I bought a Dell last summer and returned it, then got another and returned that too, 'cause of this problem. Their lower res screens are crap, definitely look into a better brand in terms of screens, or return and upgrade the screen to...
Yz dock doesn't need support, it's perfect. It's made by the same person who designed the Mac OS dock, there's no reason to get any other one.
The only reason he stopped support in the first place is 'cause Apple didn't want him...
Don't do it with the Linux LiveCD, that just complicates the matter. Empty some space using Partition Magic or any other partition prog, run the installer and have it install to the unpartitioned space.