Compaq Presario v5000 o.s sugesstions?

Well like the subject says i need some operating systems you guys would reconmend..

I've tried Xp home -do not like it
linux mint7 -had problems getting wireless/wlan too work..

I dont have any of the cds it came with why? it was a gift from a friend how was no longer using the laptop.

So im basicly looking for something that dont take a lot of memory during the installation of the o.s.. Any feedback would be really helpful .

Sorry about this post if its a little confusing ,im new here .

Its currently running Linux Mint 7 but the bootup is giving me an error.

The system should still have all the specs it had when frist purchased.