Well, I listened to Wayne and shut it down until I could buy an external hard drive. My first, and the first time I've backed anything up. Since my G4 is now several years old I know I've been lucky never to have a crash. And I didn't realized how easy - relatively peaking it is - to back up files. Of course the hard drive came with no instructions. I know, you're supposed to know. Anyway it's a 500 gig drive and I managed to get everything downloaded. I think. One question. After the download I was going to remove the drive but the bumf that came with it says it will now automatically back up everything I do. So I just leave it plugged into the USB port. Right? By the way at Best Buy I asked a salesperson with an apple on his shirt if he worked there. He said no, he worked for Apple. Needless to say, he was helpful. jim --- Manage your account options at //www.freelists.org/list/muglo