Computer Help Please!

[armyof1]

I do not consider myself a computer genius by any means, but I know a little and need some help.

About a month ago I reinstalled Windows on my computer, which erased all my HD and I was forced to start from anew. At the time my computer would not load Windows and I was having a lot of trouble. Now I am having problems with my computer again. I can not install my SAM training program software for my school. I can not install Flash Media Player. If my computer is idle for more than 2 hours my internet will not work. I have to actually restart the computer to get it to work again. I can not get my computer to recognize my IPOD anymore. I can not update or add new songs.

My question is, what should I do? Should I take it to an expert? Should I upgrade something? I just want to be able to do school work, surf the web, play poker, run a poker tracking software, and save and play a lot of music, albeit ripped music.

I have AVG, Avast, ZoneAlarm, SpySweeper, and Ad-Aware 07 installed. I use only IE 7 and have Windows XP software.

I will respond to any questions promptly!