Thanks,

The SIIG card may be the problem but I'm not sure. My USB 1 cd-r writer is working with it just fine. When I had the dvr-107u attached to my USB 1 port on my laptop it worked ok, if deathly slow. Thanks for your help. I think the problem may be with XP and my computer. Dell says that my laptop was designed for XP but it's been one nightmare after another for a long time now. Recognition problems, failed hard drives, etc. Dell is a good desktop company but their laptops are less than worthless. Xp is no bed of roses either.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help. I guess I'm going to return all this stuff and get a cheap external drive. I don't want to compromise on quality but it looks like I have to.