Laptop running very slow

I have a laptop that is running very slow. I am running xp, I have defraged, ran spybot, and had the hijack this people check the log. They say it is clean. Can someone help me find out what else could be the problem. Something is very wrong

Please, post some computer info:
- processor type, amount of RAM (hold Windows logo key, hit Pause/Break key)
- hard drive size/free space (open "My Computer", right click on hard drive letter, click "Properties")

Intel(r) celeron(r) m CPU 430 @ 1.73 ghz
504 mb of ram
hd Ntfs 64.3 gb Free 42.7 gb
Hd fat32 10.1 gb free 1.8


windows xp

State any/all changes made just prior to system slowing down.

If applicable,
Remove any bloatware included in system.
eg. expired trial software, duplicate functioning software...

Bumping it up from 512MB to 1GB of RAM usually helps a bit. (1GB of RAM is the "sweet spot" with XP).

What is the make and model# of the hard drive?

Have you run a:

chkdsk c: /r

command? Chkdsk.exe is a command-line tool that checks volumes for problems and then tries to repair any that it finds. For example, Chkdsk can repair problems related to bad sectors, cross-linked files, directory errors and lost clusters.

Is it strange that I get the following message when I try to run chkdsk listed above:

"Chkdsk canot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?"

"Chkdsk canot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?"



Note: If one or more of the files on the hard disk are open, you will receive the following message:
Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

Type Y, and then press ENTER to schedule the disk check, and then restart your computer to start the disk check.

It worked fine, unfortunatly I had to leave before it completed so I dont know if it found problems and corrected them. It seems to be running better.

One thing that is happening that is strange. I am getting a balloon messege that is telling me that no firewall is turned on and antivirus software might not be installed. I can see both of them running in the tray

To see what chkdsk did.

Start, run [type in] eventvwr and hit Enter.

Find winloggon and double click it. Should be in system if I remember right.

Have you updated the antivirus, mine does that if it is out of date.

I have discovered (or created) another problem. I cannot get sound. I deleted Bonjour accidentally and reinstalled itunes to get it back. I was not getting sound and was getting the error message "iTunes cannot run because it has detected a problem with your audio configuration" according to the internet the fix for that is to uninstall quick time and reinstall. I did that and I have the same problem. I went into control panel and I click on sound and see that there is no sound device. I sure appreciate all the help I am getting from you people!

You might also want to run the hard drive manufacturer's diagnostic program. The two main causes of slow running laptops in my experience are:

1 - malware
2 - hard drive problems