My friends compy is acting up :(

HI, I was installing AVG on my friends computer with XP.
I got this error:
"1 error occured. Click details to show more infomation"
Details consisted of:
"Local machine: installation failed
Installation:
Error: Action failed for file avgamsvr.exe: starting service....
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion. (1053)"
I have tried old versions of it and new ones, with the same result. If it makes any difference, these are symptoms that his computer seems to be having
1. Some programs (msconfig, and others) will open only to close after a few seconds by themselves.
2. His moms outlook express is acting up and not allowing her to connect.
That is all I can remember atm.
I would greatly appreciate it if you could please help me out!
Thanks,
kenny