>>>Sorry, Nadya, I'm out of ideas. Thought it would be an easy one and as it turns out it's a real nasty .....
>>>
>>>It appears word is asking for a lot of memory when starting. Maybe you can start by turning off the spelling checker and see what happens
>>
>>Thanks, Gregory. I think, my problem is how can I control what programs are running in the background. E.g. there are several programs running as startup which I never use and really do not need. What is the proper way to take control of my Windows XP behavior?
>
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>hi Nadya,
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>I find there are three
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>(1) RightClick Start | Explore and delete some in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
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>(2) Start | All Programs | administrative tools | Services && take care here
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>(3) Start | Run | enter MsConfig, go to tab Startup.
>You can uncheck some modules. Take care
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>You can also see the modules that are running with Start | Run | msinfo32, and expand Software Environment ((or Start | all programs | accessories | System tools | system information))
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>Whatever you do, first create a system restore point (Start | all programs | accessories | System tools | system restore)
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>Good luck

Gregory,

Thanks a lot. It is very helpful advice, I cleaned some stuff.