I have a Windows XP SP3 machine that is having trouble installing some hardware. It is a IBM eServer xSeries 205. I have not opened the machine but I get the notices every login.

If I install Ubuntu via VMWare is it possible that the hardware would get recognized correctly and I'll be able to know if they a) work correctly and b) what they actually are?

I fully understand the issues with compatibility and how if it's not on the hardware list it may or may not be recognized. I'm just trying to test the capabilities of the machine and see how functional it is.