Brian, thanks for your time.
Thanks for the info about the public holiday. would be great if that kind of thing was added to the site announcements...
my php.ini is below, and my phpinfo() page confirms these settings are live.
max_execution_time = 2400 ;
memory_limit = 314570000 ;
post_max_size = 314570000 ;
upload_max_filesize = 314570000 ;
max_input_time = 1200 ;
my folder is in the same directory as my insert page so the directory is correct. the permission is 777 so that isnt it either.
any other suggestions would be appreciated