[sigh]
"If you don't have the original disks that came with the computer you either have to buy another copy of Microsoft Windows, or get a free operating system such as Ubuntu Linux. If you don't do much more on your computer than surf the web, write emails, and send letters, then you'll find little difference using Linux (except that you can worry a lot less about viruses and trojans). Go to
www.lug.org.uk and find a user group in your area -- you'll usually find them very ready to help a new Linux user.