Windows warns WD Caviar Black HDD is dying, testing shows nothing

That's what I thought at first. But the first 4 drives had firmware issues. 2 Seagate ES2 & 2 Seagates 7200.11. The 5th had & still has some weird problems but as far as I could see it has something to do with the file system. But it is just an 250 gb IDE drive and I bought it somewhere in 2004 or something like that. Overheating it's not a problem, as far as I can see. The voltage might be a problem. In the past 2-3 months I had more than 20 power failures (well, not me, the whole neighborhood). I also thought that it happened because of the large number of files on that drive. Since I used that drive as a media drive (1 partition), it had lots of small files like mp3s, pictures etc. Don't really know what to say. Right now I'm using the same PC and an identically 3 years old drive without problems.

Well, For how long have you had the drive?

Since the problem might have been there in the first place not that it was at the time visable. So depending on where you live you might have rules giving you a helping hand in the matter.

Looking at the US law there are statements that provides the buyer a huge benefit.
You could consider asking for a repair or a replacement under the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002. Under these regulations if something is faulty within the first 6 months of purchase it is assumed it was faulty at the time of sale. If the shop refuses to repair or replace the CD player then it is up to the shop to prove that the CD player was not faulty at the time of sale and that you have damaged it. If the shop does agree to a repair or replacement then this should be carried out within a reasonable period of time and without causing you undue inconvenience.

Maybe there are other laws where you live but you might have some accosiation out there that is not requireing a fee to help you. Contact them and see what they have to say. For example in Sweden you have Konsumentverket that is dedicated sole to help people with these problems.

Glad to hear that, Bogdan. :)