I tried Ubuntu/Linux. (Not sure what the difference is.)
I successfully installed it, and tried to use it on an old Dell Laptop (Vostro 1000). Apparently Dell doesn’t do well with that OS, I couldn’t get the drivers to function correctly..
If I could find a hardware brand that is known to work well with Linux I might try it again.
I've had that problem in the past but they've improved quite a bit over the years.
You might want to try the Peppermint distro. That works well with older machines. I was able to successfully resurrect a first-generation EEE PC as well as an ancient Sony Vaio by using that distribution.
I would suggest that you try playing with LiLi, a software that allows you to easily create "live USB" sticks where you can play with different Linux distributions until you find one that fully works and that you like.
Posting this running Ubuntu 15.04 on a Dell Inspiron 5520. Everything ran at install. Install was fast. I don’t miss the psychosis that was Windows 8, 8.1, 10 preview. 10 preview is like we threw away the big smelly garbage that was 8 and we only left a few thousand annoying crumbs behind.