[Rathji]

Have you ever contacted Dell about your problems? As much as the outsourced Customer Support can be a pain at times, if you have problems with your computer then I would be making them fix it, since this seems to be a hardware problem rather than a OS problem.

That said, XP can resolve many issues in a situation like this, especially hardware concerns, however I can't see why a computer that was purchased with Vista on it would have many(or any) hardware conflicts.

I agree with Hack&Lube though, this sounds like an issue with what is being installed on that computer and how it is being treated rather than an issue of the OS itself. A Mac can help with that since it is more 'user proof', but like any machine it needs to be treated properly for it to work properly.

As for buying a Mac with the intention of putting XP on it, that seems like a waste of money and a knee jerk reaction at this point, especially since he is set against it. I would try to get your current hardware working with XP (through Trad Ale) and if the issues persist, then look into getting new hardware. If he can foot the bill, I doubt he will be against a Mac for long, but he does have the boot camp option while he adjusts to Mac