Cannot delete files from external HD error code-50

I keep getting error code-50 when trying to delete a file from my external HD (western digital).  I've restarted everything, it is not a special character problem.  I have been using this HD for about a year and this problem just recently started.  Also I cannot run disk utility verify because the HD does not show up in disk utility.  Not sure if it ever did but I never had problems until now.

beecazz wrote:
Also I cannot run disk utility verify because the HD does not show up in disk utility.
That sounds like cause for concern, but I don't know whether it's connected with the -50 error.
Do you have backup to restore from if things take a turn for the worse?
For the deleting problem you could look at the following link. Trash It! seems to solve many Trash problems:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

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