[Bloody Sam Roberts]

if I switch to LINUX do my drivers still work? Do I have to spend weeks getting everything to mesh?

Yes.
No.

In fact, I use Linux Mint 17.2 with a HP Photosmart C4180 printer. The driver for that printer...and pretty much any HP...comes native in Linux Mint 17.2.

I have lots of peripherals and none of them required any search for drivers.

Additionally, the Software Manager is 10,000,000,000 times better than anything MS has. You open it, type in a search string or phrase to describe what you are looking for (photo editor, sound editor, etc) and it will return all possibles. You can read reviews, ratings, get screenshots and install it. Don't like it? Right click on the entry for your new program in the Start menu and click uninstall....gone. Sweeeet. No registry with left-behind crap or malware. It's just gone.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That must be something fairly recent in Mint.....Nice!

I ;eft Mint some years ago.