Linux

try something ubuntu/debian or fedora based.
keep a light weight desktop manager that will be easy on the resources. Basically anything but gnome and kde will be fine. xfce, lxde, openbox and others are good choices.

To start, try out xubuntu (xfce) or lubuntu (lxde)
http://www.xubuntu.org/
http://www.lubuntu.net/

Both can be run directly from the CD/DVD without installing anything, and generally no 'addons' are necessary.

If your running wifi, please tell us which card it is (serial number and/or model+revision and/or exact chipset) so you can get it working. Many wifi chips work 'out of the box' but a few require minor work to get them running.

There is a million+1 different distrobutions, these two are just a good starting point and work mostly out of the box. Have fun!

Thanks, no a stupid question the hard drive that is in the machine is empty or blank will that be a problem will I néed to get drivers

Most drivers are included in the Kernel itself, so the majority of computer will work to some extent immediately after the install. Some proprietary drives will need to be installed with root permission, and some drivers may need to be downloaded and installed manually. It's hard to say what will and won't be included.

That's why I love this site. You guys are awesome! THANK YOU!

No worries, don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions  

: well I installed xfce and it works great except for there is no sound. Being that I'm a total noob when it comes to Linux I'm not sure what to do. I have updated everything and even installed a different sound card instead of using the integrated audio controller. But same results and I can't find the sound card in the system. If you could guide me in the right direction I would appreciate it!

Thanks in advance

You may need to install Pulse Audio if it isn't already.

$sudo apt-get install pulseaudio

:thank you. I tried and it said "pulseaudio is already the newest version"

try out mint-Debiant its the best all round user friendly disto   best for wifi... and sound i guess lol

Mint is just essentially a re-skinned Ubuntu with all the proprietary drivers included in the kernel. These drivers can still be installed in Ubuntu. On top of that, it has a different menu, and has been reskinned. I still like Mint though, and agree it's a very user-friendly distro.

Mint Debian is based on Debian Testing, not Ubuntu   It's got a few quirks in it that come from Debian but nothing that is impossible to configure. For example, you sometimes have to elevate to root privileges to shut down the computer. You'd never see that in Ubuntu but Ubuntu is pre-configured for desktops, while Debian isn't.

Ahh, missed that. My brain just read Mint