It's specifically at two points of the build--firstly, when VS6 is starting the compile (and trying to find modified files, I suppose), and during the link step

It's specifically at two points of the build--firstly, when VS6 is starting the compile (and trying to find modified files, I suppose), and during the link step. I think the IDE is doing something with the toolchain to give it an incredibly high priority (and therefore build faster). The only evidence I have for that is a) command-line compiles take longer than they do through the IDE (using msdev to process the dsp file, not using nmake/cl/link), and b) windows messages (e.g. Send/PostEvent) don't seem to be processed during the link stage. Regarding the Intellisense bit, you've reminded me of our "process" used to fix VS when it stops compiling files correctly: try deleting all our non-source controlled files (which includes the VS specific databases for things like classwizard, object files, etc) and see if that fixes things. If not, then restart.