WD Essential 500 gb drive

Wont show up on my computer. Well, it shows up briefly as a hard disk drive but then freezes my computer and then disappears off the list. I can hear the disk spin, and the lights on, front light is on but then nothing. All my family photos are on it. HELP

Quick suggestions…?

Does this behave the same way on another computer?

What o/s are you using?

Has the disk been dropped? Probably not, eh?

If it helps, I don’t think these pics are lost forever. Not at all. Take this one step at a time.

And furthermore, once we’ve got the pics back, you’ll go out and buy a 2nd disk as a backup. Either seagate or wd or any other brand. Two copies on two different devices - of anything you want to keep is the order of the day!