Hi all

While i am dealing with my current XP-virus-infected-problem I looked real hard at switching to a Mac. Problem is, it is just too expensive for a broke college student like me. So someone recommended Ubuntu. I did some reading up, but frankly, I am not computer wiz. I am a regular PC user with no special needs for special softwares so far. I mostly use my comp for the internet. What do you think?

I think Ubuntu would be a good choice; it installs easily, and there is a huge support community. If you like, you can download a live-cd version, burn it to a disk, and give it a try before committing to installing it.
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

How to burn it to a cd:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto

Just realized that my pc is 5 years old. I think there would be an issue with the drivers. Hmm...need to think this over. Must I reformat my pc to install Ubuntu?

If you install linux, it is going to reformat your system so that it uses a file structure compatible with linux.

Generally the only time there are issues with linux drivers is when the hardware is too new, not the opposite.

Also, the Ubuntu installer can automagically repartition your hard drive so that Windows and all your data remain intact alongside Linux. At boot time, you'll be given an option as to which OS to install.

I use ubuntu and it is great but I highly recommend a dual boot. You can do just about anything on ubuntu but there are still a few programs that are windows only that you may need at some point such as photoshop (although there is gimp, it's not the same). This will let you do reap the benefits of both xp and ubuntu. Try running ubuntu off of a live disc first so you can see how you like it and even try a few other distros of linux, maybe you'll like something else better. Then when you're ready, install. Just remember when running off a live disc it won't be quite as fast as having it installed on the computer.

You can set up a dual-boot if you're concerned about losing data or functionality.

Typically, Linux runs better on older hardware because it takes up less RAM and HD space; kernel drivers for older hardware are usually easy to find, so you should be OK there. Drivers are an issue on bleeding-edge new hardware because the community hasn't had a chance to reverse-engineer the drivers, but older systems like yours don't have that problem.

I just installed Ubuntu at home after years of supporting Microsoft OSs. I bought an enormous blank drive and decided to make this an entirely open-source box.

I was a fan of Windows only because I didn't know anything else, and after just 2 days of playing around with Ubuntu, I'm hooked. The basic tools are better, it is much more customizable than any Windows OS I have ever seen, and the open source support community has solutions for just about anything, you just have to look.

Whereas Linux boxes don't get infections like Windows, it's just because there are not much malware out there that is written for that platform. yet, I am sure that the same -ahem- @programmers@ will also learn to write malware for the various versions of Linux.

Starting with a blank drive, I burned the image onto the disk & failed to boot. I looked at it again, and found that I had to have the install app on the same level as the root. I just wasn't paying attention when I burned the first disk, but at least now I have a backup!

Once it booted, I had to wait for hours to partition, format, and install- a 400 gig drive takes a while!

Now it's just a matter of taking the time to learn it, play with the settings & find or make apps that will do the things I want it to do.

I'll never go back to Windows!

Nice to have you among the converted.
Trouble with malware on Linux is you can only harm your own
files and not the important system files.
Screw that up and just create a new user and continue on.
Linux is open source so thousands of eyes look it over, improve it
and keep it secure. It's totally worth the learning curve.