't registering with me that Windows was eating up almost all of the disk.

I'm just blowing away both partitions and starting from scratch so that I can make the partitions a little more equalized. Thanks anyway!