Old backup drive not working with surface

Hi All,
I have an old portable hard drive (model WD3200XMS-00) that I used to use for backing up photos etc. I haven’t used it for years and tried to connect it to my Windows Surface laptop but wont work. The green power light on the drive comes on and the computer beeps as it normally does when a new device is connected to the USB port, but then it just repeatedly beeps (for ever!) as if the device was being unplugged and then plugged in again and again…
Any ideas or suggestions ?
Thanks
Richard

Hello,

Please test the unit on a different computer and if possible, try using a different USB cable.

many thanks. Tried it on a desktop and it works OK…wonder why the surface isn’t working with it properly?