Hi -- I am Richard - a technical project manager located in Miami, Florida.  Being a project manager means that I have NO technical skills... I only tell the real techs what to do... (they let me think that )  I find this forum to be very informative, and the replies to be largely on point!  Some of the other message boards I have visited are just places for misinformed people to advise people to re-install Windows.  Glad to be here!

OOPS - forgot to add the tech stuff - I am running XP Pro on a homebuilt machine - 2.4 gig P4 (512 L2 cache) on the ASUS P4 motherboard (533 mhz FSB)... usual two optical drives - CD ROM and CD RW - two hard drives - cable modem hookup to Comcast.. I get a steady 1.7 mps dl and 275 kbps up.

I have been an IT manager for approx 30 years --yes, I remember Fortran --  and now work for a large company here in Miami as head of their Program Management Office.  As a user though, I am a bit of a novice on the finer stuff... and I am an insatiable tweaker.

...I have NO technical skills...

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Regarding your problem of having NO technical skills, the best advice I can give you is to have you boot from your XP CD and perform a clean install.  The informational screens displayed while Windows installs itself really helps give a user a firm understanding of everything that Windows XP can do for them and for their lives. 

In the event you feel overwhelmed by the information, perform a clean install over and over until you feel comfortable with all the knowledge you've gained.

I also advise that you turn your PC speakers up really loud during the install.  The music played really puts you in an almost Zen-like, pro-Microsoft zone that makes your more suseptible to goodness that Microsoft is trying to give you.