Actually all I can offer is that changing OS won't help. It's all poser's fault. I've got xp pro now and as a good a system as could reasonably be expected by the people who make these programs. Still have the same trouble. What Poser needs is the programming equiv. of a door stopper, so that it doesn't eat up all the memory every time it can't find something. That problem used to be even worse in poser 4 when a pz3 file couldn't find a map, it just froze every time. For me anyway...

"Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair."

Annie Dillard