"cedarwolf, your drive is not overheating, is it? Is it hot to the touch?" Hmm...it has been, in the past. I've got a fan on it most of the time because my little office area at home has a limited air flow and I worry about equipment overheating. Now I'm wondering if that might have something to do with the problem...and yes, it has an external powern adapter. I've switched it to its own plug a couple of times and this didn't seem to make a difference, but I'll try it again. Our power supply is notoriously shakey on the best of days and it's not unusual to lose power repeatedly during warm spells.