Best hardware detection

[Harry Giles]

I have a new HP Pavilion DV9000 I want to put Linux on, but it has 
issues with the keyboard detection when I try Mepis, Ubuntu, etc.  Also, 
it has a AMD Turion 64x2 processor, and an expanded keyboard with a 
built in num pad.

 From all your experience, what distro handles hardware detection best?

Also, under XP, where do I go to get a list of the installed hardware 
(wireless card, networking card, video, etc.)?


Thank you in advance.


Harry G