Question Author
thanks all
vhg - that is what i always do - i do that for every drive - even if they're set to allow instant removal
same here OG, i have had disks get accidentally unplugged in the past but usually they are ok, i may lose a file or two but the drives still work
they keep going wrong by turning into virtual drives and will no longer give me access to any files - the computer cannot read them and thinks its a CD drive
they still power up and whirr away, but cannot access anything - tried all sorts of stuff.
even eventually tried to reformat, so i could then run a data retrieval, but it wouldnt let me.
i gave up and sent them back
no idea why this happens - the drives do not leave the house and computer area - nothing and no-one goes near them, except me - ever.
as i say i rarely used the drives - i would back up and then leave them alone
i lost stuff because they all failed.
they were all made by western digital, so not a cheap drive. they are as is, not an internal one in a caddy.