Pidgin upgrade questions

[Michael Lee]

I am currently using Pidgin 2.5.2 with which I have the "Hang on Exit"
problem. As such I am planning on an upgrade to the latest 2.5.4.
because the two Pidgin versions have different versions of GTK+, I am
anxious about installing the latest 2.5.4 by simply overwriting the
exsiting installation. Could someone kindly advise if I have to
uninstall prior to the upgrade?
Will I be better off installing Pidgin client and GTK+ separately one
at a time or using the whole package provided on Pidgin.im site?

Should there be any specific procedures I need to follow, by all means
please comment.

Thank you!

Michael
--
+ Pidgin 2.5.2
o Windows XP Pro SP2