kaled - 4:01 pm on Apr 29, 2009 (gmt 0)

Vista is a memory/resource hog so unless you have a high spec system, XP will be better for you.

Bear in mind, security software (anti-virus, firewalls, etc) can cause as many problems it solves, as can registry monitors/cleaners etc. Also, defragging frequently is a total waste of time on most systems.

In this case, a repair install should be your first action. It's unlikely to fix anything in your case, but it's certainly worth trying. If that fails to work a clean install is your best bet. (If necessary, backup first.)

> XP Home is not as robust as Pro

I've never studied this closely, but so far as I'm aware, XP Home and XP Pro are more or less identical, however, some features are disabled/removed in XP Home. Stability should be similar (but XP Home may have a poorer reputation since Pro is more likely to be used by people who know what they're doing).

Kaled.