Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderbolts
Yes, don't format it unless you want to lose everything.
Is it plugged through a USB hub? Try connecting it directly to a port on the laptop instead. Also try disconnecting all other USB devices. Conflicts are a frequent cause of this issue with external drives and chances are the drive could be fine.
If you have no joy with that consider taking it to someone if you really can't afford to lose the data.
And in future remember the rule that you should have three copies of anything important, in at least two different locations.
It's always been connected directly to the machine. When the problem started, there was another usb drive plugged in, but not now and the problem persists.
