First I would like to say thank you for your help, the problem was the external HDD case. I removed the drive, switched the jumpers to slave, and installed the drive into a tower computer. It worked, I am able to access the critical files on the drive. I isolated the external case as the problem by inserting another HDD into the case, and connecting it to my personal lap...same message "New Hardware Detected 24". I am not sure what would cause the case itself to fail, but never the less it can be replaced.