The most likely cause is not caching the thumbnails ... bot there could be additional issues. Before you begin ... if you feel uneasy about making this kind of change, that is beneficial -- you understand the problem ... after all, you learned Photoshop, didn't you? This stuff is less difficult. That having been said, please have paper and pen/pencil so that you can record all of both the old settings and the new settings. Doing that is a "Good Thing" (TM). Some Windoze "secrets" ... 1. Don't let FastFind run ... ever. 2. Be sure that the swap file area is managed by Windoze 3. If your OS is earlier than XP, performance settings ... Right-click "My Computer" -> "Properties" -> "Performance" under "General", check the installed memory value; under "Advanced Settings" click "File System" ... Under "Hard Disk", set Typical Role to Network Server; set Read-Ahead optimization to the smallest value that works (my W95 machine this is set to 8K). 4. On XP, Click "Start" -> Right-click "My Computer" -> "Properties" ... under "General", check the installed memory value; under "Advanced" -> "Performance". This opens "Performance options". Under "Visual effects", select "Adjust for best performance" Note: your screen appearance will change. BTW, I just made this change and it seems to bring up the windows faster (i.e "good"). Under "Advanced", all of the options should favor the application. In addition, check the size of the swap area. This applies to all of the above ... In a window with tabs (or as the partner I worked for at Deloitte said, "Folios"), make all of the changes before clicking OK ... otherwise click Cancel. Please reply with your experience so everyone can learn.