Daughters lappy boots XP to desktop, loads all the icons and as it fills in the clock, touchpad, AVG icons etc down in the bottom right hand corner it slows to almost frozen. If you move the mouse it will move about three minutes later. It is as if the computer resources have shrunk to almost nil or are all being used by some looping program. Odd thing is it can be booted in safe mode and lots of stuff then works fine. Tried a new HD and fresh load of windows from my OEM CD and got well on with configuring windows, setting time etc and then it froze again.
I think it's hardware fault. I used to have PC Check on a floppy which was a self booting hardware diagnostic prog. Anyone know of similar prog or have any ideas of how to investigate the problem.

Are the vents clear? On most computers if the CPU temp rises too high the processor will insert NOPs to slow it down and prevent it cooking itself....... Might be a good place to start especially if a fresh install doesn't do anything...

A youve tried a reinstall its unlikely to be this, but worth a try -
When its running pres Ctrl-alt-del and bring up the task manager and click on processes, then click on mem usage and see what programs are using lots of memory. If theres any that look odd do a search on web for the exact name and see what if they are supposed to be there.

[Edited on 31/7/08 by loggyboy]

We used to use acer's at work and they're the most unreliable computer manufacturer I've ever come across. The PSU fans have a tendency to die a slow and noisy death.

Try both the above

Try checking the battery, Distributor (if fitted), Timing and fuel. If all of these are ok, hit it with a hammer.... Oh, sorry, did you say PC? I thought you meant Mercedes........