thanks for the help

just as a followup, since nothing else was working (coudlnt get to the prompt) i decided to flash my old consumer 1.03 image back on, after doing this, the unit worked again - was able to start playing without being stuck in pause mode. i then put 2.00b11 on and that also worked fine, and i tested the shell thing and it worked. i decided not to risk anything straight away so ive left it at that but i think it should be ok *sigh of relief* i'll try again in a few days after i work myself up to it again! hehe