Light weight Linux to go on Windows 7

Ubuntu Server is probably a really easy to go (though I haven't tried it in Virtual Box). You can have it automatically install LAMP for you during the install process.

"Another good server distribution is CentOS. It's similar to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and is a good place for people starting out with Linux.

But if all you want is a web server stack, there are Windows versions of the entire Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP) stack. Try Googling for XAMPP or WAMP."

"I have been using Portable Ubuntu for awhile:
http://portableubuntu.demonccc.com.ar/

Seems to work pretty good."

"A lot of distributions that start without a GUI will contain only the bare basis needed to be able to install everything you want. If you would want my opinion then check out Gentoo Linux:

Gentoo Linux, a special
flavor of Linux that can be
automatically optimized and customized
for just about any application or
need. Extreme performance,
configurability and a top-notch user
and developer community are all
hallmarks of the Gentoo experience."