I'm using win 2000, fully updated.
The my computer icon was the first to be affected. When I click on it, my sys freezes. The problem has since migrated to other icons, as well as the control panel shortcut on the start menu. In addition, my HD continues to run long after booting is complete.
All the reading I have been doing pionts to a reg problem. I have run many reg fixes, as well as numerous virus/spyware scans. Nothing helps.
Foolishly, I did not make backups.
Any help, ideas, advice would be appreciated. As a newbe, a am ready to just reformat rather than spend very much more time on this, I already have about 10 days of researc and scanning into this.

Can you run task manager when freezing? If you can, tell me which process have 100 percent of CPU load.
Try run sfc /scannow to repaire your system files.

Check the Processes that takes more Cpu Usage,and end that processes.
Run Msconfig and select startup and then click disableall and restart the computer.

When the machine is frozen, there is 0% CPU use. I just get the hourglass curser, nothing happens, and I can't click on anything. During the time after booting, when the HD isrunning for 2-3 min. the CPU use is around 35%. Highs of 50, lows of 17.
I did run sfc /scannow, it ran but gave no error messages.

The system idle process is listed as using 98. It wont let me end that process, and msconfig I get an error message saying the file or one of its components is corrupt or missing.

Having run out of new ideas to try, I reformatted. Not the way I wanted to fix it, but it worked.
Thanks to all those who gave consideration to this problem