Slow PC - Why?

I'm working on a Dell, Celeron 2.6, only 256mb RAM, 80gb HD... the thing is that this PC is SLOW! And there's no real reason for it. It's running XP Home, and I've seen XP run better on a 600mhz Celeron with 192mb RAM. I've done all the maintenance type stuff (CCleaner, defrag, etc) and several full virus/spy scans, removed unused apps, cleaned up the startup thru msconfig (temporarily to see if anything in there made a difference), and some other stuff, and it's running a bit faster, but still just way too slow. It goes online OK, but as far as using Windows Explorer; trying to open anything like My Computer or even the Control Panel takes way too long, like at least 8 seconds (which is too long!).... any ideas or tips will be appreciated. I'm going to run a HD diag in the meantime and we'll see if that's what it is....

hd2k

 

There IS a real reason for it.....I would work through this. Adhoc malware cleaning rarely finds the culprit IMO.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

 

I'm familiar with MG's malware guide, and just to be sure the PC was clean, I ran thru the list most of the way, but after a certain point you can just tell that the PC is clean..... It turns out the HD was TOTALLY fragmented required 3 passes with DK to organize it.... it's still a hair slow, but now My Computer opens in about 2s instead of 8-10s. I figure that's due to the 256mb RAM and the 5400rpm HD...