Thanks whs for the reply, but it's not my virus scanner. I used MSConfig and disabled everything, restarted, and the problem still occurs. I checked MSConfig, and indeed, all but a couple of essential services are disabled, and nothing else is running on the computer, yet WLPG still takes several minutes to open a photo.
Pictures open instantly with Microsoft Office Picture Manager, Windows Photo Viewer, Internet Explorer, and in Digital Image Suite 2006, but several minutes (most of the time) in WLPG. Note I say "most of the time" because sometimes WLPG does open them right away, but too often I'm sitting waiting.
I should add that I uninstalled and reinstalled all WL programs, but this didn't resolve the problem. One has to wonder why a program specifically designed to open photos would have so much trouble with the comparatively simple task of opening a photo?
I like WLPG - I think it's the best photo manager and simple editor on the market, but it's really frustrating when it hangs regularly.