Also, running time for AVG, Superantispyware, and Malwarebytes can easily exceed 1 hour. Nothing strange here.Well, I'll be dipped in chocolate and painted green....THAT downloaded!

Thank you.

Could I trouble you to explain about System Restore?

grazie Not at all...
Go Start>Run, copy, and paste this:
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
I'll bring you right into System Restore window.
Select some date from the past, and run System Restore.Well, as this continues to be a challenge that is getting RATHER tiresome, did copy and paste, pulled up the system restore window...and then it said that there was no dates available to choose from.

This annoys and perplexes me, as I know that I have done the System Restore thing now at LEAST three times, after help from you and others here on CH.

*sigh*...my brain is hurting, it's nearly four in the morning...I'm going to bed. I'll try again tomorrow...

Thanks Broni... buona notteWhen you are up, go Start>Run, type in:
sfc /scannow
Click OK.
Have Windows CD handy.Sorry again...but I don't have a Windows CD. *sigh* You see, I bought this laptop used, and I think it was probably not the WISEST purchase. I've had a mountain of problems, what with WGA thinking that my copy of Windows is pirated, tho the gentlemen at the computer store assured me it isn't. They said that it was used in an office before, and was connected to a network of computers there, apparently all logged into one main computer, that being the one with the registered ID number. Does that sound reasonable to you?

Along those lines, I have a friend that recently bought a new computer and is now using Vista, and he said that he still has a registered copy of Windows XP that he would be willing to give me. He said that we can wipe my computer clean, and start over with his copy of XP. This seems appealing to me on the one hand, but on the other, I will lose everything on my computer as a result, correct? And as far as backing up...I suppose I could do that (actually SHOULD do that, considering the wacky nature of my computer anyway), but as of this moment, I have no idea how to do that. I'm sure my friend can show me, but I'm wondering if it's even reasonable to go to all that hassle?

At any rate, for now, things seem to be fairly ok. Most of the time the CPU is running at a normal usage, but now and again, RUNS up to 100% and stays there for an hour or so, before coming back down. When the CPU usage is high, I often get kicked OFFLINE as well. At that point, I've taken to just giving up, and coming back to the computer the next day.

It will oftentimes SHOOT up to 100% for seemingly no reason. However, the two things I've noticed that consistently wonk-out the CPU usage are if I try to play any kind of online games (flash probs?...I don't have problems when watching YouTube tho...), or if I log into Yahoo messenger. Both those things seem to activate some kind of weirdness.

Anyway, things are definately not right, but are running much better than they have for quite some time, so I do thank you for getting me this far. I'd definitely go fro clean install with your friend's CD.
As for backing up your data, here is a very nice little program, Fab's Autobackup: http://fabs.dyndns.org/index2.php?lang=en&section=freewares, which should backup most of your stuff. When it's done with backing, you can manually double check other folders for any files, you may need.Thank you Broni.

I'll see what we can do about getting things backed up, and then installing the new version of XP. If things go well, I'll let you know. If not...well, I'll be back asking for new advice I'm sure.

Thank you again SO MUCH for all your help!You're welcome
Remember, our help will be here for you, anytime