I've looked around other forums but haven't found a solution to mounting the CD-ROM in PC-BSD so it recognises CD/DVD's and works all the time. Any ideas?

Additionally RAM use is quite high; 485MB at idle, with Xorg chewing up 165MB and Amarok 105MB. When Firefox is used this can get higher too. Is this normal? Ubuntu is 135MB at idle, so this is quite a difference.

You should have HAL and DBUS enabled in /etc/rc.conf by default.
No, it isn't normal.
What do you have running with X? Compositing? If so, that will eat it up.
If it is a PCI(-e) card, then don't worry because that memory is from the card itself.

SWitch from amarok to noatun or mplayer or vlc if need be.

You need to run firfox conservatively y setting about:config as follows.
maxrichresults at 0,
cookies and histroy at 10% of sefault values.
Cache at 50% of default values.


Set privacy customized at:
Remember no history or passwords.
Cookies end at session.
Tabs in background.

Install flashblock and noscript also.

Be sure that /usr/compat/linux is set up properly.

Thanks, but I moved on from PC-BSD for various reasons.

Am testing out BeleniX (OpenSolaris) and am having problems mounting the CD-ROM and getting sound, but I'll put another post on that once I'm sufficiently frustrated...