Just a though: Build a computer with 2 CD-ROMs, a hard disk, and a floppy (and whatever else you decide to throw in there - maybe even a DVD). Configure one of the CD-ROMS as the primary master, and the HD as the primary slave. Write the OS/boot files to a CD/R disk, and have it boot of the CD-ROM (provided that the CD-ROM drive will still spin up. And surely, a CD-ROM drive would be much easier to repair than hard disk, and no alignment would be necessary, thus eliminating another problem. Another solution may be to deep-freeze the whole mess, and put it into "suspended animation". I'm not sure how it would work with magnetic media or bearings / lubricants, but it does wonders with rubber. My grandmother had a rubber band from 1956 (around that time) in her freezer holding a cover on a fruitcake (no joke). Last year she finally decided to trash the fruitcake. She let it thaw (to keep the container), and when the rubber band had defrosted, it was as pliable and stretchy as if it had been brand new (to a point). Of course, you would need to leave specific instructions on how to defrost the system, leaving it in a climate-controlled room, slowly raising the temperature degree-by degree, as to not have any disasters, such as the CRT imploding from sudden temp changes. Better yet, throw in a flat-panel LCD display. Near the end of 1999, they should be a bit more affordable. -- -Jason Willgruber (roblwill(a)usaor.net) ICQ#: 1730318 <http://members.tripod.com/general_1>