Quote - I save necessary files to external HD..

I do also. There's a fairly useful freebie titled xxclone or something like that (google will find it). Its basically a hard drive ghost-type utility that copies your entire hard drive, including installed programs, and makes a bootable likeness on the new drive. If you've got tons of content like I do, the first time you clone it it takes several hours (mine was 28!) but updating after that is a breeze. You can simply copy/paste to the new drive if it's just content. I use an external HD hub I got from new egg for $12 and a 1TB main drive as my back up. Works like a charm.

crimsonworx.com; free ebooks and previews

I've bowed down to facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimsonworx