I would suggest that you also need to run a virus scan. If you don't have virus software, Norton, Mcafee, etc., you can download free AVG at http://www.pcworld.com. They also have Ad-aware, which is freeware. Download and run both programs along with Spybot, to rid your machine of viruses, spyware, and adware. If the problems persists, post back with your computer specifications to the forum, telling what steps you have taken.
Strange. Suddenly when my computer boots up, it takes longer than usual and if I attempt to click on the Start icon (to selct a program) nothing happens. If I click on any of the icons on my taskbar (located on the lower section of my desktop) nothing happens. The curser shows a hourglass as if it was in the process of opening a program. Yet if I move the curser onto the destop area I can indeed open any icon that is on the desktop. But bring it back to the taskbar and the hourglass appears on my curser again. What in the world is happening and how can I fix this? I've rebooted, scrubbed my system os viruses and trojans (using Spybot) but it continues to happen. Any suggestions?

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic