Sluggish Win XP Pro

[Hannibal]

HI everybody! I have an almost brand new HP with dc and it has slowed down quite a bit during a month ago. It was very swift in the beginning, but as I installed more and more new software it became "sluggish". Slow booting goes always with W, but could it be that I have too many programs of a similar kind can cause the sluggishness. I have the following software:
- spyware and malware: Prevx2, ParetoLogic and CounterSpy
- registry defrag: Free Registry Fix, RegCure, Max Registry Cleaner
- antivirus: NOD 32
- misc. cleaners: Ccleaner, Advanced Windows Care, SmartPC
- diskdefrag: O@O, Diskeeper, Distrix Ultimate Defrag
Can I safely delete some of these programs without compromising my PC's safety and at the same time speed up my OS? I would very much appreciate your comments, oh my distinguished sisters and brethren!

[jbennet]

You should never have more than 1 virus scanner etc.... as they interfere with eachother. Pick the best and stick with it.

I personally like windows defender/avg antispyware and avg/nod32

how much RAM do you have?
and how much free disk space?

[TheGathering]

I always run my machines with all the extra boot processes stripped out of MSConfig. In fact, the only startup program that I let run in MSConfig is the java update scheduler (jusched.exe)

[Hannibal]

Actually, I have only one antivirus program installed (the superb NOD32). Other software I mentioned are against spyware and malware. Do they perhaps conflict? How about using many registry cleaners?
I have lots of space in my machine.

[TheGathering]

I keep my internet cache set to 0 mb in firefox and I have never needed to download an anti spyware-malware program and have never found any viruses on my computer. If you must have one, getting Lavasoft's Adaware should be all you need.

Most spyware programs delete the cookies out of your cookie folders (cookies are NOT spyware) and rarely find anything more. Having one good one should cover you.