Try downloads.com and get adaware and spybot. See if there is any spyware on the PC. If not that, then question them as to when it started and what was loaded.

I had a problem in XP with my PC taking exactly 1 minute 35 seconds to start to shutdown when I asked it to. This started right after I had loaded two programs and some stuff for my new keyboard. It turned out to be the software for my logitech keyboard. That was my last guess. Updated the keyboard software and ta-da problem solved.

So you just never know without more info. Depending on how much stuff they have loaded and if they have the ability to reload it, you might try uninstalling some of the latest installs.

And one last thing. If you have it, use some sort of software that cleans up Windows. I like Nortons System Works because it has Win Doctor. There are others that I think could do the same. Maybe even something on downloads.com.

HIH




>Any suggestions on what could be causing a PC with XP Home to start running very slow. This is not my pc but a neighbor's. I ran STINGER from McAfee which detects virus and nothing found.
>
>There is also a message that "Windows sockets initialization failed" on the pc start-up. I found a utility on the web that is supposed to fix the sockets problem but have not applied it yet. Would the corrupted sockets cause the slowness of the computer?
>
>Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.