programs slow to open - please helo

do you have any antivirus software running.. sometimes
that slows down opening of programs
>-----Original Message-----
>When clicking a shortcut on my desktop or the quick
launch bar, the program
>sometimes take over a minute to open. This doesn't
happen every time (say
>one in four). Can anyone offer any advice.
>Thanks in advance for any help. (happens on all
programs, not just the same
>one)
>
>Win xp pro, 1000hz processor, 512m ram
>
>
>.
>