FAQ’s:

What is your return policy?

30 Day Limited: Items with this policy may be returned or exchanged within 30 days of purchase. You must obtain an RMA number from our Returns Department via email at help@grassrootscomputers.com. Your returned item must contain ALL of the original accessories and packaging, includig cables, manuals and/or cd's.

Special Order No Returns:Items with this policy are non returnable for any reason. You must contact the manufacturer directly to obtain warranty service and they may require you pay to ship the item back to them for returns.

Do you combine shipping costs on multiple items?

Shipping is listed in each auction each item has its own shipping cost. We do not combine shipping unless it is clearly stated in the auction.

I live close by. Can I pick up my order?

We do not allow local pickup or will call under any circumstances, in accordance with Paypal’s payment protection policy. All items must be shipped.

What does “plug and play” mean? Shouldn’t I just be able to plug in my external hard drive to my computer and it will work right away?

Plug and Play means you can plug the drive in while your computer is on, you don’t have to turn it off first. Plug and Play does not mean that the drive will automatically be ready to be used when you plug it in. Initial formatting and other basic steps may need to be taken before your hard drive is recognized by your computer. If you need further assistance with this step, please utilize google to search for tutorials or contact us through the ebay message system for further suggestions.

I ordered a ____gb drive and the capacity is slightly less than that:

The hardware industry measures disk capacity as 1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. Computers calculate disk drive capacity as 1GB=1,073,741,824 bytes. You can divide your hard drive size by 1074 and you will get the approx. size in Gigabytes. This applies to all hard drives by every manufacturer.

If you take your hard drive size and divide it by 1074 rounding up you will get the approx. size in Gigabytes available on the computer.

Additionally, some of the hard drive's capacity is used with formatting and driver data. This includes such essentials as the partition map, the desktop files, the drivers, and directory information.

Will this item be compatible with my computer?

Please check with your computer system manufacturer for a compatibility guarantee.

Can I format my own hard drive? Is it difficult?

Yes, absolutely you can format your own drive, and it is a pretty basic process (no computer degree required). We will provide basic instructions for Windows XP, or Mac, when available. Using Google to search for formatting tutorials is also very easy and useful.

Why should I format my hard drive?

All hard drives must be formatted to the operating system they are being used with (ie: Windows XP, Mac OS X, etc).

What does recertified/refurbished mean?

Factory Recertified, means the product was recertified by the manufacturer. All FR drives have the same specifications and testing standards new product does. Factory Recertified in our opinion is GOOD AS NEW and LIKE NEW. Factory Recertified is the same as Manufacturer Refurbished or Manufacturer Recertified.

I sent my payment, when will I get my item(s)?

After we receive payment, please allow 1 to 3 business days for shipment to be processed and leave our warehouse, and allow 3 to 10 business days after that for delivery. Most of our items ship from our Southern California locations. We do not ship on weekends or holidays. Some items that are custom or build to order may take 2-4 days to ship. Occasionally shipments may not leave our warehouse for up to 5 business days after payment is received, due to vendor short shipments and circumstances out of our control. This is rare, but it does happen froms time to time.

When will you leave me feedback?

As soon as you pay we leave positive feedback!

Oops! I closed an auction for an item I did not want. Can we mutually close the auction?

Yes, we can. Simply contact us at help@grassrootscomputers.com to initiate the process. We have automated payment reminder emails that go out, you can ignore them. We should be able to complete the closure process in about a week with ebay, keep an eye out for an email from ebay to close the auction on your end.

Help! I need technical support:

Most tech support is done through the manufacturer. Please visit the manufacturer’s website for more info, or send us an ebay message for more info.

 Does this drive need to be formatted?

These drives come preformatted from the factory in the FAT32 file system. This is compatible with both Mac and PC, but will not necessarily be auto-recognized by a PC when plugged in. We recommend reformatting the drive in the NTFS file system for optimal use on a Windows-based PC. Reformatting the drive is an easy and quick process that you can perform yourself when you plug in the drive the first time.

Why don't you ship internationally?

Currently we do not ship outside of the USA and its territories due to tracking and customs issues.

 Will this item be compatible with my computer?

Check with your computer system manufacturer for compatibility guarantees. However, this device is widely compatible with standard PC and Mac systems running Windows XP, Vista and Mac OSX or newer.

 I live in California, why do I have to pay sales tax?

We ship from California, and are required by law to charge tax to all orders that ship to California customers.