My daughters laptop has become all but dead. clicking any programs takes forever before they open. Cant get on the internet. I cant help but think that it is a hardware failure as ive tried the following and nothing bad showed up=ran "windows defender"/"AVG anti virus"/"Ad-Aware"/"Norton utilities" and did a "Highjackthis".All took hours but did finally show clean. Am i out of options other than giving it to a pro? Many thanks for any other ideas you may have.

Is this a new problem? Were things working OK previously? Any new hardware and or software?

If this is a new problem try a System Restore to a point prior to the problem:

start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore



If you are intereseted in reclaiming the data from the hard drive this is the method:

http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-5160538.html#



What is the make and model? If you did not get an XP Recovery CD with the laptop then there should be a hotkey or internal means to restore it to factory condition.



Also as it takes a trained eye to read HijackThis logs:

As a first response you might want to post a HijackThis log for review by our Pros in that section:

Please follow the instructions HERE & then post your log in a new thread in the Spyware, Adware, Viruses and HijackThis Logs section.
(Not in this section please).

Please specify what issues you appear to be experiencing along with your log.

Many thanks for the speedy replies.
Totally new problem,no recent additions of software or hardware.Managed to do a system restore but made no difference.If it helps the sound from the drive is very repetative.will post a log soon.
Thanks

Noisy hard drives are usually failing hard drives.

If your data is important I would remove it and back it up ASAP.

Do you know the manufacturer of your hard drive?

If not you will see it under the Device Manager: Start/Run/ devmgmt.msc | Disk Drives

You will find the major brand diagnostics listed here:

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

With a few others listed here:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/