Two Puzzles Via Microsoft

Seems like I've been up all night researching how to create a peer to peer network with XP Pro playing the role of server and the workstations are Windows 7 Home Premium. Yes, I realize that 7 HP is not intended for the workplace. Last network I fused together were all 7 Pro 64 bit. Sweet! Anyway, I did not supply the workstations only the server. It was all set to go then we found out that Quickbooks Pro 2011 would not run on older Windows Server operating systems so the machine was reverted back to its original OS XP Pro. If your machine will be networked please spend a few dollars more and buy a machine with either Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate. You won't regret it. This has turned out to be a proverbial nightmare. Am a member of the MSDN group and finally found a detailed explanation of resolving this problem in one of their forums. Any input will be appreciated. Will keep you posted with the results.

And now for something completely different. On another network I am constantly plagued by a 'return of the glyph' syndrome. Have a Windows 7 machine and an XP machine that during reboot change all English language fonts to a unicode like set of glyphs, symbols, etc. After much research I think it's time to go back to a restore point one last time, save the data then 'format C:' plus a re-install of the operating systems. This has plagued me for several weeks and I am tired of reading a bunch of voodoo suggested that just doesn't work. Please don't start in about it being viral or malware. I have scanned extensively and deeply. Besides, most of the forums indicate a problem with a Windows update. BTW, Microsoft won't get their heads out of the sand and address this problem which leads me to believe that it may well have been their SNAFU. Looks like the update erases all fonts. It all started with an Office 2010 installation. Very puzzling and frustrating. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Please please please talk to me if you know anything concerning this matter.