Hard drives can fail at any time (and external models have a higher failure rate than internal ones) so it isn't wise to save precious files on just one drive. My data is saved on no less than 3 external drives, identical data on each one. I've done this ever since I learned the hard way and lost dozens of precious pictures several years ago and my wife was not pleased to say the least.
You can test the drive with Seagate SeaTools for Windows from here:
| Seagate
If the test declares that the drive has failed, only a data recovery service can extract the data from it (or at least the data that isn't corrupted).
However, it may be only the sata/usb interface within the enclosure that's failed, so you might want to try removing the drive and connecting it to your PC either internally or by using a third-party hard drive enclosure.
You can test the drive with Seagate SeaTools for Windows from here:
| Seagate
If the test declares that the drive has failed, only a data recovery service can extract the data from it (or at least the data that isn't corrupted).
However, it may be only the sata/usb interface within the enclosure that's failed, so you might want to try removing the drive and connecting it to your PC either internally or by using a third-party hard drive enclosure.
