Yep, putting those two drives on separate IDE's is a good move. It helps speed things up. Another tip is to have your temp audio pointed at the second drive..

Turning off autamatic updates is done thru the control panel in XP, you should see an icon or listing for it.

Funny how those assigned slots and IRQ's can really wreak havoc in a system. Glad ya got it figgered out! Now to see if the USB sharing will affect the card, especially if you use the external hard drive to run things.

My main DAW is the same way, no connections to any other system (unless I use a crossover LAN cable intentionally). This helps keep it stable. I download an update occasionally and install it. I find I have less trouble from lack of updates than I do from the hassles of keeping it updated. If I have a problem I'll look into the updates, or when a new service pack is released and stable I'll install it. Most of the updates ares security related (which I don't need since it is not networked) but ocassionally a core feature is updated. Flash drives are a quick and easy way to transfer things. Gotta be careful with those too, as they can transfer malware just as well as any other storage device.

Make your sound your own!
.. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome