-the problem is consitent whether it is in the car or on AC power

-there is no other software and hijack is no longer installed

-there is a bit of a pause on "rebuilding music databases" - my personal loading graphiv flashes really quickly - much quicker than my friend's empegs

thanks again for your help!
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50 Gig MK2 feat. over 7445 songs, 865 albums by 400 artists for 25 days of easy listening