Kevin,

I don't know about the 'freeze ups' of Outlook and Office XP since I don't use either.

As for the XP UI, it does have quite a lot of bells and whistles that can tend to 'interfere' with your 'experience' if you don't have the hardware to make it 'fly'. Try disabling those UI features (perhaps make it use the 'old' menus and windows and effects) to see if it becomes less sluggish.

Mike.

>I'm now using Win XP Pro, and maybe it's just my machine, but I really feel it's a step backwards. Yes, the OS boots much faster, and the interface is pretty cool. But I get the feeling that what's 'under the hood' isn't quite as strong. Overall UI seems sluggish by comparison, and I've had many more lockups. I've also had instances where things like Outlook and Office XP seem to 'freeze up' for about 15-20 seconds, and then start running again.