I can't use the back arrow more than twice in a row without having IE6 close. Java can't update, and I can't copy or paste or use my email tools from Charter. It does crazy things like bring up infinite search windows from time to time (until I manually turn the computer off). I have to delete my temporary files manually, the buttons don't have any results under Internet Options. My FTP site is not accessible. IE6 is closing increasingly, yet I have less trouble with software than I've ever had before. Morrowind is a CDTer and most people get anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour of play before a CDT, but I can play for hours. The problems are all centered around this IE6 rollback from IE7. All my virus scans are negative, as well as searching for rootkits. This IE6 never did work as it was supposed to...I can't get rid or it unless I start over, and I don't have the time! Who does? marf

Vala, I was in the same mindset as you, it would cost about $300 to replace the bad parts then extra for them to reload everything onto the new HD, but I would still be stuck with an older computer and OS, which means the parts are also getting older and can go out at any time. Instead of chancing having to fix it over and over, I chose a new one with Windows 7 (64bit) and MS Office 2010 for just a couple hundred more. Also, now I have a warranty again in case it does go downhill. Sorry about that Raven, I will try again. BTW, everytime I see your name I crave crawfish etoufee!!! Here is a link that might be useful: New computer

Hi Azinoh, Thank you for your advice. The amount of data is over 1TB once the video files are included. Pictures and text (word or pdf) files are much simpler - less than 10GB. I already have a new external hard drive attached to my pc. I've been copying-backing up files to there. I also have them backed up on the NAS - but I'm worried about not being able to access those if I can't figure out how to set up my synology diskstation right away. So I wanted to be sure to have access to the important files right away. I'm confident I can access the files on the new external hard drive from my new computer. I'll search the Canon site for my model. It's not that old - manufactured in the Windows 7-8 days. I actually thought it might have been too new for my XP computer to make that set up easy. Now I know I can check that out on Canon's site. In terms of putting the failing second drive in the new pc, I agree. I'm not certain it's actually failing. When this happened with another drive 2 or 3 years ago, I think it was a healthy drive. I think I was on the Tivo forums about this - and people thought the drive was fine. I don't recall why more files weren't displaying. So if this winds up being a limitation of my desktop's explorer program - or something that isn't a flaw of the drive, it might be worth keeping. But I never did risk it with that old drive, even though more knowledgeable people than me thought it was safe to use. So I probably won't use this one either. But I will try to pay more attention to what the problem is. Is Macrium Reflect something I can use on this XP computer now to copy files? would it be faster than using explorer? Thanks. Lynn.

I forgot to mention before, the comment above "RAM/Memory=Speed" isn't really correct. Think of a waiting room in a doctor's office. If the doctor never has more than two patients waiting, a room with 15 chairs isn't needed. RAM holds information read and to be read by the central processor. Programs and data used by programs. When large amounts of data are being handed - video file editing, RAW format photo editing, large spreadsheets, many programs open at once, then a large amount of RAM is needed or else, just as with a large waiting room for many people waiting. WIth insufficient RAM, the holding and waiting task is offloaded to the hard drive and data reads and writes are performed at a much slower speed. For most people who put their PCs to light use, reading websites, etc., 4GB of RAM is a minimum but may also be completely sufficient. If you look at the Performance tab of Task Manager, the Available stat will tell you how much RAM is unused. On my 4 GB machine right now, this shows as having 2.2 GB available. So long as there's 1 GB or more available at times of peak use, having more RAM in your PC will not change its performance because it won't be used. Enough is good but more isn't better. For a PC having an adequate amount of RAM, the clock speed of the CPU and the access speed of the hard drive will be the pacing items for performance. That's why PCs with solid state drives (SSDs) seem so zippy, the drive access is much faster compared to a physical hard drive with rotating platters and access arms.