broken computer, help.

[Semidevil]

I have a 5 year old laptop that is not working very well. it boots normally, but when I click on the I.E iconl, the hour glass comes on, but then it goes away and nothing happens.

If I go to start > program, the computer freezes. basic programs on my desktop work fine(avg, spybot), but stuff like my computer will not open up at all. it just freezes.
how do I fix this? if not able to fix it, is there a way to transfer my files to a desktop without me actually touching my laptop? because if I click almost anything in the laptop, it freezes.

safemode does the same thing.

 

[SparkyJJO]

might be the HD is crapping out on you, I've had that happen before. If you can get your hands on an adapter to plug the hard drive into a desktop you may be able to get the data off it that way. The adapters don't cost much I don't think.

 

[Semidevil]

shoot, that's what I was scared of. so this something that a reformat might fix, or will I need to replace?