hello everyone,

i'm running xp pro sp3 on a dell inspiron b130 laptop. it's a bit of an older model, but i'm having slowness issues with it. it's not spywared / malwared at all. one thing i noticed is the sound skips around really bad when i listen to music. i have defragged the drive, configured the boot to use minimal programs on startup (therefore less memory) by way of start - > run -> msconfig. i have used check disk utility, but still my computer runs slower. what else could be slowing down my computer? i would really appreciate the help. i need this computer running faster, so i can use it for my work. it's too slow.

-etidd

Since you are a computer science major who knows his way around computers very well, you will be accustomed to patiently following long, multi-part and tedious instructions. So sure, you can do this yourself.

But in your first post, you communicated a certain amount of urgency that you need the machine to run briskly to engage in school related activities that may currently be in progress.

Tedious and Urgent are not a good combination.
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So let's have a look at the task.....

If you have your XP installation media and all of your valued application installation media, and you have saved a backup copy of your machine's drivers....
Then you can simply backup your important documents, media, favorites, email and other specific stuff that you want to keep.
Back up to external HD or burn to CD/DVD.
(probably backup to USB external HD would be better than putting your machine through the stress of composing and burning CD/DVDs --- remembering that you are "under the gun" of the warning that your HD may fail soon)

With your stuff backed up, you can simply pop in a new HD, Format and install your OS, drivers, and software.
Then access your data via USB external HD. Done.
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If you don't have your OS installation Media you may be able to obtain a Restore CD from your machine's manufacturer for a modest price.... usually between $20 and $30... to put the machine back to factory new configuration on a new HD, then add your application software and data. Done.
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Failing the above, and needing to "clone" your HD in order to retain your OS and software, you should consider one of the two top commercially available cloning softwares - Acronis or Norton Ghost

As a computer science major, you can follow the instructions of either of those softwares without need to duplicate instructions here.

I seriously would not recommend trying to use any of the several free cloning utilities or even the older versions of Acronis or Ghost which can sometimes be had via Computer Magazines as a freebie.

There just is no favorable comparison, since the current versions of Acronis and Ghost are so much easier to use and more reliable. This is not an academic project, you really need the Clone to function validly and with as little pain as possible.

If you do decide to work with a freebie, again, you can read and follow the instructions provided.

You may have an additional advantage that most of us don't have, since you are a student, your school may have a library of current cloning utilities, or one of your instructors may have a demonstration/promotion copy that they'd be willing to let you have.

Check around to see what resources may be available to you.

Best Regards