Anyway, I needed to completely reformat the computer...it seems the previous user had, for 11 days, registered so much stuff...it made the computer useless for me. I called HP support....did a fresh install/reformat...worked FINE except for one bug...I couldn't get OExpress to take my e-mail password. It seems with XP you need to create a user account in order to save your passwords in OExpress. My wife thought that was odd, seeing as though the original 'user' is an admin...and should have that ability.
Other than that my XP is working fine. I'm not thrilled by the almost 'cartoon-like' icons...the soft edges and rounded corners make the screen seem odd....it's not necessary and makes the transition tough to get used to.
She is getting ready to install XP PRO over the top of ME on our other computer in the next few days....that will be fun!
If you go to display properties you can make it look like the NT desktop.