I have an IBM Thinkpad (recent model with at least 1 GB of ram, Core Duo processor and 80 GB HD) and Win XP SP3 and when I install Audacity I get an error at the end of the installation that says “Class not registered, class ID:” and then a very long numerical address. I have been using Audacity for years in both Windows and Mac platforms and I have never had this problem. I can tell you that this error pops up when Audacity is about to create desktop shortcuts and install files with the extension “.ink”. I have had similar problems getting various software packages to install- as soon as these “.ink” files are about to be installed, I get an error stating that Windows can’t install these .ink files. Help! I am in the Eastern USA, by the way.
From your description, I would reinstall Windows.
For now, have you tried unchecking the option in the Audacity installer “Create Desktop icon”, or using the Audacity zip file instead?
Gale