I figured out how to install ImageMagick on my shared web server - actually, the support team at 1&1 provided instructions at http://www.faq.1and1.com/scripting_languages_supported/ssh_secure_shell/9.ht... . Aside from a warning that the '--without-ttf' option was not valid (running ImageMagick 6.3.7) and tons of configuration/make warnings, the install went smoothly. After enabling ImageMagick support in LocalSettings.php, my thumbnail problems have disappeared. I have not tested to see where ImageMagick runs out of memory - the largest image I had on hand was 2400 x 3000 pixels, 24-bit color. Supposedly, the uncompressed size is 20.1MB. Norbert