But.. it only works for drives of identical capacities,
and most likely only for identical models as well.

Oh.

Then I'm right back where I started, then...

I have an 18GB drive in my player that is dying.

I have a new 40 GB Travelstar ready to replace it.

In words of one syllable or less, what do I do?

tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"