I have an older model external hard drive that connects to my system, Dell 8250, via USB with Windows XP. Has worked fine for four years but just now quit. The drive is a Maxtor 3000LE 40 gigs (red and grey plastic case). My cpu doesn't recognize it under explorer any more , i.e. the drive has no assigned letter. But It does recognize an external Western Digital 80 gig.
I ran chkdsk with the drive letter assigned to the Maxtor before, i.e Chkdsk g: /f , and the error message "Cannot open volume for direct access" came back. Connected the drive to my laptop and got the same result: No show in explorer and same error message in command mode. This suggests it's a drive problem, not a cpu problem. Device manager also shows no conflicts on either machine.
I know the drive spins, and now I hear occasional clicking sounds. As far as I know, this model is not available for sale any more and the user manual has long since gone its own way. I'm sure hoping there's a way to get this drive functioning again to recover my digital camera files stored thereon.
Any suggestions or remedies available to access files on the disk?

As to the "Cannot open volume for direct access" error:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Ca...roups&ct=title

In a worse case scenario you can remove the hard drive from the external case and mount it internally as a slave. This would eliminate any issues with connection failures. Of course this would void any warranties and if the drive itself is faulty it will not help you. Clicking sounds are not good. Generally indicating mechanical issues.

Maxtor's diagnostic is PowerMax:

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...&downloadID=22

I do not think it works on external drives but if you do move the drive to an internal slave you would be able to run it.

Thank you, Jephree. I'm considering removal of the drive from the Maxtor 3000LE case if I can figure out how to do it without breaking it open. There are no visible screws or pry points on the little hummer. I suppose my only other option is to ship the drive off to a pro recovery outfit. $$ouch.