Generally speaking, driver problems in one "flavour" of Linux will be the same across the board for all versions using the same Linux "kernel".
In my case I have an el-cheapo scanner, a
Canon N670U which like many is a rebadged something else. Linspire 4.5 recognises it for what it is, as does SuSE 9.1 (but from memory, SuSE 9.0 does not).
The tasks you detail are typical of the things that many people want to use a computer for, and given the right hardware (supported by drivers) Linux in general, and Linspire in particular, will give you a solid base to work on without problems with high-cost dialers, keyloggers and other nasties being installed without your knowledge.
Be warned there are many games - and other appplications - written for the windows interface that will not run in Linux - even if you use the WINE derivations like Codeweavers which solve many of those problems. In some cases versions may have been written for Linux. In other cases the authors have not bothered. This is not a fault with Linux, but rather one of indifference by the program authors. It is worth while contacting them to see if they can provide help there.
While Linspire is designed for beginners in Linux, familiar with using Microsoft Windows, in order to fix problems some expertise is obviously needed, but once fixed, it does not usually break regularly like windows. That expertise is usually provided in a specialist forum, with step by step instructions.
You may find that a visit to the forums at
https://forum.linspire.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?Cat= might be useful to resolve specific issues... most linux distributions have forums, some which are more friendly towards newcomers without experience.
One reason Linux is more reliable is that it is designed as a multi-user operating system where you don't expose the "guts" to corruption. This is done through logging in as a specific user, rather than as the administrator (using the "root" account).
In more recent Windows, where "user" facility is provided, does not do it properly. So it is important that in Linux wherever possible you use a user account; in Linspire you are prompted to set such up as soon as the machine reboots after install, and there is a menu item (under settings I think) to create users.
Transitioning from one operating system to another is never entirely foolproof. However Linspire's designers are to be commended for making it as easy as possible within the constraints of some situations needing expert advice.
Take heart! Even if you have to reinstall the product, it does not take nearly as long to do it as a Windows reinstall... nor some Linux distributions, for example SuSE. But the stability of the product is far superior to Windows because of the design philosophy behind it.
When you have a number of individual problems related to different things, it is often better to detail each in a seperate post. Where several are strung together, someone who might have a solution for one may be put off responding to the "help needed" request because they don't have all the other answers
Welcome to Linux. It is actually a fabulous OS. Maybe you would like to give us details of what your machine's hardware comprises. And the version of Linspire which you can see from the opening page in the "Control Panel" interface. Did you decide to subscribe to the Click-n-Run installer?
Look forward to hearing back from you.
PS I meant to suggest, try the "redetect" option in the boot menu to see if the other drives are recognised. I know with the "stable" kernel they are using in the current version that there are problems in recognising some types of drive that are not IDE.
This may well be addressed in the future when they use a later kernel.
