Can you change and set a new default directory, and if so how?. I'm running Win2k Thanks!...

When you choose "Load File", Blender puts you in the directory where you have last saved a file. I think it 's not possible to change this with some option. Although you can change the default directories for Fonts, Rendering, Textures, Python Scripts, ... .
Options in Blender can be found by dragging down the bar under the menu's.