Slow boot, slow reactions, slow computer user...

I am posting this message not because I am stuck, but because I don't
know where to begin. My laptop has Windows XP and a small army of
those pesky little problems that aren't even worth mentioning here. I
figured it was time for a complete reinstall, but a new crop of issues
has hindered my progress.

Thing is, the laptop suddenly started to boot rather slowly. It
remains on the XP splash screen for 4 or 5 minutes. I mean, don't get
me wrong, the splash screen is beautiful, but this seems excessive.
Once the computer (finally) gets going, some mouse clicks take more
than a minute to register and menus take 30 seconds to roll out. Call
me impatient, but I don't think that it will be possible to complete a
backup of my files if the computer is in this condition.

The problem is, like I said, I don't know where to start. I have no
clue what could be causing these problems. The only thing I have tried
to do is disable the splash screen in hopes of seeing what is causing
the delay (added \SOS in the boot.ini file), but I didn't see anything
enlightening.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Starting points? Humorous anecdotes?

.

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