Recently, the computer was without anti-virus for a while, and my parents don't usually take the time to run a spyware scan. The operating system is Windows XP.

I have completely scanned for spyware (using spybot & adaware), scanned for viruses (Kaspersky AV), and scanned the registry (Registry mechanic).

When I attempt to execute any application, the computer takes between 30 through 5 minutes to actually execute the program. By watching the CPU usage, you'll notice that the CPU never really is working after you double click an executable. It takes about a few minutes before the CPU will actually begin rising above 1-5% to start the program.

These issues never actually appeared until the AV was out for long enough. Even though I have cleaned the computer free of viruses and spyware (I think), this problem still persists. I want to avoid any reinstallations of the operating system, so if someone could provide some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.