Welcome to the group (and to linux). Generally speaking, the information you'll provide is going to be directly related to your question. As a new guy, you won't know what info to give, or how to get it - that's OK. Ask your question, and then say, "I don't know what information I need to give in order to get help". Many people will jump in with suggestions, commands you should run, etc.
As for favorite distro, that question has been the cause of more than one religious war. I like Gentoo for many reasons, and I also like Debian for many. I've seen benefits to SuSE, Fedora, and many others, but those two remain my favorites. For less technical family members and those looking to try linux, I recommend Ubuntu. The install is easy, they've managed to make it a quick and painless install on many configurations, and it's readily available (and looks slick).
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