Firefox, and possible all around system, problems

I have a Compaq Presario running XP. For the past two days I have not been able to load Firefox. But that's not the worst of it. When I first turn on the system in the morning, I have to reboot it several times to get it to work at all. After about 3 reboots, I can get on the internets with IE (which I don't like to use), but Firefox still does not work.
When I look at taskmanager, there are several proceses called "svchost.exe" running. Almost everything else only has one process. Should I be worried about this process?
The only thing I did differently on my system was to download a new version of WinAmp. One of the prompts was to put it on the toolbar of Firefox, which I did. I have since removed WinAmp, and Firefox still does not work.
what are my options here? Remove and reload FF? I need to have that browser for my online class, as my instructor posts lectures in a way that will only work with Firefox, or else it wouldn't be a big deal.

Meaning the toolbars I was using don't load. I can live with that. My personal toolbar folder with all my frequently accessed sites is there, and that's all I really care about. I suppose I should just go ahead and get rid of all the toolbars and plug-ins. That might do the trick...

this is what I would probably do.

1. Ignore the multiple svchosts as this is common
2. Try to get to the bottom of the re-booting problem. First thing to consider is what event may have triggered it. Could have been installation of winamp. It used to be pretty well thought of, don't know about latest versions - things change. On the information you have given I would uninstall Firefox, delete the profile and give the whole computer a damn good clean and scan. Then re-boot.
3. If it all boots and runs OK after that, I'd be thinking I may have found the problem. Keep monitoring, watching for anomalies, things that don't work quite as they should.
4. If it's still buggy, I'd consider a system restore. Pick a date before you installed the winamp toolbar. BTW, I fucking hate toolbars of any flavour or colour.
5. This should have been slotted into number 2. Grab a free copy of Mozbackup (google it) and back up your passwords and bookmarks, but nothing else. Now do a fresh clean re-install of firefox, no fucking toolbars or any of that shit. Test it well before you add any extensions. If it all works well, make a restore system restore point.

Rebooted my machine, started up Firefox with no problem. The removal of Winamp did not remove it from the Firefox toolbar, but I was able to do that in safe mode. Everything is working fine now.

I found this while I was working on a friend's PC. I was getting her off AOL & stumbled on the problem. The fix? Install Firefox 2.0.0.9.

From what I'm reading, they will not be fixed until 3.x comes out.