Brian, Your arguments are convincing. Thanks. I didn't build with libgomp (openMP) or libmudflap (bounds checking for c), and I am wondering if I should have, but I am not sure of the consequences. 1. Does the absense of libmudflap prevent optional bounds checking in C++? 2. Does the absense of libgomp prevent thread programming? If I need to rebuild using these libraries, where do I get them? I couldn't find them in cygwin setup. Lee.