Thankyou Bhamdave, and Jeremiah, Tried to go to internet explorer, and erased temporary internet files, didn't do anything for the performance.

One other question: I bought an update version of windows XP, downloaded it on my laptop, and registered it 30 days later, Can I use this again on my home computer, I didn;t know if you are allowed to use the upgrade version on more than one computer, since i only have one registration #. as you can tell, I am not very bright when it comes to computers.
I really appreciate all of your great advice!!

terri