total newbie!

I have an old Thinkpad G41 that seems to be able to run any version of Linux that I put on it, so, your t43 should work ok.

Any Linux distro will allow you to do mail and surf the internet, and, there are many threads here that focus on the pros and cons of many Linux distros, but anyway, I'll see if I can start you off.

I would usually tell a new user to try Ubuntu or Linux Mint, but, because of the recent switch in Window Managers, at present, they may not be the best to try. I started off with PCLinuxOS and Mepis, and, as far as I can see, these two distros still are new user friendly and have few complaints.

The PCLinuxOS distro can be downloaded here: http://www.pclinuxos.com/?page_id=10 As far as I can see, the KDE version is a 700mb Live CD. I haven't used their installer in a while, but, since there is no OS on your Thinkpad, there is probably an option to use the whole disk while doing a default install. I can see that they also offer a Full Monty edition, which comes with all extras and codecs already installed. Having codecs and graphics drivers already installed saves a lot of time and hassle, especially when surfing the internet. Since installing Flash for the internet sites that use it (and most do) is one of the first things one does after the install. If you have a good bandwidth connection, and don't mind downloading a 3.93GB DVD, and, have the hardware to burn a DVD iso, then, I would choose that version.

Once you have the CD or DVD, it's as easy as clicking on the install button, answering a few questions, and, a short time later being up and running.

BTW - Welcome to the Linux.com forums, and, if you have any other questions feel free to ask. Also, if you wait a bit, I'm sure others will have suggestions that differ from mine. Although, heh, I like my suggestions better. :-)

Edit: if you do choose the Full Monty version, when installing, choose the Internet option, from what I can see, that contains all you need for mail and internet surfing.

@djm18748 You're entitled to your opinion, but stop trolling. If you had a bad experience there's no need to spam the forums with your displeasure.

Putting Windows 98 on a Thinkpad is the probably the worst idea I've heard in a long time. Not only is it a system no longer supported by Microsoft, it has none of the features of a modern day operating system, and, that includes not having the security fixes that that particular version of Windows needs to survive on today's internet.

sorry for getting every one upset but i asked the question how do i check if my laptop still has windows on it about two weeks ago and no one would answer me so i got rude and got all kind of responses. So if you can help please do i am trying to see if i can set up a dual boot or not on it any help would be gratefull. I am using ubuntu 11.10 and it wont rip a cd or upload pics from my camara yet it will let me listen to the cd and look at pics. I have gone thru almost every music download ubuntu offers and they all just wont rip a cd and i cant find any other program to upload pics.

You downloaded the 64 bit version of the iso. You need to look for the version that says i686, or i586. Sometimes the isos are multi arch which means that you can choose either 32 or 64 bit from the same iso, but, it may not be in your case. Some dual-core duos are not 64 bit. I have a P4 in my G41 Thinkpad that is suppose to be hyperthreading, but only uses 32 bit distros. I guess in a nutshell, go back and get the i686 version, that will boot up on your machine.