thanks everybody for your input. i installed super anti-spyware, updated it, and did a whole computer scan that resulted in no malware. thus, i disabled link scanner, resident shield, automatic update manager, and the e-mail scanner in AVG 8.0 and noticed a marked difference in the speed of the computer. i tried letting resident shield be active, but that still caused my computer to run rather slowly. it seems that the new AVG is quite a bit of trouble with its functions are inferring with spybot s&d and spyware blaster. as of now, only the anti-virus; anti-spyware, and the license components of AVG are 'active' on my computer; therefore, my questions become: is it necessary to have AVG running from start-up? since i've disabled the resident shield, will having AVG running in the background provide me with some automatic, subtle protection? i currently have win patrol, zone alarm (and AVG) running in the background. should i have super anti-spyware running in the background as well? thanks for all your input.

Asus build a good board mostly, used many of them myself. Currently have a flaky Gigabyte board I need to replace with a lesser Biostar I have here. computer status protected by windows Are you suggesting you have no anti virus or no anti malware programs installed? When did you last remove the left side panel and clean out the dust bunnies that tend to build up in these things? Perhaps the computer is shutting down due to excessive heat, try removing the left side panel for a while and see if that helps. This is not a permanent fix but will give us somewhere to start from. If you feel it may be heat related you might try installing the free version of Speccy. This will give you lots of information including temp readings. You can also get these of course by entering the BIOS on startup but you get details without the computer being under load.

I have no answer about whether you will lose your mail but I did find some troubleshooting at Microsoft. I don't understand exactly what you mean by re-boot either :-) Here are the recommended steps: SYMPTOMS When you start or use Entourage for Mac, the program stops responding (hangs) and you see a spinning wheel. RESOLUTION To resolve this problem, follow these steps: Step 1: Use the Shift key Hold down the SHIFT key, and then double-click the Entourage icon to start the program. After Entourage starts, clear all messages from the Outbox. Note Holding down the SHIFT key when you start Entourage prevents the program from trying to send or receive messages when it starts. If this did not resolve the issue, go to the next step. Step 2: Reset the Entourage preferences Restore the Entourage preferences file to its default settings. To do this, follow the steps for the version of Entourage that you use. Note This action removes any customizations within Entourage that you have set, such as customized toolbars. Remove top-level preference files Remove the Entourage preference files from the Preference folder. To do this, follow these steps: Quit all Microsoft Office applications. On the Go menu, click Home. Open Library. Note The Library folder is hidden in Mac OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu. Open Preferences. Drag the following files to the desktop: com.microsoft.entourage.database_daemon.plist com.microsoft.entourage.database_utility.plist com.microsoft.entourage.office_reminders.plist com.microsoft.entourage.plist com.microsoft.entourage.syncservices12.plist If you cannot locate any or all of these files, Entourage is using the default preferences. Go to "Step 3: Rename the Microsoft User Data folder." Test Entourage. If the problem is resolved, follow these steps: Quit Entourage. Select and drag one of the files you moved to the desktop back to the Preferences folder. Open Entourage and test. If the problem does not occur, repeat steps A through C to move another file back to the Preferences folder. If the problem does occur after moving a file back to the Preferences folder, drag the specific file that caused the error to the Trash. If the problem continues to occur, go to the next step. Step 3: Rename the Microsoft User Data folder Rename the Microsoft User Data folder to Microsoft User Data_Old, and then test the program to verify that it is working. To do this, follow these steps: Quit all programs. On the Go menu, click Home. Open Documents, and then click Microsoft User Data to highlight it. Press ENTER to select the folder name, move the cursor to the end of the folder name, type Old, and then press ENTER to rename the folder. Open Entourage. If the program starts, the problem involves the Entourage (Microsoft User Data) database. To resolve this problem, follow these steps: Still in Documents, drag the newly created Microsoft User Data folder to the Trash. Rename the Microsoft User Data_Old file to Microsoft User Data. Back up the Identity. Rebuild the Identity. To back up or rebuild the identity, follow steps 3 and 4 in this Microsoft knowledge base article: 268322 How to rebuild your identity database in Entourage 2008 for Mac and Entourage for Mac 2004 to resolve most problems If Entourage did not launch, create a new user account, and then start Entourage by using the new account. Sometimes, specific user information is corrupted. This problem can prevent a program from installing, starting, or running correctly. To determine whether this is the case, you can log on as a new user or create a new user account, and then test the program. For more information about how to create a new user account, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 2439218 Testing your user account to troubleshoot Office for Mac applications If Entourage starts when you use the new account, try to start the computer in safe mode to see whether any third-party fonts or programs are running that might be preventing Entourage from starting. For information about how to restart the computer in safe mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 2398596 Perform a clean startup (Safe boot) to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac If Entourage does not start when you use the new account, remove the Microsoft Office suite from the computer, reinstall the suite, and then apply all available updates for your version of Office. For more information about how to remove Office, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 2500821 Manually remove Office 2008 for Mac completely from your computer Here is a link that might be useful: Entourage for Mac hangs and does not respond

Update: The position of the shower diverter valve appears to not be a causative factor. It was leaking again with the diverter set midway, and the faucet dripping slightly. Turning the knobs very hard to 100% off seems to have stopped it again. I'm still not clear on why there would be no leakage during a shower, even a long one, but there would be leakage from a very slight drip from the faucet. Is there some kind of weird backpressure issue that could cause this?