I had the same problem, with the "Welcome to Internet Explorer 8" popup appearing quite often when I started IE8 (installed as a Windows Critical Download in the past two weeks ...). Looked at the various registry fixs here, and decide there must be an easier way, so I contacted Microsoft Tech Support. Here is what has worked for me, on three different XP-PRO systems: Run GPEDIT.MSC Find "Administrative Templates", drill to "Windows Components", "Internet Explorer" Double click on Internet Explorer to get a long list and locate "Prevent Performance of First Run Customize Settings" Right click, select properties, and set to "Disable" Click on Apply, OK, and exit Group Policy Editor I double checked the registry, after finding this to be successful, and did not find the various registry additions or changes suggested here, so this is probably an alternate approach -- and it works! Brownie
