trustarwarrior,

getting much closer to fully restored. my original suspicion (that changing from the installed QuickTime version 2.5 to version 4.0 was the dealbreaker) is unfounded. my system is almost completely restored. i've been very careful to NEVER replace files, instead i'm moving them to archival folders on the same disk and putting the later versions in their former place. tedious, but it IS progressing. limewire keeps on going. and yes, if i find out what file is essential to not be disturbed, i'll be posting.

freaq