Macbook suddenly not recognizing external HD..

Okay, where to start..
SPECS:
I am currently using a Macbook OSX 10.5.8.
My external HD is a WD My Book Essential 1TB with USB 2.0 and it uses an external power source.
WHAT HAPPENED:
Now, I've already formatted this EHD about a couple months ago (In Mac OSX Journaled) and have only used it a few times since then, but every time it was readily available for use with my MacBook. Now, about a week ago, due to having some serious issues with Boot Camp and being unable to find any support, I decided to try out Parallels for my dual-OS'ing needs. My MacBook is easily at the end of its life span; it has issues with its battery and fan, but I've been able
to salvage it so far, but now I'm concerned that I pushed it too hard because one day, out of the blue, Parallels froze my entire laptop, and my MacBook started hanging on blue/gray screens when I tried to restart. I tried to verify and repair disks and their permissions and even tried to reinstall the OS while archiving the old system to keep my files in tact. Nothing worked. I ended up having to straight wipe it and reformat it to get it to a functional level again. So now I've tried connecting my EHD to my laptop so I can retrieve all my important files (music, art, etc) and it appears that my MacBook is unable to recognize the EHD at all.
WHAT I'VE TRIED:
This EHD is pretty new and I've kept it safely tucked away where it has not sustained any physical or weather-related damage. There isn't even a smudge on it. So I'm pretty sure the problem is with my MacBook. It will not recognize the EHD in Finder windows, on the desktop, in Disk Utility, or even in System Profiler. I even held Option on boot to try to force it to recognize it on boot but even that won't pull it up. I have, again, repaired and verified everything and anything I can just for the sake of it. I tried booting with it plugged in and on. I tried booting with it plugged in and off, then turning it on after booting. I tried unplugging and replugging the USB both while it was off and while it was spinning, on both the Option boot menu thing and while booted to the desktop. I tried plugging it in AFTER booting.. I think you get the picture. I've tried every possibility readily available to me at this point.
I guess my concern is that I tweaked something in the hardware by running it too hard with Parallels and now it's unable to recognize any other hard drives but its own. My USB ports work fine with other things. I'm going to a friend's house in less than an hour to test and make sure it's not the EHD (I really really doubt it is). Sooo.. I guess I need some more advanced help. Thanks in advance!
- A

Try Repairing it, per #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
If that doesn't help, it may be a connection problem or a problem with the drive. Try different ports, cables, and combinations of the two (a plug that works fine in one port may not make good contact in another).

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