First of all, what's the big deal with hidding critical system files that you don't need to be shown in the first place, but only when you need them...It makes it look a lot cleaner, less likely to accidentaly delete a critical file and so forth. Why would you want to get around it's safety measures and what safety measures are you talking about? I dont see how XP installs the same network card again and hides the first one, that makes no sense. I'm always changing the apperance of my box so I changes slots frequently and I never am prompted to install new hardware. The network connections, all you do is disable it, it isn't taking up any space, I only have one connection, I'm using wireless and dont see 2 connections when I switch slots, but I guess XP hides them on me, How do I unhide them hidden incons? What makes XP bugy and unstable. Most of the time, It's the user, not the OS. It's to big and bulky? It's a new and advanced OS with more features, of course it's going to be big, so are you in control of your XP?