Would getting a Mac help me solve this problem?
Yes, for then you would not have to worry about loading XP.
If you go that route purchase a new(er) Mac that has Intel chips as its CPU(s): that way you could install either Apple's Boot Camp, or--better still--purchase a software title called Parallels, and install Windows XP on your Apple Computer. Older Macs like my 1.42 GHz G4 Mac-mini have PowerPC chips for CPU(s), so neither Apple's Boot Camp nor the 3rd party Parallels software run on them.
Also, you might want to wait a few months before getting a new Mac because OS X 10.5 a.k.a. "Leopard" will be released soon. The current Mac OS X is 10.4 "Tiger". If you buy a Mac now, it will only have Tiger on it; upgrading to Leopard a few months from now will cost you over $100.
Hope this helps.
--Two Shoes
Get a Mac. They are upgrading their product line in May and are trying to clean out the old inventory. You can find a low end i-Mac G-5 for about $950. The bad boy will last a decade with few upgrades needed.
... and for $79 buy Mac's PC parallel (or go cheap and use the Mac Bootcamp on their website). Then find a new XP and download it to the Mac...Staples and some CompUSA's still sell Windows XP Home for about $199 (don't go to Best Buy they got rid of every XP for the crappy Mac-OS knockoff Vista).
God love Bill Gates...he's a friggin evil genius the likes of which we haven't seen since PT Barnum..