I am running a Dell DV051 computer with WinXP Pro Service Pack 2, with an x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 9 GenuineIntel 3059 MHz processor, and 512 Mb physical memory. My computer is running very slowly and there are a lot of processes running that I'm not sure what they are or if they are needed. I had problems with my computer and so I downloaded Spyware Doctor and it found a trojan which I removed, but the computer still runs slowly, it is always accessing the CPU a lot, especially when it first boots up. Please help because I'm kinda stuck at the limit of my knowledge of what to do.

The computer won't load Windows without the CPU (Central Processing Unit). How large is the harddrive? Have you run Disk cleanup and then a Defrag? Open msconfig and look at the Startup tab. What all processes are starting automatically? "So won’t you give this man his wings What a shame To have to beg you to see We’re not all the same What a shame" - Shinedown

Download & install CCleaner Slim: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/bu... Run the Cleaner & the Registry Scan...remove everything it finds. Then click Tools > Startup...that will display a list of all the programs that load at startup. There are very few programs that are absolutely necessary. Post back with your findings. "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

Another thing you might try is Winpatrol: http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html It will help to show what ALL is running at startup plus many more things Some HELP in posting on Computing.net plus free progs and instructions Cheers

Greyfax, something else you might try is a file called 'index.dat'. It's like a log file and keeps a record of every site you visit on the web. Empty, it's 32K, but it can grow HUGE. It's a protected file and can't be deleted by normal methods. CCleaner (free @: http://www.ccleaner.com/) can get rid of it (not to worry, it gets rebuilt EMPTY on the next boot.) Find a list of 'must haves' @: http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startu... or http://www.castlecops.com/startup_c... HTH. Ed in Texas.