Family's laptop on the fritz in a big way.

The first question I would ask is 'Is it still in warranty?' If it is, send it back without delay! It sounds as if you may have hardware issues as well as, possibly, system issues. The fact that it can't connect to Windows Update is worrying. Some viruses can cause this, so that factor should also be considered. Can you visit the Windows Update website? And, if so, can you download and run updates manually? It could just be that you haven't yet installed the Genuine Advantage software. If it is not in warranty (or you purchased it second-hand, which usually voids the warranty), then it sounds as if a format and reinstall would be the next available option. Dells (like many other computers) have a hidden partition which contains the full information required to return it to its 'as it left the factory' condition. Follow the instructions in the User Manual (if you don't have this, search for a PDF copy for your model online on the Dell site. It should be downloadable free). If the computer was supplied with Windows XP, it may restore it to a previous SP version and you will then have to run Windows Update to get it back to SP3. It sounds, though, as if you may have already tried something like this, depending on what was involved in a 'System Restore' and what error messages you got. I believe that Dell were, at one time, willing to ship a CD on request to anyone who hadn't created a restore disk when they first got the machine (something I would advise anyone to do, though very few people actually do it!). Whether they still offer this service or not and whether they will do so for your model, I don't know. The Dell website should have more information or you could try calling Customer Support (which may be a premium number!). The final alternative would be to buy an upgrade to Vista or Windows 7 (but check first to see if the machine can run Windows 7!). Upgrades are slightly cheaper than the 'full' product (they are actually the full product but you are not paying for a new license which you, presumably, already have - look for the Windows sticker somewhere on the laptop, usually underneath. Both Vista and Win 7 may require more RAM (which is cheap enough and an advantage, as well) but, more importantly, some older CPUs and motherboards cannot run Windows 7, so you should make sure of this first! Again, the Dell website/Customer Support would be my first port of call. Once you have, one way or another, got it back to be a working machine, DO install a good antivirus. Avast is one of the most highly recommended free ones and even scores better than many of the big paid ones like Norton and MacAfee. If you are staying with Win XP, then a free firewall, such as ZoneAlarm is also recommended (the Windows XP firewall, introduced with SP2, only checks incoming traffic and is a bit basic, to say the least!).