geting timeout error in application when inserting record

i currently have more tha 3 million of records in my table in sql 7. i am getting timeout error in my web application when i try to insert a record in that table
what could be rhe reason for this? how to avoid this type of problem?
Thanks in advanceis it a single record insert or an insert select? how many indices do you have on the table? have you run a trace and looked at the duration column for the steps in the process? Do you want to post your code?sql