[ddouglass]

Especially when streaming music through network connection. Does your external drive have a USB connector? If so try hooking it directly to your computer.
The key here is how fast is your processor and how much memory do you have? Those play a big factor in any multitasking you ask your computer to do. So do the programs you are running. The new version of Hoster does require more of your computer's resources to run than the older versions because there is a lot more capability to it. You do know that you can add your audio music to Hoster now and use it to play your music breaks rather than having an outside program to do that.