vlk, sorry for the delay in response, but I verified my version as build 172, uninstalled, then reinstalled with a fresh build 172 setup. I still have problems that seemed to be fixed with build 168 -- when I launch win explorer, the animated Avast icon in my system tray starts to rotate and stops as my WinME machine hangs. If I stop Avast, I can launch win explorer with no problem. Has anyone else reported this? Is there anything else I should try?