forum lagging - possible database problem

[susie]

hi there,

i have a few SMF forums, and yesterday the settings.php was wiped somehow.  it was copmpletely blank, so i replaced it with a backup.  ive no idea how this happened. then today when im trying to access the forum, certain boards are just not loading.  they open, but when i try and click on threads inside, the threads time out trying to load.

has anyone any idea what may be causing this?  and is there any way to speed up the performance of the forums in general, maybe some plugin that might enhanse it?

any advice would be appreciated.  this is one of the forums:

hxxp:avatarsbydesign.com/forum1/index.php [nonactive]

(the secret santa board up top is an example of threads not loading)

many thanks

susie

[susie]

oops, ignore this, ive sorted it.