The USB cable that connected my external hard drive seemed to have been damaged by a vacuum cleaner so I bought it as a replacement. The description clearly says it was a foot long. Somehow it didn't register with me. When I received it, I found that there is only one place I can place the hard drive, close enough to the USB port. Luckily I love this place. The cable works great. Since everything is above ground (reaches USB), I don't have to worry about wayward vacuums this time! Make sure one