THIS'LL ALL BE OVER WHEN...????

I had TWO external hard drives, so I thought I'd see what I had on the old one, maybe there'd be some previous backups, could be useful in restoring what I'd lost on #2.

Well that one's knackered as well. What's going on????? I've just had a long and rueful discussion with a friend in IT. He says it's a hell of a big coincidence, I agree. I've probably ruined this #1 by using the wrong power lead - we've got a boxful at home, and we're never sure what goes with what - but how and why it's ...