D0lphi,
It sounds like you have a combination of flash and browser cache issues. Load stoppages during the initial screen are browser cache related. Try these steps:
1.) Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
Windows:
uninstall_flash_player.exe (205 KB) (updated 02/11/2010)
Note: Internet Explorer users may have to
reboot to clear all uninstalled Flash Player ActiveX control files. If
you're not certain, select the "Show Details" button in the Flash Player
uninstaller. If there are any log lines that begin with "Delete on
Reboot..." then you'll need to reboot BEFORE running the Flash Player
installer again.
2.) Reboot your PC according to Step 1 if necessary.
3.) Install a fresh version of Flash 10: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
4.) Clear your browser cache again: Click here
for instructions.
5.) Restart your browser.
If this doesn't immediately solve your problem I would recommend using Firefox over Internet Explorer. IE is a good browser, but it's very general purpose and often gives sub-par performance compared to Firefox or Chrome for applications such as Flash. If you decide to install FireFox you will need to install the Adobe Plugin for Firefox as well since it uses a different plugin than Internet Explorer does.
If you exhaust all of these options and are still experiencing issues, please let us know.