R_1 :
I would still at least try to see if the bootable USB would work. that is an old machine and I'm almost sure that the drivers are already open sourced and in the distro, which is why there would be no drivers on the site. booting the usb will allow you to test if the machine works (without installing anything) with linux and even which devices you may need drivers for should you decide to try linux.
Agreed. No harm in trying
Here is some info on creating and trying to boot from an
Ubuntu Live CD, assuming your laptop has an internal CD/DVD player.
If you do not have an internal CD/DVD drive, you can try a
Live USB test run
If you are able to successfully boot into Ubuntu, things you should test would be graphics, audio (mic and speakers/headsets), Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB devices like a mouse and external keyboard (though that seems kind of redundant since you booted from it).
If it all works to your satisfaction, then I see no reason not to install it onto the hard drive.
-Wolf sends