I have too many apps installed on this PC. No way to install XP without losing everything.
The last M$ O/S which could be upgraded (TMK) while keeping applications was Win3.x to NT4 - that carried forward win.ini and any registry stuff. After NT4, application config did not get carried forward. I believe there were some hacks... but many apps even have a different installation for XP.
I think one needs IE7 to block popups, no?
The problem with globally blocking popups is that many websites stop working.