nihil,

1. not running norton system works, but am running norton AV
2. No separate sound card
3. knoppix CD
4. steady light
5. no, most recent patch was 1-2 weeks ago.

On another (slightly worse) note, now when i turn on my computer, the monitor doesnt register. The power is on, and from the sound of the machine it is booting fine, but nothing comes up on the screen. I dunno, i'm gonna take it down to a computer store near us, and see if they might know what is going on. **** **** ****...i really hope i dont need to reformat and reinstall, cuz i never got a chance to back up my most recent things...

slick