> However, I'd like to have a utility that lets me see which programs are > accessing the hard disk at any given instance. > Do you know of any such utility? PC Magazine recently published a utility, DiskAction, that appears to be exactly what you want. Unfortunately, it is currently only available for Win 9.x/ME. They do state, however, that a version for NT-based OSs is in the works. A description of the program and a download link (requires free registration) is at: http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s%253D1478%2526a%253D11135,00.asp Andrew http://4serendipity.com