Problems with Windwos XP Pro

Recently, I have purchased a Windows XP pro for around £80 off ebay and begin to install the operating system. I thought that it is going to help me in giving me a more stable platform as Vista is pretty much unstable right now (although there were many reports suggesting that Vista is more stable than XP).

Thinking that my pc is going to be fine, I happy install the operating system. I do ensure that my LAN is not connected to the router and begin to install. The installation was pretty fast as it does not consume a lot of space (unlike Windows Vista Home Premium as it took away around 10GB of space). I then install AVG Home Security which I bought a few days ago for £19.99 (one user, 2 years licence). I then update the AVG Home Security and installed Lavasoft Ad-aware to block any spyware.

After completing my mission, I then reboot the pc and begin to start windows update. Up comes some webpages asking me to install some spyware buster. I don't recall allowing the webpage to go through the firewall of the AVG. It is so strange as whenever I start using Internet Explorer, the same webpage asking me to install the same anti-spyware appears. I would then have to close it everytime it appears.

Strange enough, it only affect Internet Explorer. I was thinking that if I have downloaded the patches for Windows, I will not have the same problem again. Hum... Not really because I still have the same problem as before even after updating windows. I then installed Mozilla Firefox and not a problem at all. The said page did not appear on the screen. IT is really strange as it only affect Internet Explorer.

I then asked some of my friends who are experts in this field. They told me that there is a probability that I had a defective active X. Well, I have reinstalled Windows XP Pro five times and each time I did reformat my hard drive. Hum...I still could not solve the problem. I was frustrated so I purchased a copy of Windows Vista (again) and started installing the OS. I have no choice but I have to do so. Now, it is alright because I do not get the webpage poping out whenever I use Internet Explorer. Thank God for it. I think it is high time for me to stick with Windows Vista. Well, they do have an update - Service Pack 1 for both 32 bit and 64 bit OS. Go for it then!

Just a precaution, I was told that even after installing SP1, there will not be any improvement in the speed against XP as SP is still faster than Vista.