Woohoo, it's fixed :) .

Thankyou all for your suggestions, but it's EGLD who gets the cigar.

I renamed IEXPLORE.EXE as he/she suggested, re-booted and the culprit was revealed. <a href="http://www.webwasher.com" target="_blank">Webwasher</a>, an ad stripper and privacy protector, was set to automatically start the default browser on boot up. When it couldn't after the rename, it asked what was going on. On the WW browser configuration dialogue was a checkbox "Start the selected browser". You guessed it - it was checked.

I had unchecked that option when I installed WW after the rebuild. Somehow during all the reconfiguring it changed itself back again - these things do happen - and I did not think to review it.

Chickenhawk, as you suggested it might be, it was so simple that I could kick myself, and I've duly done so.

EGLD - dinner with friends tonight. I don't smoke, so you'll have to find your own cigar. <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> However, I will be pleased to drink an extra glass of fine red for you :)

Thanks

AA