Broadband/pc problem..very very slow

Looking for help for a mate who got Eircom broadband (modem) a few months back. Was working fine until recently, but now net connection is so slow it's killing him. He has tried someone's laptop which worked fine at usual speeds, pointing to a pc problem.
He as Norton AVirus and tried disabling this to see if it helped , it didnt. He can receive mail ( although hasnt received large attachments since prob started) but cannot send mail.
Would appreciate any help/suggestions.

It may be the case that his own PC is either (a) 'clogged up', i.e. hard drive full and in need of a clearout, or (b) (more likely) infected with a virus or some kind of malware. Try some of the links provided in the Key Post: helpful links for a clean pc.

FWIW when I tried a trial version of Norton a few years ago I still managed to get a virus in outlook express. I use AVAST now , which is free, and I haven't had a problem for a few years virus wise. There is loads of free stuff available to help keep your pc clean. Look in here for example.

AGV Free from Grisoft is a free version of their commercial product. It too is very good.

I must say that it is taking ages for my BT broadband pages to load in the mornings, sometimes not loading at all. This started about 7 days ago. Ran a Norton check and everything seems clear. Anybody else having problems.

I ma having major problems with my 3G connection since two weeks, it's so slow... definitely slower thah dialup. Called Vodafone and they are looking into it, but I am getting really impatient now. Problem is not PC related as I have it on both PC and laptop, and it's also working fine when I am at work. Vodafone does not seem to have a clue what is causing the problem.