1) Does the new TOB patch (8 mb) include the original bg2 soa patch?
2) If so, how do i know if it has been installed(im not real computer saavy). i downloaded it(saved to my desktop), then clicked on it and it walked me through the installation. however, the problem i was hoping it would fix is graphical..the gameplay in some areas (underdark) is very annoying..the game pauses momentarily every second.
so if someone can answer me these, i would appreciate it greatly. basically, do i have the right patch and how do i know i installed it correctly(also dont know how to find the patch's 'readme' file) thank you

in rough order:

the ToB patch does not include the SoA patch, since ToB already does.

you know its been installed because in the launcher somwhere it gives you the version number which should be...26498

he error you describe _could_ be the ToB pausing errors cause by multiple bags of holding (or somesuch trash - the point is bioware screwed something up). but the patch fixes that. (allegedly, i never had the problem). since its probably not that, does it occur in other dark areas or just random throughout the game? if its dark places it suggest replacing your graphics drivers.

the next one depends, do you know next-to-nothing about computers or do you just not know where BG2 got installed? in the first case, follow these directions and pray its in the default directory. (if you didnt change it, it will be)

double-click on:
my computer
c:
program files
black isle
baldurs gate 2
(some of these are aproximate cos mine isnt in the default location)

the file you want is called "bg2-ToBpatchreadme.txt" and should be near the top.

if it isnt there use start->find to find it.