Shortcut key delay

[King O'Diamonds]

I've seen this problem asked in several places, but no-one seems to
know the answer!

I'm running XP SP1. Clicking on a shortcut works fine and the program
associated with it opens right away. When I use a shortcut key,
however, it takes about 30 seconds before the program opens. Is there
a way to eliminate that delay?

Thanks!
KoD