MattC

Hi Im a noob at audio editing but am reasonably computer literate and im sorry if this post id in the wrong area although i expect i will be using this software. The basic situation is My grandad recorded a load of audio cassette tapes before he died of stories and i'd like to transfer them onto the computer so that their safer and wont get damaged. May also give them out to relatives. This is the first issue I have no relevant hardware or software so i need to know what to get. Next issue the recording was genereally done with a built in mic giving a lot of background whirring noise etc. Would there be anyway to edit out these noises as there quite loud and distracting at some points. Any advice for a noob?