Question : Shut down and external hard drive damage

Hi guys,

My machine shut down automatically and after that I am receiving a message that my external HD is not accessible.

Could you please let me know:
1. What could have caused it (e.g. virus; spyware, etc)?
2. What's the best way to see if someone is taking control of my machine?

Thank you in advance.

Regards.

Answer : Shut down and external hard drive damage

Hi guys, thanks for the help but I fixed it with a simple:
chkdsk /f drive: