As for auto detecting hardware, its best to just download the driver modules form the manufactures website, and then load them at startup. Printers and network cards are basically the only hardware thats not really supported for linux by manufactures, but the linux Kernel will handle the driver aspect of them.

The best way is to read a guide on configuring a kernel, and build it yourself, to the needs of your system. After you build your first Kernel, its really fast and easy from then on.

I still recommend Slackware once you learn the basics, its not much harder than the major distro's but will teach you even more as to how an OS operates.

I myself used Redhat for about a month, then switched to Slackware about a year and a half ago. Now i'm running a Stage1 Gentoo install thats smooth as silk. I still dual boot Win2K for my gaming addiction though.