Sometimes software installations go awry and leave Windows in limbo, causing everything to slow to a crawl. Some instances may even delay the loading of WinXP to as much as five minutes and then another five minutes before your Desktop appears.

Insert the WinXP installation CD into your optical drive and reboot your system from the CD. The installation process will detect any previous versions of Windows. When prompted, you will want to select the option that lets you repair the previous Windows installation. This process will rebuild the Windows internal settings and should bring you back up to speed.