Logging into windows 7 ultimate x64 now takes about 20 minutes.

I have a another 10gb partition, with only 1.5gb free, and already reclaimed the recovery partition.

oh the lastt thingg i posted didn't send. Rebooted with internet off and it was all fine. I'm doing a virus scan and a couple of restarts to check it's still okay. Thanks for the help and advice guys :)

If that's the case, then it isn't a hard drive issue....although you still should work on freeing up some space.

Try updating drivers for any and all network adapters, and if you use a home router, check for a firmware update on that was well.

It's working now, thanks guys

What was the final resolution?

I restarted and it loaded fine with internet off. Ran a virus scan and it found 2 items to do with java, and now it works just as it used to.