Bill,

This is interesting. When you say it gets stuck on 'buffering', does this mean that you manage to get through the music menus okay?

1. How many different artists do you have and how long do you wait then you select the Artist option from the menu?

2. And the same for albums?

When you say you have no volume control, have you tried turning the wheel from the Playback Panel. But yes, the Volume buttons on the remote need to be hooked up - not a big job.

Cheers
Paul