Need guidance for a move from XP to Linux!

I've got an old Dell XP desktop that I've literally only booted about once/month to update it since building a x64 W7 SP1 PC 5/2011. At that time I did move anything of importance to this W7 PC. How/what do I need to do to make it 100% Linux? Please assume I'm pretty clueless (which I am) and the fact that I'm an old guy! Thank you!

 

Let me ask you first, what are the applications you consider critical for your daily use?
Mrk

 

Frankly probably not much more than CCleaner since it's just a secondary machine and could just use my web mails. I'll probably think of something else after I post this of course. Thank you!

 

So now Office, no printer drivers, no scanners, or alike?
Mrk

 

Wait another week for 14.04 to come out.

 

I assume you mean Ubuntu 14.04 (the OP is admits to being pretty clueless).


Ratchet,

One of the good things about Linux is that most distributions have LiveCD/USBs that allow you to run the version of Linux in question without having to install.
I would pick a few of the popular options such as Ubuntu and Mint, give them a try and see which you find easiest to use.

 

Mrkvonic, NGRhodes and elapsed thank you. No office, printers or anything. I'm sure I'll work it out!

 

Sorry, yes I meant Ubuntu 14.04.

It will release on April 17th and is LTS (Long Term Support). I would recommend an LTS version to you over anything else.

 

Download ubuntu from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
or
Download linux mint from here: http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

Then download http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/

Pick up an empty flash drive 2gb in size and install your linux via universal usb installer. That easy. As your first distro I would suggest you try Ubuntu and Linux Mint Cinammon. You probably gonna have less problems with Ubuntu. As others mentioned, wait until the new version 14.04 comes out. It's a stable version that's gonna be supported for many years.

 

How old is this desktop and what kind of graphics card does it have? I'm asking because Ubuntu's Unity desktop requires 3D hardware.

If the system's hardware isn't up to snuff, you might want to consider something that defaults to XFCE or LXDE.