I have a fresh install fully updated through steam and am using windows XP. I've gone through the tips in the sticky about improving performance on windows XP, as well as disabling the auto saves at the end of turns. Whenever i press end turn, even at the start of the first turn i end up waiting 5-25 minutes for the game to move on to turn 2. I've tried both the campaign and the free for all (in combos of big-small maps with varying # of AI players) and this is occuring every time. Everything on screen continues its animations without any stuttering or jerkiness to it, so surely its not performance related. Could something within my install be corrupt, or might there be another cause to this?

I've now also tried removing the steam version of a game and directly downloading and installing from the FE website. The problem persists, and despite me disabling the auto save feature there is still a save being created each time i end a turn.