-we used our soundcard when we had a PC next to a MPU interface. We didn't used a Y cable but a Gravis midi adaptor, wich I liked very much. (in/out/thru + leds).

-The MPU has his own seperate breakout box with midi in/out etc... we used an opcode 2x2 box too for a while wich fitted on the parrallel port.

-A little note why you got to reïnstall from time to time. Windows uses DLL's (Dynamic Link Libraries) wich are mostly lockated in your windows/system directory. The filosofy behind this is that a bunch if progs could use the same DLL to preform the same functions, thus saving diskspace (important on earlier computers, but now out of date). The problem is that you cannot delete them because you don't know wich progz are using them. Even the uninstall-function doesn't remove them all. So if they are updated, the old ones are left alone and new once are put (eg. VBRUN100.DLL VBRUN200.DLL etc..). so after a while your system directory has a lot of DLL,s but they're not only taking up diskspace they need also to be registered in windows in order for windows to use them. (if a prog comes asking for it). So this takes up memory and system resources, slowing your computer down. A DLL has more as one entry, so figure out what happens when you got a few hunderds of them loaded in memory... or if 2 entries have the same name (crash..). You could delete them manually, but this is dangerous because their names really don't point out what they're doing (before you know you simply throw away something important and your comp just don't boot anymore)

-The horror stories about reïnstalling a Windows system are true (after a while you get used to it, but you gotta be carefull). Some more recent computers do have a reïnstall CD delivered with them, so that's easy. But otherwise....pure horror. If you got all the installation disks still there it's not really difficult. First you need to make a boot disk. (windows can make them, although I make them myself to be sure I got everything I need to do a format C.) You need to backup your data files. I really can't explain how I do it as I still do this all in DOS (wich is a bit out of date, but it's the only way I know). So I make a disk wich contains all drivers for CD/HD etc.. and all drivers (I change the autoexec.bat and config.sys for use with a disk so all drivers load from disk.) of wich I don't have the installation disks anymore (happens a lot with older comps that come from some company or something.) I also put all needed Dos tools (edit/Format/scandisk/etc..) Then I restart, format and copy the drivers and change the autoexec.bat and config.sys back for use with HD (that's why you need edit.com) . if everything works well i got my CD-ROM after reboot in DOS and can install windows. Wich normally should configure everything by it's own. So as you see it's pure Horror...