You have practically eliminated most, if not all, very good options. Is the following not an option?

lparameter tnWaitTime
if vartype(tnWaitTime) <> "N" or tnWaitTime < 1
tnWaitTime = 5
local lnStart
lnStart = seconds()
do while seconds() < lnStart + tnWaitTime
enddo
return .t.

>sometimes I need a code snippet to WAIT(5) , perhaps for a modem ot connect, etc.
>
>given that this may be in a non interactive situation, INKEY() isn't a good option. Creating a timer seems a rather complicated way to go, and since I care about system load, I don't want to use a do while loop.
>
>Waybackwhen ( fox 2 ) , I would RUN a program to do this for me, but loading command.com in windows tends to mess up the display and steal keystrokes!
>
>Any suggestions ?
>
>thx in advance
>
>mike