Hi DJ MyRinX, it is an External drive, i looked at it last night but couldnt see how to remove from the casing as it looked like a sealed unit. I took out 2 screws but couldnt seem to slide it out. I think the loose bit is inside, my hope is that the drive is ok and its either the part that connects to the USB or something else other than the drive that has loosened. When you say "When you do remove it, you could connect it to an other pc"; what would be the best way to do that ? buy maxtor and stick the old hard drive into the new one ? (sorry for seeming stupid, i just havent done that before). thanks again.