In response to various peoples comments: We Defragged and it may have helped a bit. I run all sorts of software for my business that wouldn't run on those other operating systems, so I've got to stay with Microsoft. When we started in safe mode the boot up was pretty fast, so I must be loading apps at startup that are slowing things down. I'll try http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/, as Larry suggested. I don't have an external USB drive. My internet connection is fiber optic, so very fast. My virus protection is AVG. The HD is often cranking away on who knows what. I can tell 'cause the little light stays on.
One question nobody addressed: is there any significant advantage to 64-bit processing yet, seeing as how not many apps have been written to take advantage of it? Is that something that will be more useful a year from now?
