Western Digital 500GB Elements hard disk drive, 7200rpm, USB 2.0, external.Main Features:Easy plug and play storageUSB 2.0 interface high-speed connection for maximum throughputCool, compact, metal caseFast, simple, reliable add-on storage for PC and Macintosh computersPreformatted for immediate useRoHS compliantManufactuer's Warranty: 1 year warranty...

• External 3.5" USB 2.0 hard drive
• 6 foot (1.8m) USB 2.0 certified interface cable
• AC adapter with power cord
• Quick Install Guide

This was great until it suddenly died, overnight. Not being a techy, I had to take it to a computer shop, where I was charged ??25 for them to put it in another housing. That was a couple of weeks ago, and for the second time since then I found it wasn't working properly today: windows explorer could no longer see it. I re-booted, switched it to a different USB slot and turned it off and on, and now it can be seen again, but now I'm looking for a replacement before my data disappears for ever. Very disappointing.

Seemed a bargain at the time. Now failed and will have to lose photos of the kids, events and Docs. Whats the point of having a back up of a back up and discs too!!!??? Also cannot find the correct section on here to return warranty failures anyone??

On the whole very Happy with this drive, no major problems. There have been a couple of occasions when the drive has disappeared from the explorer list under windows XP - unplugging and reconnecting the drive has bought it back up successfully, not sure if this is a windowsXP Bug or a error with the drive. The spindown software is a bit buggy but it is not essential for use. Compared to the price I think this is a good deal.

Then initial impression was good as the drive is nicely made and its aluminium and rubber body looks as though it would absorb any knocks better than a plastic bodied drive. When we first tried to use the drive the Windows XP PC it was connected to kept asking for the drivers to be loaded and would not recognise the device. It turned it to be because this drive is powered from a single USB connection and our PC could not provide enough power from a single port. The cheapest solution was to buy a powered USB hub from an Amazon supplier for just a couple of ????'s + P&P and then it worked just fine. A neater alternative would have been to use a USB cable that plugs in to 2 ports but this was more expensive and used up rather another USB connection whereas the powered hub gave us several extra ones that can be used for other plug & play devices.

Please I urge anyone who is yet to purchase this Hard Drive to steer well clear. There are far too many of the same report on this website and I wish I had checked before I bought. I used this Hard Drive to free up space on my laptop and mid transfer... you guessed it... it crashed. Even though the lights remain on and power is fine etc it now fails to be recognised by the PC. I have lost approx 50Gig of data including photos I was preparing to burn to CD, instead I bought a hard drive... what a fool I was. Please I urge you all to spend a few extra pounds and buy a well known make that will last.