anyone who has a real need for a cold-temperature drive

Well, that would be me... but a 20 GB drive (or even a pair of them) won't really be too useful in my case.

I have discovered that my IBM Travelstars (80 GB each) will start up and run at temperatures down to about minus ten degrees F, but I also discovered that my average life for my drives is less than optimal. I suspect the two discoveries might be related.

In any case, even when the empeg is warm, my amplifiers won't light off if they are at minus 30 degrees or colder. No doubt a relay somewhere in the system won't trip at that temperature. It's never been worth the trouble to me to try and figure it out exactly -- could be the Sony switch, could be the Bosch relay on the amp remote line, could be relays inside the amps... might even be some electronic component in the amp that needs warmer temperature.

tanstaafl.