www.deadharddrive.com

[happyhappy]

Although it doesn't address your present predicament, All of us, including myself, are here because we had inadequate backup for our files. Stipulate here that I am a true cheapskate. Based on experience, I would never rely on external USB drives for several reasons. Which brings me to the HP Media Vault. I bought the MV2010 at $199 delivered plus tax. It is the entry level model, and there are are more expensive versions but all are the same basic unit and the only difference is the size and number of the built in drives. Its capacity is 1.2 terrabytes and you can replace the stock drive and/or add an aditional drive. Although compact, it is large enough that heat is not an issue, unlike most other NAS drives and nearly all USB drives). And it draws very low power consumption. Its designed to support a small network but would work fine with a single PC as long as it has network connectivity. What it does is:

1. Creates an image of drives on the network, meaning if a drive fails you can pop in a new one and restore the failed drive.
2. Does real-time or scheduled backups of changed files
3. Acts as a media server to pipe A/V over your network, which may be a fun toy.

People that have it seem to love it. but what sold me was that the chief design engineer retired and created an incredible FAQ here
http://www.k0lee.com/hpmediavault/#mediasmartforum
and set up and is actively involved in an active Yahoo user group devoted to the product.For me there is nothing better about the internet than user-to-user interaction.

But whether this device or others, I think NAS is a wise thing to acquire to avoid having to seek out this website as all of us has.