Gentlemen,
I apologise for the inordinate delay in coming back to you with a progress report - a combination of having to work away with no access to the net and somewhat tortuous discussions with my ISP. That said, what progress?
No luck so far. Neither a clean re-install of the software nor the use of a new modem have solved the problem. After much humming and ha-ing by the IT blokes at the ISP they have plumped for this being a problem with the "Safely Remove Hardware" programme in the Windows XP operating system.
Does this sound reasonable and, if so, what might I do about it - please, don't suggest re-installing Windows XP!! If this doesn't sound reasonable, what might be your suggestion(s).
Many thanks for your continuing help.
doclee