e) Is there something I can do to turn off this security thing so I can convert my danged files? I'd just rerip from the sources, but those sources are about 9 hours away ...

At the risk of sounding "holier-than-thou"... you shouldn't be putting that music into your empeg unless you are the owner of those sources that are "...about 9 hours away", in which case the sources wouldn't be 9 hours away.

This sort of behavior is exactly the reason that RIAA and others are doing their best to make our lives difficult.

tanstaafl.