Why does my computer report less hard drive space?

Please review the information here.

What Kind of warranty do I get?

For brand new external hard drive, the casing is usually one year from manufacturer. For the hard drive inside, it's 5 years from Seagate and 3 years from Western Digital.

What is IDE vs. SATA?

If you are going to use the hard drive, internally - IDE (or ATA or EIDE or PATA) & SATA (Serial ATA) are two different kinds of connection from your laptop or computer. You really need to find out what type of connection you have before purchasing from us. If you are not sure, please email us the model number and we will try our best to research online for you. But we cannot 100% gurantee that we are right.

If you are buying an external hard drive, it doesn't matter what kind of hard drive is inside. The reason is that external hard drive communicates through USB port (or eSATA port). If you are considering to use the hard drive inside internally in the future, you may want to find out that does your computer take IDE or SATA?

What is OEM?

We are mainly selling OEM drive, not in a retail box. No accessories are included. If you need them, please let us know. No software is included. Fon installation, you don't need any software to install them. For installation manual, you can find them online from the manufacturer's website.

What is eSATA?

External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or eSATA. eSATA is an external interface for SATA technologies. It competes with FireWire 400 and universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 to provide fast data transfer speeds for external storage devices. You would need an eSATA port (for external use) or adapter (for internal use) to communicate with motherboard.

Why Do I Have Less Drive Space?

Your hard drive may show less space than the published specifications due to a number of reasons.

1. The way size is calculated and displayed.
2. Any "Partitions" on the disk will change the total in a specific partition.
3. Hidden files and folders decrease available space.
4. Compression increases the apparent size, but not the physical size.
5. Drives larger than the OS or Drivers natively supports.

First, the definition of a megabytes (or gigabytes) is a unit of data storage capacity measured in 1,048,576 bytes (or 1024KB). The larger the numbers, the more apparent the size difference will be when listing the size as megabytes (or gigabytes) versus bytes. Actually, both numbers are correct. The noticeable difference is due to the 1024KB definition of a megabyte. This is why a 95.3GB hard drive can also be listed as having 102 billion bytes of total space. Just think of it as "round off" In the screen shot at right: The first number is the total number of bytes, the second number is based on the number of megabytes or gigabytes.

Second, some computers have a non-DOS hard drive partition that is used for features such as Save to Disk, Hibernation, or Recovery. This partition is not normally reported by the operating system, although it can be viewed using a disk partition utility. This is very common on desktops and laptops. NOTE: Partition information will be created or formatted automatically during initial system setup and a system recovery.

Third, by default, all system files are hidden and cannot be seen. This may adversely affect the reporting of available hard drive space. You can set your Folder Options so you view system and hidden files and folders, but do be careful as changes to system files can adversely affect your system.

Fourth, if you turn on Compression for a drive, it will increase reported free space and used space, but since compression is based upon the actual contents, this number is not fixed, but will change as files are added or changed.

Fifth, older operating systems did not support some of today's larger drives, so the total space reported may be much smaller than the drive specifications.

It is also worth noting that bad sectors are corrected by your operating system and can change the total drive space, free space, or used space as well.

So as long as a drive is reporting a value approximately close to the specification value, you can be comfortable that you received the right drive and that you are getting to correct data storage. Of course, tuning of your drive's partitions and options can yield optimal values, but this is not something for the average user to explore.

COMBINED SHIPPING

Save Big!!! With Combined Shipping.
Save 20% Off of the Total Shipping and Handling Fee for Multiple Items

Example*:

S/H for 1st item - $9.99
S/H for 2nd item - $7.99
S/H for 3rd item - $7.99
-------------------------
Total S/H for 3 items: $25.97
Minus 20% of Total S/H
Equal to $ 20.78 (you pay)
Save: $5.19

* The above calculation is just an example calculation. For your actual shipping cost, please refer the amount to the above or eBay listing down at the bottom.

International Shipping (Except North America)

Please consult for shipping and handling fees.
Shipping rate varies depending on countries and weight.

Yukon/Northwest Territories and Nunavut/Hawaii/Alaska/ PR

For Yukon/Northwest Territories and Nunavut/Hawaii/Alaska/ PR, the shipping and handling charge will be more due to the geographical locations. These locations actually need airfreight. We will send Paypal money request to collect the extra shipping fees required.

Pick-Up Service

PickUp services only available to customers who live close to Markham, Ontario Canada. There will be $5 pick up fee + 13% taxes. No pickup for 1 cent auctions (Listings bid that starts with 1cent)

We are NOT responsible for shipping loss and damage.
It is your responsibility to insure your items.

Insurance is $0.99 that covers loss and damage for every 100 dollars.
For price between 0.01 - 99.99USD, the insurance is $0.99 USD.
For price between 100 - 199.99USD, the insurance is $1.99 USD.
For price between 100 - 299.99USD, the insurance is $2.99 USD.
etc...

Your payment is expected within 7 days of Auction Close. If payment is not received within 7 days, we will process a non-paying bidder complaint with the auction venue.

Tax

Canada Ontario Buyers: add 13% (PST & GST) & Canada Quebec Buyers: add 12.875% (PST & GST)
Other Canada Provinces: add 5% GST

How do you determine shipping rate?

Shipping rate is based on the weight or dimension of the package, whichever is heavier. The minmium weight is 1 pound so for things under 1 pound like laptop hard drive, the shipping rate is calculated as 1 pound. Sometimes, for smaller item like USB Flash memory keys, we ship out by Canada Post small envelope to save the shipping cost for you. Handling charge + the packaging material will be also be added to the final price.

Which type of shipping service do you use?

Shipping to US, we normally ship by Fed Ex standard ground shipping with the exceptions of P.O. Box, APO/PPO, and RR addresses.
These types of addresses will be shipped via Canada Post.

Shipping within Canada, we normally ship by Purolator / CANPAR / Canada Post with the exceptions of P.O. Box, Apartment #, APO/PPO, and RR addresses.
These types of addresses will be shipped via Canada Post.

How long does it take to get to my place?

Package is usually shipped within 2 business days after the payment is received in full. The arrival date will vary depending on where you live. Fex Ex pickup truck comes to our warehouse every Wednesday and Friday. Therefore, we give out tracking numbers on every Wednesday & Friday.

Since our office hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 6pm EST, purchases over the weekend will be processed on Monday.

Some items crossing the border may be delayed in arrival due to customs. It should take about 6 - 12 days but some take as long as 20 - 25 so please be patient. Your parcels will arrive and we have no control over things like heightened security alerts and customs.

What's your return policy like?

Item must be returned within 7 days. Please contact us before sending the item back so that you can get a valid RMA# or SRA#.

RMA# will be assigned only for exchanging items whereas SRA# will be assigned if you want refund. Return product should be in original good condition and packaging with attached a valid RMA# or SRA# on the box.

Refund item cost only, not including the shipping and handling fee. Money back guarantee.
No walk-in return/replacement service will be accepted.

What's your feedback policy like?

We post feedback for all buyers who have posted feedback for us. If you are satisfied with your transaction with us, please leave your comment on our file and we will be sure to reciprocate the same kindness to you.

What's your inquiry policy like?

Please be advised we will answer your questions usually within 24 hours, and only during our business hours which are from 9-6 EST, Monday to Friday. We will answer your inquires as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience. Further, responses may go into your junk/spam folder, so please check your junk/spam for our emails.

Sales order fulfillment: eb-style@overstock-king.com
Technical support: support@overstock-king.com
                           1.800.255.8048 (From Canada)
                           1.800.883.0206 (From USA)
Business hours: Monday to Friday 9am-6pm EST
For fast response, please include ebay item# on email subject.