A functional TDE distribution...

Hello all, I use OSS 11.1 + KDE3.5.12, installed from a live CD. The motherboard of the computer is based on an AMD 64-bit, and has about 6 years of age. My recent installation attempts are - OSS 12.1 + KDE3 - OSS 12.2 Minimum, - Exegnulinux_3.3. All have failed. All seem to have problems with the configuration screen: can not use the screen in 1280x1024 resolution (graphics card is ATI 350AV [Radeon 9600])! I remember trying with almost complete success, a UBUNTU + Trinity (dated March 2011). It came to use 100% CPU for no reason, and that research in files on disk 500GB were going badly with Konqueror. I left it when I found the Live CD 11.1+kde3 (I am still using). Westurday morning, I tried exegnulinux_3.3. I did not succeed. A 1360x768 screen has been proposed (not 1380, but 1360!), Then, once in this mode and after restarting the configuration tool, a 1380x1024 screen, but can not complete the setting because the "configuration tool work in graphical mode and if you stop the monitor or the card, this tool can not work "or something like that! In addition, the installation on a USB key failed. The last distribution tryed (just now) was Fedora-17 (07/2012), a live TDE CD that is doing the best by far. But here, at the time of installation: - Unable to change (select any other) disk to install the boot loader - Can not format in an other format than ext4 (no ReiserFS). - Alert at end of installation: "Can not install the boot loader". The cd that I used to boot one of my systems using GRUB1 do not know Ext4. Consequently to boot Fedora is IMPOSSIBLE! Finally, I feel very overtaken by my readings in this list for the USERS, which speaks so much of INSTALLATION SCRIPTS. And if I well understand, a lot of things changed in Linux: XWindow, SytV init, Grub, give up of reiserfs for Ext4, KDE4 & Gnome3, sound system, etc, etc... My question is: OpenSuse is now made so low that I MUST DROP this distribution. Direct me to what? Thank you very much for your work and help.