I recommend to get something decent and not throw money at these amateurs (Globalscale)
http://www.mpja.com/viewallpict.asp?dept=164

>A) With no internal power supply the sheeva runs with no noticeable heat..... which is a real bonus

Well, my plug still gets quite warm (with an external PSU). I guess this is from CPU. I also noticed a heat sink inside (over RAM/CPU).

The ~10W of energy must go somewhere.

But the external 5v 2a PSU stays very cool (Delta Electronics).

cheers

Thanks guys for all the info. Especially the last post with the info about WD scorpio blue spin-up options. Very useful!

My setup is like this : the plug, Debian OS on 8gb flash drive + attached 2.5 inch usb hard drive (500gb WDC). I bought it in Nov 2009 and running torrent box (transmissiond) 24h/7.

Here's my story:

-Noticed strange sounds coming from the HD about 2 months ago. Like others suspected the disk is becoming instable. (wrong!)
-This went on for a few weeks, sometimes with no noise. Absolutely no r/w problems with the disk.
-Then, last week disk has read problems. Ok, I thought, the disk is ready for RMA. But to my surprise everything was readable on a Win7 box. (I made a full backup just in case)
-I googled and found this forum with all the folks posting their similar experience. (Power of the web)
-Opened the sheevaplug and found the PSU intact (no cap has blown), but close: One of the caps was bulging!!
-Went down to an electronic hw store and got the 5V 2A Delta Electronics PSU. This is now external and working very well with my setup.

Anyway, what I like to say is, find an external PSU and don't support this crappy company called Globalscale Tech.!

First, the sell you a shitty PSU inside the plug, then they make you pay for another 10usd for a spare PSU (who knows when you will get this and how long it will work with your existing plug).

Customer is supposed to be king! This company doesn't give a damn about you and keeps you guessing whats going on for weeks (when I placed my order).

I got my Delta Electronics (this is a very reputable manufacturer) PSU for less than 5usd!

For me one thing is clear: I'll never deal with those guys (Globalscale Tech) again.

Have fun plugging!
cheers
scara