It does seem strange that mine wouldn't work with any of the drives I tried. And it sounds like FlyingToaster had a similar experience. Maybe this is something that happens to the controller after a while. It did stump me as I've never experienced anything like that before (or since). All I know for sure is the original drive works fine.

If the B&W had the drive then maybe $10 wouldn't be too bad. But knowing it's a Rev.1 with no hard drive, and knowing what I do about them now, I'd run a mile from it. It's possible that the reason it doesn't have one is because the original was removed (for security) and the seller can't get any others to work in it. I do like the look of the smurfs, but it would be hard to recommend anything but a Rev.2.