Ugh.... Why?!

[DarkObsidian]

Okay. First off, my CPU has been running a little higher than usual lately. It's been getting to about 109F (I think 44C) and that concerns me a little, but this is only a side problem.
The main course is, I've had to reformat due to an unpassable blue screen about 2 times in the last 2 days, the rest have been either refusal to completely load Windows XP (just shows the wallpaper) or because of "Missing or corrupt" system folder screens.
I've reformatted about 5-6 times in the last 2 days total.
Every single time, it's always nice and fast, then I install an antivirus and it either refuses to boot after updating the virus definitions.
Norton Antivirus 2006 REALLY bogged down my CPU to around 100% when IDLE!
Norton Antivirus 2004 would work fine, then I'd restart after installing, and the firewall would be disabled, I'd right click it and it would completely freeze me.
Whenever I had a good run, I'd then install the definitions via LiveUpdate, and on the next boot up, BLUE SCREEN.
Finally, I said no to Norton and on this install, I use McAfee. Seems to work fine.
However, now, whenever I click on the Start menu and it shoots up to 50%-100%.
Things are opening slowly and this is just total bullshit for a fresh format. Really, it is.
I've tried virus scans, no cigar.
Ran AdAware with the latest definitions, 0 items found.
I ran Spybot S&D and 0 items found. Immunized everything.
I ran HijackThis, and here is my log:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 7:39:56 AM, on 11/11/2006
Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SOUNDMAN.EXE
C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mclogsrv.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcupdmgr.exe
c:\program files\common files\mcafee\mna\mcnasvc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcods.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcpromgr.exe
c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\redirsvc\redirsvc.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcshield.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcsysmon.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mctskshd.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcusrmgr.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\MPF\MPFSrv.exe
C:\WASAY\PROMAGIC\wspmsv.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\mcafee.com\agent\mcagent.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcregist.exe
c:\program files\mcafee\msc\mcuimgr.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\MOZILL~1\FIREFOX.EXE
C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\HackerWatch\HWAPI.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\taskmgr.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\HijackThis.exe

O2 - BHO: (no name) - {089FD14D-132B-48FC-8861-0048AE113215} - C:\Program Files\SiteAdvisor\SiteAdv.dll
O2 - BHO: scriptproxy - {7DB2D5A0-7241-4E79-B68D-6309F01C5231} - c:\program files\mcafee\virusscan\scriptsn.dll
O3 - Toolbar: McAfee SiteAdvisor - {0BF43445-2F28-4351-9252-17FE6E806AA0} - C:\Program Files\SiteAdvisor\SiteAdv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SoundMan] SOUNDMAN.EXE
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [AtiPTA] atiptaxx.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [SpybotSD TeaTimer] C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\TeaTimer.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Pro Magic Plus.lnk = C:\WASAY\PROMAGIC\PlusStart.exe
O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe
O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2sgag.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee E-mail Proxy (Emproxy) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\McAfee\EmProxy\emproxy.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee HackerWatch Service - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\McAfee\HackerWatch\HWAPI.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Log Manager (McLogManagerService) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mclogsrv.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Update Manager (mcmispupdmgr) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcupdmgr.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Network Agent (McNASvc) - McAfee, Inc. - c:\program files\common files\mcafee\mna\mcnasvc.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Scanner (McODS) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcods.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Protection Manager (mcpromgr) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcpromgr.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Redirector Service (McRedirector) - McAfee, Inc. - c:\PROGRA~1\COMMON~1\mcafee\redirsvc\redirsvc.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Real-time Scanner (McShield) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcshield.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee SystemGuards (McSysmon) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\VIRUSS~1\mcsysmon.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Task Scheduler (mctskshd.exe) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mctskshd.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee User Manager (mcusrmgr) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\PROGRA~1\McAfee\MSC\mcusrmgr.exe
O23 - Service: McAfee Personal Firewall Service (MpfService) - McAfee, Inc. - C:\Program Files\McAfee\MPF\MPFSrv.exe
O23 - Service: WasayPMsv - Unknown owner - C:\WASAY\PROMAGIC\wspmsv.exe

My system specs are:
80 GB HDD
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1.81 Ghz Processor
Sapphire Radeon 9800SE 128 MB
1024 MB of DDR RAM (1 Stick)

Please help =[
Thanks in advance.

[Gecko]

First of all your log is clean

As for why I think it seems slow, just look at all the things McAfee has running I count 12 registry startups.

I personally run Norton 2003 fully updated, it uses a lot less resources then any newer Norton.
You might want to give Anti virus and their Anti spyware a try.
Both of the free versions do a good job and use much less system resources.
Their Anti Spyware (formally Ewido) is one of the best around.
I have installed this combination on a number of systems with better than average results and protection.

What would concern me more would be the failed OS installs you had.
You mentioned "Missing or corrupt system folders" and other failed attempts.
I know the newer nortons can be a pain to install and setup but I've never seen a BSOD because of Norton or any updates.
Do you by chance remember the error on the BSODs you got?

Honestly this all sounds more like a hardware problem to me.
Have you run any diagnostics on the HDD?
Check the manufactures web site for their diagnostic program.
A slow system can also be one of the signs that a HDD is starting to fail.
You might want to run a full scandisk and check for bad clusters too that could explain the failed installs.

Have you run any testing program like on your Ram?

You might also want to check for a BIOS update from the motherboard's web site.

[DarkObsidian]

[icecube]

Another thing you might check for would be bulging or leaking capacitors on the motherboard. Also check to make sure the fan on your power supply is turning.

Enabling the SMART technology in the bios, should warn you of a hard drive trying to go bad.

I don't think that memory would be an issue here since it booted up ok. There is the possiblity of mixed ram (two different speeds) that could cause issues. In most cases with bad ram, the initial install will blue screen

[icecube]

Another thing you might check for would be bulging or leaking capacitors on the motherboard. Also check to make sure the fan on your power supply is turning.

Enabling the SMART technology in the bios, should warn you of a hard drive trying to go bad.

I don't think that memory would be an issue here since it booted up ok. There is the possiblity of mixed ram (two different speeds) that could cause issues. In most cases with bad ram, the initial install will blue screen

[cullwock]

Can you check in the Taskmanager whether emproxy.exe is using your CPU? If so, this seems to be a current problem with their antivirus software, version 11. You could try downgrading to version 10, or check out the McAfee forums. They're full of advice, but unfortunately, nothing has worked for me so far.