Seagate 320 gb external hard disk malfunction.

[okyalos1]

Hi
I have an external hard disk, seagate freeagent go 320 gb. Today, out of the blue, the image of the external disk drive in My computer switched from the familiar seagate logo, to the logo of the local disk . So, currently my pc displays the external drive as a local disk :f.When i try to get access to my external hard disk, the autoplay function is activated and after around 1 minute i get the message that the
" f: is not accesible.The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.
I downloaded the MHDD file, however is says that primary channel is disabled and slave devices not supported. Moreover, it requests the HDD number.
I have a lot of unique data on the external hard disk, and just the thought that i may loose them, is very depressing.
Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Thanks
Panagiotis

[harddrivespecialist]

Stop before you make more damage and take it to a pro for careful diagnostics.

[okyalos1]

Hi
Thanks for your advice. I am looking for a reliable person to have it fixed. What´s the possible cause?
Thanks
Panagiotis

[yep]

What are the cheapest - but "reliable" - external hard disk options in the market right now? I'm thinking in particular of 1TB range. Any particular model or manufacturer?