Hijack This! Log - CPU 100%

I am having 100% CPU utilization problems. Whenever I play Age of Empires II/Conquerors, the game is "jerky" and hesitates/stalls quite often. Whatever the cause of this, it just started recently. I did some in-depth investigation and realized that my CPU Utilization (Task Manager) spikes/plateaus at 100% while the game is being played. If I switch back to Task Manager, the CPU drops back to 3-5%. This 100% spike also occurs whenever I run %dxdiag% from the 'Run' menu. This leads me to believe that it is DirectX related, but I am not quite sure how to proceed. And yes, I am planning to upgrade to 512MB of RAM, but want to solve this issue first. I have done a HUGE amount of troubleshooting on this, so here are the facts:

MY SYSTEM INFO:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
System Manufacturer Dell Computer Corporation
System Model Latitude CPt S500GT
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 8 Stepping 3 GenuineIntel ~497 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Computer Corporation A16, 3/5/2003 (Current)
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.1106 (xpsp1.020828-1920)"
Total Physical Memory 256.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 97.05 MB
Total Virtual Memory 746.07 MB
Available Virtual Memory 465.86 MB
Page File Space 490.66 MB
DirectX 4.09.00.0902 (DirectX 9.0b)
Display Video Adapter: ATI RAGE MOBILITY-M1 AGP2X (8 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Rage P/M Mobility
Multimedia Audio Adapter: ESS Technology ES1983S Maestro-3i Audio Accelerator
IDE Controller Intel(r) 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
Disk Drive FUJITSU MHK2060AT (5 GB, 4200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/66)
Optical Drive HP CD-Writer+ 8290 USB Device (4x/4x/24x CD-RW)
Optical Drive SAMSUNG CD-ROM SN-124 (24x CD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK
Partition C: (NTFS) 5726 MB (1490 MB free)
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse
Network Adapter MAC Bridge Miniport - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Modem Actiontec 56K Modem

TROUBLESHOOTING UNDERTAKEN:

(1) Uninstalled/Reinstalled updated ATI video drivers
(2) Uninstalled/Reinstalled updated ESS audio drivers
(3) Uninstalled/Reinstalled updated DirectX v9.0b
(4) Uninstalled/Reinstalled recent Microsoft DirectX Security Update
(5) Uninstalled Norton AntiVirus, installed Avast!
(6) Tweaked services.msc according to 'safe' configuration from Black Viper's site.
(7) Checked processes in Safe Mode and Normal Startup (HiJack This! enclosed).
(8) Ran chkdsk from DOS
(9) Dropped PageFile min/max size from 384M to 256M
(10) Updated and scanned system with the following:
**Norton AntiVirus
**Trend Micro HouseCall
**Panda ActiveScan
**Avast! thorough scan
**Adaware (both Safe Mode and Normal Startup)
**SpyBot S&D (both Safe Mode and Normal Startup)
**CW Shredder
**TD-3
**Windows Memory Diagnostic
**CCleaner
**Windows Defrag
**PageFile Defrag

MISC. POINTS:

(1) Strangely, PageFile size shows as 490MB, not 256MB.

HIJACK THIS! LOG:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.97.7
Scan saved at 1:12:03 PM, on 6/17/2004
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ati2evxx.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\Atiptaxx.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\taskmgr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe
C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpSvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Lavalys\EVEREST Home Edition\everest.bin
C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\iexplore.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\[LogonName]\Desktop\HijackThis.exe

R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {549B5CA7-4A86-11D7-A4DF-000874180BB3} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {AE7CD045-E861-484f-8273-0445EE161910} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O2 - BHO: NAV Helper - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {FDD3B846-8D59-4ffb-8758-209B6AD74ACC} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {42CDD1BF-3FFB-4238-8AD1-7859DF00B1D6} - (no file)
O3 - Toolbar: Adobe PDF - {47833539-D0C5-4125-9FA8-0819E2EAAC93} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Acrobat\AcroIEFavClient.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AtiPTA] Atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Acrobat Assistant.lnk = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Distillr\acrotray.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Adobe Gamma Loader.lnk = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration\Adobe Gamma Loader.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Microsoft Office.lnk = C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OSA.EXE
O8 - Extra context menu item: Add to AD Black List - C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\AddToADBlackList.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Block All Images from the Same Server - C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\AddAllToADBlackList.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Highlight - C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\Highlight.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Open All Links in This Page... - C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\OpenAllLinks.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Search - C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\Search.htm

It is primarily the 'R' and 'O' items that I am scrutinizing. In the interest of respect for time, I deleted some 'minor' items that are not shown above. I hate anything even remotely related to junk, and I will GLADLY delete anything from my laptop without remorse if I do not absolutely need it. I LOVE junk-cleaning programs. I go to great lengths to keep a clean, sleek, laptop. Exactly why I haven't screwed up my registry yet is beyond me. :^)
Any ideas on my 100% CPU problem? I have a screen print of my Task Manager showing the utilization if anyone wants it. However, it also shows that I am nowhere near maxing out my physical memory. Thanks in advance.

BT

 

Anyone?