thanks for the insight, much appreciated.  i will probably be back to this board a few more times today with more questions 

Graphics Adapter: ATI Radeon HD 4250
not sure if this as the same as a graphics card, not much knowledge on on computers

if my computer is basically 3 years old, is it powerful enough to even try to mine, and im mean through a co-op, is there anyway i can/will make a contribution?  im not expecting any huge return on my mining efforts, but if i can add a millionth or something everyday it still seems worth it too me.

how will this effect my laptops ability to function?  are there any downsides to downloading bitcoin core?  is there any security risk to myself?