DivotMaker said:
One other thing, Cat... I would highly encourage an upgrade to Windows 7. Stay away from 8 - still lots of issues. There are some good deals out there on 7 (OEM version discs from places like newegg.com). Definitely worth the money! You'll see a vast improvement over Windows XP. Very stable platform, and I rarely have any kind of hardware/software conflicts like you're describing.
To preface let me say that I am a Microsoft employee and may be a bit biased.
With the release of Windows 8.1, the issues that most had with the original release have been resolved. I do not see any reason to install an older Win7 operating system. Other than having to get used to the new Start screen, I am not sure what problems people would be complaining about. Other than the start screen and some of the configuration options, you will not see a ton of changes that are visible. For example, your Windows Desktop where you spend most of your time works just as it always has. With the release of 8.1, you can even have your computer boot directly to your desktop instead of the Start menu.
If the new Start menu is a deal breaker for you (I would first encourage you to try it for awhile), there are several free products out there that can simulate the old Start menu.
I have been using Win8 since the Consumer Preview days and would not want to go back to Windows 7 again. I still have a Win7 computer that I occasionally use for testing customer issues, but I much prefer Windows 8.
Using Windows 8.1 will ensure that you have the latest Internet Explorer builds and should resolve your forum access issues.
That being said, I would not load Win7 or Win8 on an XP computer unless it is a computer that was purchased just prior to the end of XP being loaded on new computers. Computers have advanced so far since the XP days that trying to load a newer OS on an old piece of hardware will not yield very good results.
Desktop prices have come down so far, that you can get a pretty nice CPU unit (assuming your monitor is still good) for around $300. With a new OS cost of around $100-$150, why not get new hardware for just a little more?
Also, since Windows XP is no longer supported or being updated, it is vulnerable to attacks. So, accessing the Internet on an XP machine is at your own risk.
If for whatever reason you cannot get a new computer, I would make sure that you have applied all of your "Microsoft Updates" (note I did not say "Windows Updates"). If you go to update your computer and it says "Windows Update", look for an option on the screen that talks about installing "Microsoft Update". The difference between the two is that Windows Update only updates Windows, while Microsoft Update updates any/all Microsoft applications on your computer.
If you do not see an option for Windows Update, try using the following link:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
