USB device not recognized.. HELP plz

I have the WD My Book 5TB. It was plugged into my computer already, everything seemed to be working. i transferred new files on to my hard drive, no problem. But when i went to select a file from a different folder, the folder was empty. Every single folder was empty except for the ones where I just put the new files on. But when i go to properties it still said like 2.7 tb free out of 4.7 so my drive is half full, which would be right… so i tried to safely remove my hard drive, but it wouldn’t allow me to, i googled and tried every option they gave except one which was to shut down computer and unplug hard drive. so i finally did that one. now when i try to plug it back in, i get this message:

Anybody know what I can do?

It could be a bridge issue. Did you try replacing your unit’s USB cable? Is the hard drive recognized in a different computer?

Oh thank you sooooooo much. I just tried it and it worked. I would never have thought that it was a problem with the cable like that. i just plugged in a different one and it worked.