On the 20th of june i started getting lag as i played San Andreas multiplayer. It did get better when i used some youtube videos to stop the lag. However, on monday i downloaded Zango as the site told me that was the only wsy to play a game. after visiting the games real site it told me it was a zango scam so i uninstalled it and used CCleaner to do so and then do a quick scan.

Yesterday i downloaded AVG free. About half an hour after that the lag began. I did a full scan with AVG and it removed about 5 threats. But my computer still has huge lag. Programs take a while to open and then IE won't load a page until after a long wait.

What should i do?
If you need any technical info about my PC tell me how to get it and i shall'

I am writing this on my Wii, it has taken bloody ages, please help.

I could give several tips that you can do, but right now I'd say:
- Let someone format and reinstall your pc.

After this your pc will be lightning fast again and to be sure it'll stay that way:
- Don't ever ever ever ever ever install a program if you aren't 100% sure what the program does.
- Defragment once in a while. So many people don't know the benefits of doing this.
- Use proper programs to keep your system clean. I use a McAfee firewall, virusscanner and several other tools myself, and Spybot Search and Destroy.
- Keep away from any files and email attachments that you don't trust. If the sender is unknown, just delete it without thinking.
- Avoid malicious websites.
- Don't ever ever ever ever ever install a program if you aren't 100% sure what the program does. Really. Don't. 99% sure? Don't install.

Could i do the formatting and reinstalling myself? I have winsows xp professional and have 2 cds upstairs to do it. Would keeping things like music and pictures on a usb stick defeat the point of formatting?

I don't know if you could do it yourself, but if I can take a guess then I guess it's better to let someone else assist you.

And the keeping of music, pictures and games? Would that ruin the point of it all? My parents really cant afford an IT after recent events and future plans. If i did it myself what could go wrong and would it be easy/cheap to fiz?

I can't give an answer to that. I work in the IT business myself and I very well know that there's no limit in how people can screw up their system.
If you are asking these questions already then you should ask someone to assist you. If you have a friend or family member that could help out then it's perfect since they (usually) do not cost money.

But if i were to simply insert the cd and run the programa, would it be easy for something to go wrong? I could just report back here if im stuck...

If you would reinstall windows over your old copy then you're left with all kinds of uninstalled applications, so it's really up to you. But at least you don't have to backup your data this way I guess.

Would it still work as well? How do i format ir?

A reformat wipes all the data on your hard drive and reinstalls your operating system, in this case Windows.

It's not something you should undertake unless you know how to do it and have sufficient backups.

Well i have 2 cds and it says on them which to put in first and what to run. Would it have onscreen instructions through out the formating?

By sufficient backups what do you mean?

Record what programs you have installed, if there's license keys put them in a text file or write them down, copy ALL personal data to a storage system that's not on the computer, including pictures, files, everything that's yours. Back it all up to either a flash drive, an external hard drive, or a server online.

The instructions should be pretty self explanatory, but you really should have someone qualified to help guide you through it. If you have two computers, talking to someone with one while going through the process on the other would be tremendously helpful.

Would an 8GBbmemory stick an about 18GB on my ipod be enough?

If im keeping lots of files and downloading others again wouldnt that bring back the lag? If not then what is the probable cause of it?

Maybe before formating you should run some tests to see if everything is alright with your computer.

My suggestions:

Download Everest and check the temperatures, maybe it's reaching high temperatures, and thus throttling.
Download Jk Defrag GUI(it's easier to use) and defragment the hard drive(s).
Download MV RegClean and do a scan, you'll be suprised.

When(more like if) you download Everest post the temperatures.

I doubt ill be able to but i'll try...
EDIT: after 10 minutes of waiting for internet explorer to load i've given up and have decided to call a guy in my class to help me start it again once i have put some things on a usb which will probably take all night with many crashes.