"Go to any computer-store. Purchase an "empty"

Purchase an "empty" external enclosure, and "transplant" the disk-drive from your MyBook into the empty enclosure. All your files will be intact.

An external storage-device has four major components:

* the USB cable

* the power-adapter

* the disk-drive inside the enclosure

* the USB-to-disk-drive adapter inside the enclosure.

One of these components has failed.

Try a different USB cable.

Try connecting to a different USB port on your computer.

Try connecting to a USB port on a different computer.

Take a "multi-meter" and measure both the voltage and amperage output from the AC adapter, and compare with the specifications on the label on the adapter.

Open the enclosure, and remove the disk-drive, and then connect it as a "slave" disk-drive in a desktop computer, to see if it works at all.

Purchase a new, compatible, disk-drive, and install it in the enclosure, to "revive" your external storage device.

Get the part-number and serial-number from the label on your disk-drive, and access the manufacturer's web-site, and use "check warranty status", to see if they will replace the device, at minimal cost to you.

There exist commercial "data recovery" services that can try to repair your device, just long-enough to rescue and copy your files. For example, see: https://services.seagate.com/index.aspx?lng=en-US for a "no data - no charge" guarantee.

If the warranty is still valid, ask W.D. if they will repair it.

If not, open the enclosure, remove the disk-drive.
Buy a new "empty" enclosure ($30 to $50 at any computer-store), and "transplant" your disk-drive into it, to preserve your data.

An external storage-device has four major components:

* the USB cable

* the power-adapter

* the disk-drive inside the enclosure

* the USB-to-disk-drive adapter inside the enclosure.

One of these components has failed.

Try a different USB cable.

Try connecting to a different USB port on your computer.

Try connecting to a USB port on a different computer.

Take a "multi-meter" and measure both the voltage and amperage output from the AC adapter, and compare with the specifications on the label on the adapter.

Open the enclosure, and remove the disk-drive, and then connect it as a "slave" disk-drive in a desktop computer, to see if it works at all.

Purchase a new, compatible, disk-drive, and install it in the enclosure, to "revive" your external storage device.

Get the part-number and serial-number from the label on your disk-drive, and access the manufacturer's web-site, and use "check warranty status", to see if they will replace the device, at minimal cost to you.

Or, buy an "empty" external disk-drive enclosure, for about $30, and "transplant" your disk-drive into this enclosure.

An external storage-device has four major components:

* the USB cable

* the power-adapter

* the disk-drive inside the enclosure

* the USB-to-disk-drive adapter inside the enclosure.

One of these components has failed.

Try a different USB cable.

Try connecting to a different USB port on your computer.

Try connecting to a USB port on a different computer.

Take a "multi-meter" and measure both the voltage and amperage output from the AC adapter, and compare with the specifications on the label on the adapter.

Open the enclosure, and remove the disk-drive, and then connect it as a "slave" disk-drive in a desktop computer, to see if it works at all.

Purchase a new, compatible, disk-drive, and install it in the enclosure, to "revive" your external storage device.

Or, purchase a new "empty" external storage device (with AC adapter), and "transplant" your current disk-drive into this case.

Get the part-number and serial-number from the label on your disk-drive, and access the manufacturer's web-site, and use "check warranty status", to see if they will replace the device, at minimal cost to you.

Note that W.D. has a "Customer Loyalty" program -- you can buy a new W.D. device, through the W.D. web-site, at a significant discount.

There exist commercial "data recovery" services that can try to repair your device, just long-enough to rescue and copy your files. For example, see: https://services.seagate.com/index.aspx?lng=en-US for a "no data - no charge" guarantee.

Go to any computer-store. Purchase an "empty" external disk-drive enclosure & power-supply.
Then, open your "old" enclosure, and remove the disk-drive from it,
and "transplant" the disk-drive into the "new" enclosure.

You could buy a disk-drive-to-USB adapter, and connect the "bare" disk-drive to a USB port on your computer, and then copy all the files onto your computer.

See: http://cgi1.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190391564434
for under $5.00 for such an adapter.

Or, you could spend about $40 to buy a brand-new enclosure & AC-adapter & cable that is "empty", and then you could "transplant" your 40GB disk-drive into that enclosure, without losing any data on the disk-drive. Then, copy the files, and then remove the disk-drive, and purchase a new, larger, disk-drive, and install that into the new enclosure.

Given that your disk-drive is "only" 40GB, it's probably getting old, and is "out-of-warranty", and thus should be "retired" before it completely fails.

So, the best solution would be to buy a brand-new, much larger, external storage device.

Go to any computer-store, and buy a new "empty" external drive enclosure.
Then, "transplant" the disk-drive from your W.D. enclosure into the new enclosure.
All your files will remain accessible, and the new power-supply will power your disk-drive.

The disk-drive inside the enclosure is problematic.
Open the enclosure, to get the model-number and serial-number from the label on the disk-drive.
Then, access Fantom's web-site, to check the warranty-status of the drive. If the warranty still is valid, they will replace it, at minimal cost to you.
If the warranty has expired, purchase a new, compatible, disk-drive, and transplant it into the enclosure, to "resuscitate" your device.

> can I connect an external hard-drive to it?

Probably.

However, an external hard-drive should _ONLY_ be used to make an _ADDITIONAL_ copy of your important files. It should _NOT_ be used to store the _ONLY_ copy of some files -- if/when the drive fails, the _ONLY_ copy of those files will be _GONE_. Not good!

Instead, it's time to purchase an additional "internal" disk-drive, which will be _NEWER_ and _LARGER_ and _WARRANTIED_ and to use software to "clone" your old hard-drive onto your new hard-drive.

Then, disconnect the old, out-of-warranty, disk-drive, and boot Windows from the new disk-drive.

Then, purchase an EMPTY disk-drive enclosure, for about $30,
install your old disk-drive into the enclosure, to build your own external storage device. Once you're satisfied that your new "clone" disk-drive is working 100% correctly, delete all the files from the OLD disk-drive, and then make a backup of your files onto the now-empty disk-drive.