Slow response

Hello All...
I'm running XP on my laptop 1.4ghz, with 1gb ram... all was well until recently.. For some strange reason XP is running soooo slow, everything i try to run take 2-3 times longer... I haven't got too many startup progs, also ran a virus & spyware scan... nothing.. I have no idea... can anyone provide any help, or a link / download... much appreciated...
Alistair

 

Download the latest version of Hijackthis and unzip it to a separate folder - maybe c:\hjt or c:\antispyware or something. Do not use desktop or any temp folder.

Run HJT to scan and create a log then post a copy of the log file here.

 

I would suspect an altered dll file or corrupted system file.

I would go to start/ run and type
sfc /scannow
hit enter
when prompted insert your XP install CD.
It will scan for missing or altered system files.
If it says failed on a file , click retry until it succeeds .
When done, go to belarc.com and download the free belarc advisor (under downloads) and run it. At the bottom it will list any windows updates which are damaged and give links to manually reinstall them.

Finally manually run the updater for your antivirus etc.

Clean temp , temp internet files etc and reboot.
See if that speeds it up.