[zemlin]

You should have a RESTORE CD or DVD that came with the computer. Registry issues can be solved by reinstalling your operating system. This would wipe out the disk and start fresh, so you'd need to backup all your data first. A USB hard disk is a good way to do that these days.

I'm not a fan of Windows Vista - I run XP on all my machines and have not had any trouble. If you were to buy a copy of XP, you could install that on your existing system without reformatting your disk, but I'd suggest it anyway - Vista's file structure is different and you'd probably never get rid of the Vista legacy on the machine.

If you just want a new machine anyway, the only critical thing I'd say is to get a Core 2 Duo processor or better. A dual core of anything less is a big step down in performance.

As far as brand names, I build all my desktops. I have an ACER laptop that's been good - except I deleted Vista and installed XP. My wife just got an HP laptop that seems good. We've had some Gateway laptops - they weren't bad, but weren't perfect either. My oldest daughter now has one of them, and the other is used for parts.