You could try find an offline installer version (The full EXE, not just the Internet based installer) and run the setup EXE in Compatibility mode for XP. Found this has worked wonders for software issues related to aging hardware and operating systems - Been there, done that. It ain't fun.
As good as XP is, it's being left behind i'm afraid. Though maybe that'll work for you - I use Windows 7, though another PC running in the house had this problem. That seemed to do the trick considering it's an XP Home Edition which goes as far as XP SP2. -
