Windows applications loading too slowly

Lately my computer hasn't been working properly. After formatting and reinstalling Windows XP last Saturday (2/5) thinking it would correct the problem, it was determined that my computer was infected with the Spybot W32 worm. After various attempts at removing it using various anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, last night 36 infected files were deleted. I followed up with another computer scan, and no infected files were detected. I have a firewall and auto-detect running in the background and I received no more virus detect alerts. I'm going to do another scan later today and hopefully this worm has been removed.

My problem is that since I've had this worm my applications take a very long time to start and close. For instance, I'll click on the "My Computer" icon, and it will take over a minute to pop up. Same with Task Manager, MSconfig, etc., and internet websites also take a long time to load. I ran Norton SystemWorks checkup, and no errors in the registry or program errors were reported. I don't know if the worm altered or damaged my files. Do you think running a Windows repair will fix the problem? Any other suggestions?

My system:
Dell Dimension 4550
512 MB RAM
Radeon 9200 w/128 MB
DirectX 9.0
Windows XP SP1
Qwest online cable internet connection

 

Give memtest a run for an hour or so and see if anything bizarre comes up - http://majorgeeks.com/download350.html

Also check Win. Task Manager and see if there's any unknown processes running (Processes tab, then check apps. by your user-name)

 

Look at this site.


http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.spybot.worm.html

 

Thanks for your help. After making sure that there was no virus or spyware left on my computer, I was having trouble connecting to the internet. I finally gave up and just disconnected my DSL and formatted and reinstalled Windows XP. It seems that everything is OK now.

This is a great website. I've downloaded and installed a few great utilities and I've picked up a lot of useful technical information. I'll be telling others about MajorGeeks and I'll be visiting often.