Question : Problem: very slow computer

hi my laptop seems to be very slow recently i have windows xp with all updates downloaded i have panda internet security platinum 2007 it takes ages to open programs then it all freezes and says its not responding this is the same with internet explorer.
It is very fustrating and i hope u can help me
kind regards

Answer : Problem: very slow computer

Yes, these last are generally supportive of the direction of my thinking. Take one OS with minimum ram, add years of patches, fixes, and patches, shoehorn in an always on live scanner, and get a always eating and resource starved structure. Prescription get more ram.