first, i'm still having trouble with my usb hard drive. it is not responding for about 1-2 min. when i try to open the drive. did a check disk. was o.k., check my usb on my device manager, it was ok also. check for spyware,defrag local disk,freed up space on local drive,check for virus, nothing. now, when i open my music folder it is doing the same thing,hanging. any ideals what causing the hang-ups? please help!

Have you done your Updates & have usb2? Also, have a look in Device Manager & report any glitches. http://www.cybertechhelp.com/tutori... How to troubleshoot unknown devices that are listed in Device Manager in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314464

yes i have all my updates & usb 2. no glitches. i already troubleshooted in Device Manager. let me check out the cybertechhelp website!

"let me check out the cybertechhelp website!" After you have done that, have a look in Task Manager to see if anything is using your CPU cycles in excess. Using the Windows Task Manager (XP) http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips... http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips... http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/ser... http://articles.techrepublic.com.co... http://articles.techrepublic.com.co... Also is it a new problem or a new Device?

yes, this is a new problem.

Could it be that i don't have enough memory? my music folder is 9.08 GB/2,807 files. my usb hard drive has 12.2 GB? maybe it's time to upgrade my RAM?

"maybe it's time to upgrade my RAM?" Maybe, but as you say it's a new problem, virii, trojans, spyfiles, overheating, power supply problems, are the main cause of go slows. Use HiJackThis to track down or check for possible infections. Read this link 1st, it has step by step. http://www.wilderssecurity.com/show... Important: Create a specific folder on your hard drive called HijackThis to keep its backups. You can do this by going to My Computer (Windows key+e) then double click on C: then right click and select New then Folder and name it HijackThis. Download and unzip HijackThis.exe into this folder. http://www.merijn.org/downloads.html Or, http://tomcoyote.com/hjt/ If possible run HJT in Normal mode ( not Safe ) with all your normal startup's working. HijackThis Tutorial - How to Analyse your own log. http://spywarewarrior.com/viewtopic... http://hometown.aol.co.uk/jrmc137/h... http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tut... http://www.malwarehelp.org/understa... HijackThis log file analysis ( online ) http://hijackthis.de/index.php?lang... Or, http://startup.networktechs.com/pag... http://hjt.iamnotageek.com ========================================= Take a cover off & clean out the dust, put an external fan on & see if it behaves with the extra cooling. Make sure all the fans ( including the power supply ) are spinning fast. Information about cleaning computer components http://www.computerhope.com/cleanin... http://www.wiscocomputing.com/artic... http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/... http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tut... Getting The Grunge Out Of Your PC, Fred Langa cleans the dirtiest PC he can find, and along the way shows you how you can easily tackle yours. http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... http://www.informationweek.com/stor... Quiet noisy computer fans with a drop of oil http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-62...