My Book Essential 2.0 Edition Intermittent Connection Problem

I tried a different cable but the same thing happens.  I do not currently have access to another computer.  As I said, my drive worked fine until after I had my Windows XP OS restored.  The connection problems started right after I reconnected the drive to my computer after the restore.

I had something scary later today.  My drive disconnected, once again when I tried to save a file onto it, then shortly a “Found New Device” window popped up when Windows reconnected.  The window then instructed me to install a driver, which I prompted it to do.  It took about a minute for the driver to install, but afterward the My Book drive disconnected again.  It then reconnected but Windows would not detect the drive.  I went to Device Manager and checked the USB devices and found one with a yellow “X”, which stated that the drive was disconnected through “Safely Remove Hardware”.  It instructed me to physically disconnect the USB cable, then reconnect, which I did.  After reconnecting the cable, I heard the sound that connection was made, but Windows would not recognize the drive.  I checked Device Manager again, and there was a USB connection shown with a yellow “X” again.  I disconnected the cable AND the power cord and kept them disconnected for about a minute before reconnecting.  Nothing happened this time.  I ended up rebooting my computer, which finally, five minutes after the reboot completed, the My Book drive reconnected and Windows recognized the drive.  I am now afraid to do anything on the drive for fear of permanently losing it.