I am on Windows XP Pro SP3 and I know of 2 ways to start GIMP: either doubleclick the GIMP-icon on the desktop or the gimp-2.6.exe file.

there is a third way

Click on Start, how you will do to make the programs list pop out, close at the bottom, at left you will see "run"

there type the path for gimp exe (to avoid typo you can RIGHT click on gimp.exe, chose "propriety" and copy the path

that should look as C:\Program Files\GIMP 2.6\bin\gimp.2.6 exe then click ok or press enter

>How to set beforehand the GIMP_DEBUG

environment variable is way beyond my knowledge.

also mine..anyway maybe start gimp from "Run" adding "verbose will help something as
C:\Program Files\GIMP 2.6\bin\gimp.2.6 exe -verbose (but maybe you HD is not called C)

But nevertheless, I meanwhile found out that I have (a lot of) personal GIMP-files, and where they are: http://fotoalbum.seniorennet.be/incl/getimage2.php?imageid=1607079&albumid=18832&typeid=4

This fortunate discovery, I hope, will help me a lot to better understand GIMP.

Sure..there you may see a lot of empty folders as "script" "plugin" "brush",etc There you are supposed to add your extra, as third party plugins,scripts,brush In case of upgrade they will preserved (but instead,if placed in the programfiles folders,will be all deleted by upgrades) Below is a line actually copied from

my own "gimprc"-file:

(help-locales "en")

Perhaps it would have been orthodox to change this "en" to "nl". But nevertheless my non-standard trick did the job? The "HELP"-buttons and the F1-key do show me the help I ask. From my locally installed html-base:

C:\Program Files\GIMP-2.0\share\gimp\2.0\help\en

http://fotoalbum.seniorennet.be/incl/getimage2.php?imageid=1607415&albumid=18832&typeid=4

As far as I am concerned this case seems closed. Thanks for the help.