I'm sure we had a thread with a link to a minimum setup for windows (some version) but I can't find it offhand.

One thing you could do is use Add/Remove programs (on Control Panel) to do Add/Remove Windows Components (I'm assuming this is in the same place in Me as in XP). You'll get a list of Windows components with tick if all subcomponents are installed, grayed tick if some subcomponents are installed and no tick if no subcomponents are installed. Highlighting an item and pressing the Details button will give show which bits are installed. If you see anything that you think you don't want you can clear it and then at the end it will remove all the items you don't want. If you decide you want them back you can just tick them again and they'll reinstall - that's when those cab files will come in useful!

Mick