I'm looking for a Linux distribution with desktop interface that can run on a low-specced (read: old) PC of mine that currently runs Windows XP.
A little background:
Dad has this 10 y.o. PC that he mainly uses for playing Windows solitaires, spreadsheets and reading/writing DOCX files. He has used nothing but Windows for all of his life.
As you might very well know, XP is unsupported. This means more viruses, more risks and the inability to keep other software up to date. We want to try to salvage this PC before going for a new one.
My initial idea was to format the computer to do a clean install of a more recent Windows version, but I'm not sure it will work due to lack of support for IDE/PATA drives or other hardware compatibility issues. In any case, I can't install Dropbox to move there the files he wants to keep because they stopped supporting XP as well (and, given that the PC has been running under XP while connected to the Internet, making anything less than a full wipe formatting is out of question).
So, I want to install some compatible Linux, move data to Dropbox from there, wipe, install new Windows version while keeping my fingers crossed.
If it looks like dad can use Linux without damaging it to the point of unusability (he's infamous for having disabled the general audio or deleted shortcuts from the desktop or navbar without realizing) and he likes LibreOffice, or if the Windows installation fails, I might very well keep Linux, so it's important that it is a winuser-friendly interface.
The computer is a Pentium D 3 GHz with an Intel 82801G chipset. It is 64-bit compatible.
I have already done some research and I was looking at this list of distributions and interfaces, but if you can suggest better ones I'm all ears.
It is not 64-bit compatible
What you said is incorrect. All Pentium D processors supported Intel 64 (formerly EM64T), XD Bit, and were manufactured for the LGA 775 form factor.