Yep, been going by the guide and everything seems to be in order. I used to leave it in the car at home (locked garage) but it started acting up over the winter (very cold winters where I live, fairly regular -30 F ish nights) and I've been bringing it in since. That was while the 10gb drive was in it, so it doesn't really explain the latest one.

so I guess it's technically possible that I messed up that drive and the original replacement one that way, and the toshiba was old to begin with, so I dunno. I just want to make sure I look at everything I can before I buy a new drive.

other thing I thought of: the car is a 22 year old Volvo and the electrics have been a bit funky for a while, I've had the dash apart twice over the last year trying to fix a power lock fuse that blows all the time. The radio circuit hasn't given me trouble and I haven't been getting the battery icon on the empeg so I discounted this, but maybe there's something in it after all?

is there any brand of drive that's particularly robust that I should perhaps look for?