To more technical minded folks: Could her speakers be buzzing due to stray RF in the ground wires of her electrical system, say from lighting ballasts or heaters running?
Grace, I would reccomend staying with what OS you are familiar with. If you curently use XP, stick with it. I helped my dad and later my grandpa set up their computers, both came with Vista preinstalled. I hated it. I still hate it. My laptop has Xp and I'm used to it.
I think elsewhere posted a thread about Vista SP1 due out in February. I don't remember the details.
Good luck Grace.