Cannot access my external HDD

Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the forum, but if someone could help me with this I would be so grateful. A couple of days ago, I was working with my external HDD (Western Digital, 250GB, USB 2.0), when my Macbook (running OS 10.5.6) froze and restarted. Normally I can access the HDD through the orange icon that appears on my Desktop and in Finder, but it is no longer there.
I checked Disk Utility, System Profiler, and USB Prober - and they all appear to recognize a Mass Storage Device. In Disk Utility, I am not able to "mount" but when I click "eject" I get the following message: "Eject Failed. The disk “WDC WD25 00JB-00GVA0 Media” could not be unmounted. Make sure that all applications and files are closed on this disk." As far as I know, I'm not using anything from this drive.
I have checked the /Volumes/ folder, and there is nothing but the main HDD of my Macbook.
I have a lot of data on this drive that I really need, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Other things that I have tried:
[1] lsof +D /Volumes/ExternalHD could not find my HDD
[2] Tried a new enclosure to rule out faulty wiring, but I get the same results
[3] Also of note, I cannot click "repair disk" in Disk Utility, because it is greyed-out
[4] I have tried using Disk Warrior and Data Rescue II, but they both freeze when my external HDD is running
Message was edited by: beaudeal

Option 1
Back Up and try rebuild the library: hold down the command and option (or alt) keys while launching iPhoto. Use the resulting dialogue to rebuild. Choose to Repair Database. If that doesn't help, then try again, this time using Rebuild Database.
If that fails:
Option 2
Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. (In early versions of Library Manager it's the File -> Rebuild command. In later versions it's under the Library menu.)
This will create an entirely new library. It will then copy (or try to) your photos and all the associated metadata and versions to this new Library, and arrange it as close as it can to what you had in the damaged Library. It does this based on information it finds in the iPhoto sharing mechanism - but that means that things not shared won't be there, so no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your events, albums and keywords, faces and places back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
Regards
TD

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