10.5.8 won't detect any external hard drives

I want to update my 10.5.8 Macbook Pro which I bought in 2008.  It runs incredibly slow, and I want to reformat it before updating with Snow Leopard.  The problem is that my computer won't detect any external disc drives, so I can't back up my important files.  Is there any way to fix this, or is there something I'm missing?
I'm also wondering if I'll be able to reformat without my original OSX install disc that came with my computer, and if so, how?  Thanks in advance.

If you are going to be upgrading to OS X Snow Leopard, the installer for that should be able to format your drive for you before you do the installation.  I'm assuming that you have those CD's for your computer as you need discs to be able to ugrade to Snow Leopard.  What happens when you plug in an external drive?  Does it just not recognize the drive, or do you just not have it selected to show the drive on your desktop?  With Finder being the top window, click on the Finder Menu and select preferences > select general in the tabs at the top and then make sure that External discs is checked.

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