You can now run ubuntu right in windows with the use of wubi so you can run it as if it were a program in windows. However the particular distro you are asking me about in that link is NOT ubuntu per say, it is a distro that someone has created using ubunutu core, they have altered it to their linking and added some additional programs and removed some of the original ones. I know nothing of that particular distro at all never even heard of it so not sure how long lived it will be and be supported. Now to the real ubuntu it is widely used and many like it. I have used it in the past it is not my fave distro of linux. I personally use Mepis Linux to me it is one of the easiest to get set up and running and for people used to windows since it uses the KDE desktop manager rather than Gnome like ubuntu, however you can get Kubuntu which is ubuntu using the KDE desktop instead of the Gnome. I know that is sounding like a bunch of strange talk but it does make a difference. If you wanted to try ubuntu I would highly suggest this book it is the one that got me started and it is an excellent resource especially for ubuntu. Ubuntu for Non-Geeks I think his latest edition is 4, you would definitely want which ever is the latest one. I picked mine up at Barnes and Noble locally. The thing with ubuntu is they update the versions frequently so it is likely that what ever the book is for will not be the latest version of ubuntu. To understand that you can look at this wiki to see the various versions of ubuntu List of Ubuntu releases What I personally would suggest is that you get yourself a linux live cd what ever you prefer in distro, and simply just put in the cd and boot your pc from that cd and it will allow you to run linux strictly from that cd and never touch your windows at all, that way you can test drive it and see what you think then when you are wanting to go back to windows just remove the cd and reboot the pc back as normal to windows. That is the preferred way to do any banking these days because what ever you do while using the live cd is not saved to the hard drive and is much like working in a safe box. Here is where you can pick up a free kubuntu cd https://login.launchpad.net/JxWlf4vnC5G7sfBL/+decide register and log in and fill out the info for a free live cd. They usually take about a week to arrive.

Is there a reason you want to get rid of XP? If no, why not dual-boot? Don't expect your wireless to work in the Live CD. If you know what kind of wireless card you have, It'd be a good idea to do some research to find out if it's supported. Also if a wired connection is available while installing Ubuntu that is highly recommended. I have two installs of 10.04 running on two Dell desktops. After installing, go to System > Administration > Hardware Drivers to see if any additional drivers for your video or wireless are available. I discovered after both installs that the audio was muted, so I had to locate the audio control and increase it. I've had no issues with dvd drive or display. Any printer I connected was recognized automatically.

There are Linux distributions specifically "designed" with older hardware in mind......AntiX might be just what you're looking for.... See the link......... Then again maybe not...Go to distrowatch.com and click on all the "top 100" list items....AntiX runs like a scalded dog on fairly recent hardware with 2GB Ram. Then again, almost everything runs really fast with 2GB RAM and nothing running except what's needed/wanted....And just my experience with the "base" system that underlies AntiX, (SimplyMepis7.0 for more "recent" hardware) it's absolutely unbeatable, and stable as a rock running 4 browsers with lots and lots of windows and tabs open and several programs running too.... And in my experience, no need for anything anti-virus or the like needed..... I never turn this thing off and never disconnect from the WWW, and I never have an issue If you think you are going to run XP w/o issue on that much RAM, it ain't gonna happen, not with anything more than just the base OS running anyway at a pace that you'll measure in less than hours, you won't anyway....But with lots of RAM it will do just fine, just remember to start nothing and only load what you are running. Regardless of what you choose to do or what you choose to run, more RAM is always a good thing. Here is a link that might be useful: OS for

sp3 is exactly the same nothing has changed with it what I am saying is those are the end of support days that MS has issued. If it caused problems originally it is still the same service pack and would likely have the same response. I have one of mine that still has sp2 also because of the AMD processor and some of the conflicts it had with sp3, whether I will try to go to sp3 I have not decided yet. But if I did I would do it not through windows updates but from the actual sp3 update site either by ordering the cd or downloading the update then I would follow all the original suggestions for installing it like disconnecting from internet, disabling all antivirus programs and firewalls and doing the install that way or even in safe mode, that would give the best results and is how it has been suggested to do it since the beginning. Of course many people had no problem installing sp3 but for those who did have problems it was pretty scary going and definitely put some off of trying it.