Photoshop :: Can't Import Photos From Hard Drive To Elements 5

This is a problem that has gotten progressively worse recently. I can still download photos from my camera to the hard drive using Elements 5, but I can no longer import more than about 5 photos at a time from the hard drive to the Organizer. My computer is a Dell 8300 purchased in 2004, with a Pentium 4 processor, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM,Windows XP, and Norton AntiVirus. I have about 265 GB of photos on a 350 GB partition (G: drive) of the hard drive. The other partition (C: drive) has about 50 GB of free space.

I've tried many fixes, including using CCleaner and Microsoft Disk Cleaner to remove unnecessary files and fix Registry problems; turning off and repowering the entire system; using Nikon Transfer to download the photos, instead of Photoshop; using Startup Inspector to remove unnecessary startup programs, as well as turning off all other software.

I get two different messages, at different times, from Elements when the process freezes:

1. "The ODBC data source reported the following error: "Microsoft] [ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] Invalid argument."

2. "The ODBC data source reported the following error: [Microsoft] [ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] The Microsoft Jet database engine stopped the process because you and another user are attempting to change the same data at the same time." (I'm not on a network.)

I also sometimes get another message from Norton: "High CPU usage by AOL", even when AOL is shut down.