Ubuntu Linux or Linux Mint will do EVERYTHING you need them to do, AND you could download either one, install it to a flash drive, boot off of it, and give Linux a test drive before you decide to replace your XP install.
Problem with your specs is that you don't have the horsepower needed to run Win7 or esp. Win8. They both require a minimum of 1 GB of physical RAM and a multi-core processor. Oh, and Windows 8 is only available in 64-bit.
If you don't want to upgrade your hardware, I'd highly recommend checking out a flavor of Linux. Linux is amazing for web browsing, email, instant messaging, and general duties. Linux is not, however, ideal for gaming at this time. If you're on a machine still running XP, however, I'd guess you weren't doing much in the way of gaming outside of maybe minesweeper or Freecell.
Just my $0.02.
Where did you get that idea? I'm looking at a 32-bit Win8 installation disk right now.
The OP said his machine has 2 gig of RAM, which is totally sufficient to run Win8.
As one who has tried every major and some minor Linux distros on older (6-10 years) PCs i have to disagree, considering the person in need here. Linux typically failed at doing what you take for granted can be done easily in Windows without having to learn search forums, and try various coding attempts, which can vary from one flavor another.
And unless he has a hardware modem, he likely will have problems with dial up.
Recently i have been involved now with trying to install Linux on an HP nx9005 laptop, 1.67ghz cpu and 512mb ram for someone whose HDD i replaced , and thus i want to use a lightweight distro.
So i did some partitioning on my own, and then i installed Fedora 16 LXDE. But Yum would get stuck in a loop after first update. Will not close.Killed it, try again, logoff or reboot and tried again, — same thing occurs. No help that works found online.
So Installed Lubuntu 13.10. Does not detect simply DSL network connection via DSL, which Fedora did. Looked online and ran sudo pppeo conf to no avail, and looked about a dozen of questions to forums on the same error message in which no answer was found.
Then there is the problem of illegal codecs, which i want to be legal about, and have read the debate. I asked which proprietary codecs they were so i could use any distro i wanted and remove them, but no one can tell me as the names vary from distro to distro. I would buy the Fluendo package if i relied on Linux, but i really only want it for a alternative, and for old PCs i would give away.
I upgraded to Win8 pro for 29.00 (w/ rebate) when it was being promoted, so i cannot complain about the price.
Still, i think Linux has potential, and i am for alternatives, but it actually suffers from too many individuality and lack of maturity. And yes i have my critiques of Windows also, but thank God for the abilities computers give us.
Have tried to install LINUX several times over the years but have never been smart enough to install it on any computer.
I could only download “tarball” files which I didn’t have a clue as to what to do with. Have (and have wasted)several CDs full of useless tarball files.
Just downloaded MINT “Cinnamon” to a thumb drive but it’s a “hybrid *.iso” file which I have no idea how to install.
None of the instructions make any sense to me, so apparently I’m still too stupid to join the ranks of LINUX users.
Do you still have to be an advanced technogeek in order to run LINUX?
Is there any other way?