external HD previously recognized, currently not

[skunkwater]

I have an inspiron 8500 with XP SPK3 on it. The laptop came with XP Pro and
the SPK's were added later. I have a buslink CO-80-U2FE that worked with
Windows 98 and initially with XP maybe up to SPK2. I use it infrequently so I
didn't find out until much later that it is no longer recognized after some
of the upgrades. It has an external power supply. When I plug it into the USB
port, nothing happens. Same thing when I plug it into another computer with
newer OS, hadn't had the opportunity to try older. It doesn't show up in
device manager either. Any suggestions for TS steps?

 

[skunkwater]

Thanks pip22, the power cord is fine. The power light is on, the "access"
light is not. I tried several USB cords, none work. This unit has one USB
outlet and two 1394 outlets, none work. I'm wondering if I am using the
CORRECT cord, should there be a particular cord for this unit?