I'd have probably done the same with regards to delaying the fresh install, as it is a pain, but you could spend another couple of months trying to get it fixed. Once you've done it, though, I'd recommend getting one decent security suite, such as F-Secure or ESET (I use F-Secure), and not having several on the go at once, especially anti-virus. You can usually get away with a couple of anti-spyware apps running together, but keep any others reserved for on-demand scans, not running in real time.
