I do have a second SATA channel on my motherboard. Unfortunately, the failure is so intermittent that it will be difficult to catch. As Toomas pointed out, it could be a situation of a marginal power condition. I will check that out - I left the cover off the computer, and no failure has so far occurred. I have had three failures so far and all happened when the cover was on. When I removed the cover to check, the computer started working again. Of course, it also started working on a reboot without the cover being removed, so the cover off condition is not yet definitive. Joseph recommended the WD diagnostics, which I had already downloaded and tried. Did not run the long test yet, but he short one reported no problems. Thank you to all for responding your experiences and suggestions. If I find anything of note, I will report back to the list. Peter ---------------------------------- [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- Peter, don't know about the MB, but does it have more than one SATA plug? I'm thinking my MSI board has at least 2 independent channels for the 4 plugs, kind of like the ide channels, but I'm not sure. Will have to look at the book when I get home. If that is the case, you could switch the plug from one area to another. Another idea would be to use a SATA to IDE adapter if you know someone that has one, just to isolate the drive or SATA controller. I use a SATA as my only drive (for about a year) but so far no problems. George The NOSPIN Group has added a new feature on our website, web based bulletinboard for questions and answers: Visit our sister website at http://nospin.com