Help! Slow Comp!

Ok. I have built a new computer with everything new, except the HDD, and the PCI video card.
2.66ghz P4 CPU
ECS P4VXASD2+ MOBO
1 gig of Kingston SDRAM 512 x 2
20 gig HDD ExcelStor
VisionTek Extasy ATI 9100 128mb PCI video card
Well, I went to install Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and it asked me which if I wanted to install over XP. I said yes. It asked me to format. I did a quick format on NTFS. It installed fine. I boot up, install all of the correct drivers. Once it was all installed, and fine tuned. I rebooted, expecting to see a fast comp. It was slow as hell, and my friends comp goes fast with the same MOBO as me and a 2.4ghz CPU with 1 gig RAM. I defragmented my drive, and fine tuned the Windows settings, but is still slow. It has been a week so far, and it has not speeded up as much as I l like. I think I have an idea, but I would like suggestions on speeding this thing up.

Is it only slow or do you have stability problems ?
what psu do you have ?
Maybe try to play with your sticks of memory. Changing their config and using only one to see if it makes any difference.

when I install windows I always delete the partitions and do a full format (not the quick one).
Also, make sure your hdd drive is on its own channel. You should never put the cd-rom on the same channel (if you have one).

aside from that, you can make sure you have all the latest drivers.

I have a 500W PSU, and my HDD is on it's own channel. It is set for DMA, not PIO. I might try messing with the memory.

I tried messing with the memory, still did not help. I am positive, it is not a virus or spyware. This is really pissing me off now.

because you installed it over XP, that could be slowing it down, you could backup any important files if needed, and do a clean install, doing a full format at the same time. hope this helps!

I'm not sure of how Win2k3 server runs, but there may be some services running that you might not need. The only thing I can think of is that you've got something running that's hogging resources, and it doesn't appear to be anything caused by a service.

I think it is a disk problem. I use Coolmon, and it does not show high CPU usage. The memory is fine. I will reinstall.

let us know how it goes, thanks!