It does sound as if it's the disk that's failed or got corrupted. I hope the PC chap can sort it out for you. You said this disk had backups on it so if the data can't be recovered, it's not the end of the world - you can make another backup on a new disk or a more modern solid-state drive (more reliable and faster - they don't have the moving parts).
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
The ports are fine if you can see the other disks then. If your PC can still see the drive then the good news even though you cant access it the data should be recoverable with the right software.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
The USB connector could be damaged on the side of the disk; not talking about the port on the PC. They can repair or replace the USB connector on the disk for this after testing.
@JennyJ all the disks are in Belgium, with the club. I'm now in France and 800kms away so I sincerely hope @Kili is right and the PC doc can retrieve it all. There's only 30 days of music on there................. I just wanted to practice our old steps and teach a bit of line dance in the club we've just joined.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Ah, I see! As Kili says, there are ways to recover the data so hopefully your PC chap will have the software to do it. When you have it, it might be an idea to make a second copy so you have your own backup. These days the thing seems to be to keep it "in the cloud", dropbox etc, but I can't quite bring myself to trust such things and in any case you might have too much data for a free service.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Thanks @JennyJ. I too mistrust the Cloud and am also worried about the energy, resources and security needed to store all that data safely. I'd rather buy another disk than pay for space on a nefarious Cloud.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
If you want to keep local copies of data and eliminating the risk of disk failure, then maybe consider setting up a Network Attached Storage appliance, such as this one: https://www.synology.com/en-uk/products/DS420+ (many others are available) spreading the data across multiple disks and the built in operating system overseeing the integrity is the only way to mitigate against the natural wear and tear or any solid state or not drive. Archiving data is such an issue long term and most people simply don't think hard enough (terrible pun, sorry) about it.
Posts
I shall have to have a chat with a PC chappy in the village whose wife is a colleague in the Vendée gardening club.
Thanks everyone.
Good luck.
If your PC can still see the drive then the good news even though you cant access it the data should be recoverable with the right software.
'The power of accurate observation .... is commonly called cynicism by those that have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw'