external HD is clicking n im sure i smell burning!

[nosh]

okay im gonna try explain this as best i can i dont know much bout computers but im havin a few probs i hope u computa ppl can help me pleeeeez. im gonna try not to write an essay-

hope i put this post in da write forum- ummm basically i bought an EXTERNAL hard drive from E-bay i lost all the documentation all i know is that it is Maxtor summat and the capacity is 80 GB.

it was working perfectly well up until the last two months- when i turned my computer on it just didnt start. it keeps making a clicking sound.

ive transferred so many important programs on to it that i cant even do much on my comp if it doesnt work!!  

i kinda opened it up even tho i didnt no wot i was doin lol im sure i cud smell summat burning maybe i left it on too long and it overheated??  :-?

i think there was a driver that came with it- but i put all my drivers in a shoebox and theyre not specifically labelled . i tried to stick one in my computer- its like a really small CD with a file called driver info on it which says;

(1) SIL680 - Driver for SIL680 chipset (Without RAID Function)

DOS - DOS Driver

Win_Drv - For Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP - Ver 1.0.0.12



(2) SIL680RAID - Driver for SIL680 chipset (With RAID Function)

DOS - DOS Driver

Win_Drv - For Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP - Ver 1.0.1.7

Medley - RAID Utility for Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP - Ver 1.2.0.5



(3) SIL3112 - Driver for SIL3112 chipset (Without RAID Function)

Linux - Tweaking Red Hat 9.0 Driver

Novell - Novell Driver - Ver 1.07J

Win_Drv - For Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP - Ver 1.0.0.47



(4) SIL3112RAID - Driver for SIL3112 chipset (With RAID Function)

Linux - Tweaking Red Hat 9.0 Driver

Novell - Novell Driver - Ver 1.07J

Win_Drv - For Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP - Ver 1.0.0.32

Medley - RAID Utility for Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP
-----------------------------
but when i try installing it- nothing happens.

i thought that maybe cuz my motherboard wasnt usb 2.0 compliant- that must be the reason. so i stuck a 2.0 PCI slot chip thingy into the motherboard but that hasnt helped- still hear the clicking when i turn it on.

i dont know what to dooooooo???
help people!!!!

oh yeh info on my comp-

intel pentium III
497 MHz , 256 Mb RAM
windows XP

in device manager theres this message for a 'WPD' dont no if its talking bout the HDD:

The drivers for this device are not installed. Code 28

To reinstall the drivers for this device, click Reinstall Driver.


so urrrrr yeh
help is much appreciated anyone!!!

THANKS in advance!

nosh

[GX1_Man]

You shouldn't need drivers for it. Is it seen in Windows?

Clicking sounds and burning smells are two ominous signs. If you can access it I would get everything off of it to CD's as soon as possible, and use it at your own risk. Maybe try on another computer. Perhaps that was why it was on eBay?

All hard drives die eventually, and they are not the safest place for a backup. There are some data recovery services, but they are expen$ive.