Gary, I really appreciate the advice. I do. It's not that you shouldn't go there, it's just that I can't. I've nickel and dimed myself on this one, but the 500 Gb WD Caviar drive is it, todo, all there is. In the meantime I am getting useful work out of it, and I think the new drive will make the audio run seamlessly. I don't regret the nickels and dimes, either, because I've learned all along. Even though I've been frustrated along the way, it has led me to where I am now, with a dated but functional DAW. "Everything I know about computers, I learned in self defense."(c)

I've heard comments on Maxtor reliability, mostly from Lawrie as I recall. I lost an unbacked-up Maxtor 60 Gb main drive in my last move; it worked when I packed the machine, didn't when I unpacked it, and I'm the one who moved it. This drive is at least five years old, came out of a SOHO network server, and has half the throughput of my present main drive, so when the WD arrives I pull everything off and build a pr0n cruisin' virus catcher with the old drive, lol. I don't trust it for NOTHIN'.

R.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."