Can I view a list of tasks that my computer has been up to?

The facts:
My computer: 15" i7 MacBook Pro, 500 GB HD, 4 GB RAM, OSX 10.6.6
Problem: I recently had an external hard drive "fail" overnight (WD Elements 2 TB, USB 2.0.) The hard drive had approximately 1.5 TB of my files on it. It was formatted to Mac OSX Extended (Journaled) and named "Deuce."
Symptom: The drive now mounts but is labeled "Untitled." It shows being formatted as Mac OSX Extended (Journaled), but has no files on it whatsoever. Sometimes the HD will not mount at all.
Possible culprit #1: My girlfriend was up late and noticed the power flicker on and off (causing the microwave clock to be reset.) The hard drive and laptop were plugged into a brand new surge suppressor/power strip.
Possible culprit #2: This hard drive has been known to be unreliable (failure.)
Possible culprit #3: Somehow there is a virus on my computer (have Sophos installed, updated, no viruses show on scan.)
Possible culprit #4: My girlfriend did something to the drive (format, delete all files, unplug w/o ejecting, etc.) and will never tell me if she did.
Possible culprit #5: Gremlins?
Troubleshooting:
#1: Have run Disk Utility, which reports the disk is fine.
#2: Have run quick scans from 3 third-party data recovery softwares (VirtualLabs Data Recovery, Data Rescue 3, R-Studio.) None report problems with the disk, nor do they show any files.
#3: Am currently running a deep scan with Data Rescue 3 in Demo mode - $99 to buy full version - (60 hours left.)
#4: Have switched out USB cable. No change.
#5: Have plugged HD directly into wall socket. No change.
#6: Have taken HD to Best Buy Geek Squad, who could not get HD to mount on their computer. Confidence in their technical abilities: 30%.
My questions:
#1: Is there a way to find out what tasks have happened on my computer within the last week? Does the computer even keep track of this (like Adobe Photoshop will keep a history, you can hit CMD+Z to undo, etc.?) I want to know if I can eliminate user error from the list of suspects.
#2: Is there another software for Mac that will run a thorough diagnostic of this HD to see what is wrong with it? WD only offers Data Lifeguard for PC (which I will never own again but I suppose I could locate one to help troubleshoot the HD.)
#3: Has anyone experienced this issue with an external HD before?
#4: Is there any information I can give that would help the wise men and women of the forum to help me solve this and get my photos back (some are backed up, but not all.)
Lessons learned:
#1: Replacement drive was more solid Seagate drive.
#2: Remaning drives are password protected.
#3: Backing up to DVD all current files on my current 2 External HD, as well as Time Machine backups for internal HD (which has just given me this error on Tech Tool Deluxe:
Drive Hardware
Failed
Checks the physical attributes of the device containing the selected volume.
You should consider backing up the data from the device associated with the selected volume. The device may continue working without issue for a period of time, but may physically fail without warning.
If anyone has any helpful advice, please...I would really appreciate it.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Maybe a long shot, but WD is not known for the quality of some of their enclosures, although I do like the drives themselves. It may be worth mounting this drive in a different enclosure, something like one of OWC's FireWire enclosures with the highly reliable Oxford chip sets. I wouldn't be inclined to trust a WD enclosure, especially if it already seemed to be acting in a flakey manner.
Here's an example of what I mean:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEP924FW8E2O/
I have 3 of these and I really like them.
From what I understand, if the drive spins up, it is often possible to recover data from it. To be absolutely certain to destroy the data, you just about have to take a hammer to the disk. Hopefully, there will be a way to get your data back.
Good luck!

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