My computer no longer recognizes my My Book Essentials external drive

I have two units (WD25001032), one that has been problem-free for years and one that has never been used. Neither unit is recognized by any of my three computers: a Dell Inspiron 1620 running Windows 7, a Hewlett-Packard HPE 112y…also Windows 7…and an elderly Dell laptop.  I back up once a week.  One week it worked; a week later it did not.  During that time there were no signifcant changes to my computer.

I am not very computer literate, but it would seem to me, given the above, that the problem is not with either my computer or the drives.  Which leaves the power cord or the connector cable.  Unfortunately I have only one of each and cannot troubleshoot and would prefer not to buy replacemnent without some indication that they will make a difference.  When I try to power up, the circles light up and I can hear something spinning.  It sounds like trying to start a car with a cranky battery on a cold morning.  But it never catches.  Should the spinning noise eventually stop?

The transformer I have been using is rated at only 750 mA, and I notice that most drive transformers on the product page put out at least 1.5 amps.  Could this be the problem?  I might, at some point, have switched transformers.  But still…I have used the 750 for a long time without a problem.

I have read everything I have found on the forum, but can’t seem to come up with an answer.

Hi and welcome to the WD community.

Try to see if perhaps you are connecting the drive to a surge protector and it might not be getting enough power, try to connect the adapter directly to a power outlet on the wall to see if you get a different result.

my passport has stopped working to. It opens, asks password, says it is unblocked, but does not open the units with my data. I do not know what to do!