The Hourglass Beside My Mouse Pointer Keeps Flashing On And Off…can Anyone Help?

Hey guys,
I recently was misfortunate enough to be a victim of the antimalware doctor virus. After reading several sources of information during the brief few times I could actually get online…I sourced some programs which were recommended so as to eradicate my computer of this virus…I then transferred them to my laptop, from my brother’s laptop via usb but the virus would not allow them to run…it shut down most systems so eventually I had to just restore my laptop to factory settings and cut my losses.
Now my computer seems to be running fine, except for the hourglass which appears every few seconds and lasts for a few seconds, accompanied by a slowing of the computer during these moments. Now after the virus mishap I took the measure of purchasing Vipre antivirus software and have ran a scan, which has found no threats to the system…
Does anyone know what could possibly be the source of this issue and any potential solutions??
Many thanks in advanced!