Animation render problem with 3D STudio Max SP3

I experienced something strange like this: if I render an animation with 3D Studio Max 8 SP3, and in the middle of the rendering process I tried to something else, the 3DS8 application will hang up. So whenever I render a 3D animation, I have to leave the computer alone all the way until it finish the rendering. It's great that I have a spare laptop, so here I am, working on my laptop. In fact, I think I may just install 3DSMax on this laptop. That way, I can use this laptop for time consuming render while I have my main computer doing something more useful, like work.