If you don't have a ton of ram or if you just don't like fluff you can set the desktop to it's simplest form...just like 9x, ME, 2K... To make all the changes go to: control panel -> system -> advanced click on Settings button in the "Performance" group Choose "Adjust for best performance" Also go to: control panel -> display -> appearance In the "Windows and buttons" dropdown choose: Windows Classic style" Even with my decent system I noticed some performance gains. Mostly it makes me feel better having things run simpler since these effects use ActiveX to operate... (HAHA I got first post in here!!)