Hi Soontobegeekyfrond

I would recommend you if you want to have a Linux on your Laptop try either SUSE Linux or UBUNTU Linux. SUSE is now Open Source and I have never had any Problems with it. You can also Try UBUNTU which is of course free and you can find it in nearly every PC Magazine. For you I would recommend you the Ubuntu Linux because it is easy to install and comes with alot of Drivers. Here is the Link for Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com/download and here for the SUSE Linux: http://en.opensuse.org/Welcome_to_openSUSE.org. I hope I could help you with your Problem.