I notice he still hasn't responded to this post to say how he's doing.

Well since he's running XP, if you havn't been able to do your scans yet, or don't have another computer as most of these suggestions require.

Reboot in safemode, through F8. Next I believe you can clear your restore points here, which is:
rich click my computer>properties>System Restore Tab. Turn off system restore on all drives (if you have more than 1 you often have to do it on each).

Next go to Start>Run
type in MSCONFIG
go to the startup tab and disable anything that looks suspicious (if your unsure you can always come back and fix this, unlike hijackthis's run list)
Run a few of your utilities, reboot in normal mode, run them again.

This will allow you to atleast have some usability of your computer and you should be able to do your diagnostics.

Post a hijackthis scan if your unsure of what to disable, also if your unsure of any of the utilities starting up under MSCONFIG enter those as well.

(yes I know there's better utilites than MSCONFIG, but how often can you get to them without already having them or having an internet connection that actually RUNS)

Galiath