Okay, thanks for the tip. But what about getting the thing fixed? Seems to me, that since all the pieces are there, it's logical that it can be repaired. But I have heard otherwise...

I think my ext hard drive is toast.

First it worked fine. Then, it worked sometimes. Now, when I plug it in, it makes an "ih, ih, ih, ih, ih ..." and so on sound. Is this thing toast? Can it be...