My previous experience with Ghost was a console based product that came with an old motherboard . I got the newer Ghost to manage the numerous partitions I'm using . .Net framework creates an additional security setting in the MIE browser with .Net framework reliant components ! I'm not sure, but there seems to be a bunch more of Svchost.exe (5 in all) running in Task Manager . After installing .Net 1.1, the XP bootup jumped from 5 to 13 progress bar cycles at the bootup screen . It remained the same after removing Ghost from the system tray but returned to normal after appying the patch (service pack) . The patch, according to the documentation, is to address some customer and security issues . Anyway, all's well that ends well; touchwood; fingers crossed . Maybe yours is .Net 1.0 . BTW, there's a 2.0 beta for download from Mighty Mike .