I have a Western Digital WD5000AAKX hard drive that I was using via an adaptor connected to an external USB port.

One day the drive could no longer be seen by my PC running Windows XP. And also not by my PC running Windows 10. At least not completely. From my desktop I can click it off so I can "Safely remove" it, but it doesn't show up in "My Computer".

I was using a cheap adapter from China. I think the drive when it was working was running hot.

Any guesses on whether or not the drive is recoverable or toast?

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.