Thanks Spencer

As I've spent a couple of hours before my original posting and a couple more after experimenting, I'm going to return the laptop to him with most of the programs removed and running with AVG free and your recommendation of using Sygate which seems to not hog the startup process as much as the free ZoneAlarm.

The Startup was a main concern of mine even though my colleague wouldn't know any better as he's never really used any sort of computer in his life let alone the internet side of things. He has a steep learning curve to over come, but I have installed all the adware/spyware/trojan protection he will need along with SP2, and I will show him how to update the databases within those programs.
If he chooses not to do this I'm not responsible for the inevitable outcome.

I'm sure I'll be getting a phone call or two regarding this, that and the other, but hey, my phone battery can run out at the most inconvenient times!

Thanks again for the advice, and I will use it if necessary in the future, but after careful consideration, don't feel formatting will effect performance much due to the specifications of the laptop.