I will monitor it, John...and I have learned some important new concepts in this thread (not just 'rules', but ideas about how things are actually organized & done.)

Note,, this "daring fellow" has milked that PC, with the same HD, for about 7 years now--with almost no serious problem- and no viruses or malware....which is why I'm trying to sort it all out before it decides I have pushed my luck too far. My safety net has been backups and anti-virus and anti-malware...

I intend to install a 2nd 'slave drive' and copy the entire drive.. (not just a data backup) because I have a lot of toys and personal setup at stake. I LIKE XP...even though I will likely get a Win7 machine some day. I would NOT like to have to reinstall all my collection of programs.