i would have to say XP is a good OS... what i think would be awesome if it was possible... o create a a startup option (F8).. such as Safe Mode... Safe mode with networking... yada yada... but have an option for "Gaming Mode" which doesnt load most of your startup options, doesnt load unneeded services... etc etc..... and whatever else possible to temporarily adjust for maximum gaming performance.... or a "Restart in Gaming Mode" option from XP Shutdown dialog... ive seen people talk about creating 57 meg xp installs for gaming... but... myself.. i NEED xp and all those features most of the time.. i am not a big gamer... so i usually just MSConfig - and disable all the garbage and reboot...