Though those should only show up by default if you're running pre-SP2 IIRC, which could do a lot to explain your other problems.
If you haven't installed SP2 yet, don't go rushing out to install it now. You probably have malware damage extensive enough that installing SP2 would be enough to push the system over the edge.
You'll probably want to start a new topic regarding your other issues, which very well could involve formatting. So as a precautionary measure, I'd start thinking about how you might go about backing up any important files on your system.
I have a Dell Dimension 3000 series with Windows XP Home Edition OS. It has been running very very slow both booting and going in and out of programs. We have wireless high speed internet. I was looking around to see if there was anything I might do to speed it up. I looked in the program remove/repair section and there are literally dozens of updates for Windows XP, Security updates for Windows XP and WIndows XP Hotfixes all going back as far as 2005. Can these safely be removed are do they have to stay there?
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