can someone PLEASE help me fix my computer?

Question

my computer is all messed up, it is going MUCH slower than normal does. almost every time i go to a new page it says....
"shockwave flash - - the plug-in has performed an illegal operation. you are strongly advised to restart firefox."
alot of times it will close the page and say that it has encountered a problem or something.
if i watch a video it will freeze up the page and i have to close it. it also closes aim....

so ive asked for help and ive defragged my comp, ive tried to do some virus scan thing that didnt work, ive tried to update my flash even though i dont know what that means.... i called the dell support number only to find out my computer wasnt under warenty anymore and it would cost like $100 to fix it and it sounded like it might not even work....if you can actually help me please let me know!!!! im getting frustrated!!

Answer 1

"/" denotes go through the following
Cleaning system to reduce file searching hence operating time:
- Recycle bin, make sure emptied
- All programmes/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
- All programmes/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter
- Reduce number of icons on your destop
(Reduce thingees you see in front of you to around 20 icons or less. Make sure the icons removed are "Shortcuts" denoted by the small curved arrow at the bottom right hand of each icon.)
- Control Panel/System properties. Note Processor and RAM.
(Ideally 514MB RAM, 256 RAM is the least meaning slow computer and loss of hair.)

- Control Panel/System properties/Advanced.
(Performance/Settings/Visual Effects/Let windows choose..)
(Performance/Settings/Advanced/Virtual memory/Change/Make sure its approximately equal or more than your RAM, dependent on available harddisk space. Eg. try setting at 150MB or more.)
- File manager/Check c: or equivalent;
that there is at least 10% of total disk space free.r more free

Remove the offending program either:
- Control panel/Add or Remove Programs/look for "Shockwave flash ver x.x"
- Shockwave is not supported on some versions of Firefox (Ref 1)
"On some Windows XP systems, Macromedia Shockwave Player does not work unless you run Mozilla Firefox in Windows 2000 compatibility mode."
-However, this might be the solution.(Ref 2)
The resolution to shockwave and firefox lies within. Assistance is limited here as the connection here could be better.

Sorry you're in such a twist.