XP Home hangs at Welcome screen

[BadMange]

Hi, I'm new here and this is my second post (my first is in the Introduction section). I'm trying to diagnose this problem for a non-computer savvy friend, but I'll try and provide as much info as I can.

The system is a Sony Vaio P4 2.0Ghz, 512MB RAM and a 100GB drive running XP Home. At bootup, XP hangs at the Welcome screen - no login icons or anything. Just a blue background and "Welcome" in the middle. After about 2min, I can double-click the "welcome" and it'll finally log in. Then the System32 folder automatically opens (I believe this to be from a virus/spyware). If I log off, I get to the welcome screen with the login icons. If I boot to safe mode, I get the login icons as well.

Can this be repaired without having to reinstall XP and all the apps? I'm thinking this caused by a virus because I finally got my friend to install a firewall and anti-virus software and I deleted about 50 viruses/trojans. I'm going to have him install ad-aware, as his daughter keeps downloading MP3s via Kazaa and odd software keeps getting installed on his computer. Not to mention viruses and trojans, too.

Thanks in advance, hopefully this is an easy fix.
-Bad Mange

 

[Rick]

Well, once you certify your system virus-free, reinstalling service pack 1 or performing a system repair (although a general fix) will usually fix your type of problem.

https://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8356

If you are looking for a specific fix and a reason why this is occuring, you may want to check out the Microsoft knowledgebase and see if this is a known issue.

http://support.microsoft.com

 

[BadMange]

I've run Norton Anti-Virus after logon and at boot-up, and the machine is virus free. Thanks for the link to the guide, I'll read through it and check the MS Knowledgebase. Since it's a Vaio, there are a few recovery CDs that came with the system. Hopefully that'll be all I need to fix it.

Thanks again Rick!
-Bad Mange