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#11
Hi there
try and see if it's listed when you run DISKPART in admin mode
type in LIST DISK. If HDD isn't shown there then it's probably defective.
Another solution is to plug it into a POWERED USB HUB - even if HDD needs separate power sometimes it still won't work unless a POWERED USB hub is used -- some of those external HDD's can take a lot of power --especially if connected to a laptop.
If that still fails then one more final throw of the dice -- download a Linux Live CD (suggest Linux Mint as it's really Windows like). Boot it up and see if it sees your HDD.
If it does you can recover all your files - copy to another device.
Before doing anything though switch off everything (completely power down and leave unplugged for 5 mins) and then power up computer first with NO USB devices connected (other than possibly mouse and keyboard). Then plug in HDD.
My gut feel is that unless HDD is broken you've got insufficient power on the laptop USB to drive the device.
Cheers
jimbo