Actually, Marian, my husband came to the rescue. Turns out it was the new version of McAfee that was wreaking havoc with more than one program, including the Game Manager.
Disabling a couple of the new "features" restored my system and my speed. It's not the first time McAfee has been naughty.
And it's a lovely game, Ana, but I think it lacks a lot of the charm of the first. There's no real "you" in the story as there was last time, and I even miss Ben Palmer.
I may wait for the standard version. I'll have to see what others think, or if I'm missing something with just the demo.