Yep. Disable system restore. Its a waste of resources. Never worked in ME and I hear others complaining of it with xp. If you want total control, use backup. Backup the registry and system files before an install. To tell the truth, I dont backup anything anymore. I use a monitoring installer (total uninstall) and jv16 power tools for looking after my files and registry and I've never had a problem. And if I do have a problem I will "repair" from the xp cd. And if you're really smart "ghost" the drive.