I appreciate the ISO "copy" issue. Thanks.
But another problem: the drive in the Sony is a CD-ROM drive, not a DVD. All the current Linux ISO files that I'm familiar with are around 1.6 GB. Hard to stuff that onto a CD-ROM. Obviously there are versions that fit on a CD, but the two old ones I dug out of my software drawer are 20 years old.
That's going to be a limiting factor.
I think we should visit a different idea.
You can (usually) install Linux on a different PC and then just transfer the drive. To do this, most folks open the box up and disconnect the drives - then install Linux on the drive they're going to transfer to the other computer.
So, if you have a tower PC (or even a laptop) you can put the HDD in that computer, install Linux, remove the drive, and then switch that drive to the laptop in question.
BUT...
In this case, your laptop may have a very different interface. It would probably be ATA/IDE or whatever the old ATA is that was used in laptops (I've forgotten the specific name) and a newer computer may well be SATA. While there are adapters, you may not have one on hand.
You can also do a minimal install (in many cases) and then install your desktop environment and other applications that you need.
I did see your post up-thread and I'm baffled that it won't let you boot to USB. That was an option as much a decade and a half ago.
Also, you're going to be REALLY limited by your CPU architecture. You're using a 32 bit CPU, which eliminates many of the big distros.
~searches~
Alright, I found one that will work for you - maybe... It now boils down to hardware compatibility.
BunsenLabs Linux is a distribution offering a light-weight and easily customizable Openbox desktop
www.bunsenlabs.org
That has i386 (i686 - or 32 bit) support, stays up to date, has a nice GUI, runs well on old hardware, is meant for older computers, has a good community around it, and will fit your needs.
So, maybe you can give that a try?