A decade later (almost to the month) and my original 10GB IBM Travelstar (build date March 2001) has finally died after making some grating noises for a while then starting to come up with segfault errors. Something was rattling around inside when I pulled it out so I ripped it apart and found a small metal lever loose inside - looks like it had something to do with the actuator assembly. Now replaced with a 40GB Samsung and all is well again!
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Peter.

"I spent 90% of my money on women, drink and fast cars. The rest I wasted." - George Best