My WD 350GB external drive "shorts out" my iMac

Hi,
I have a 3 year old WD 350GB external drive that I conenct to my iMac G5 (PPC). I use it for Time Machine as well as Tunes and Pictures. Lately, it's been shorting out and therefore shutting down my Mac.
It seems to occur when it "surges" or becomes active during a backup or when I access iTunes. After I reboot the Mac after shutdown and plug the drive back in, it ususally results in another shutdown. I have to wait, reboot the drive, plug the firewire into the Mac first then, plug it into the drive.
Inevitably though, during Time Machine it shuts down again.
Any ideas?

Try the drive in another computer.   Maybe you have some bad software on your machine. Try the Apple store.
Try pluggin in you drive then booting from the installation disk. Try holding down the option key then power on. This brings up the startup manager. Click on your DVD. Click on right arrow key.
Devin Keane1 wrote:
rccharles,
Thanks for your answer. What are you referring to when you use the term "enclosure"?
An external harddrive without the harddrive is an enclosure. You supply the drive.
Also, when I do buy a new drive, how do I transfer the data when the existing drive blows up my mac?
With difficulty.
I'd give OWC a call.
You may need two externals.
1) Your going to have to get a new external drive. (( You could disassemble this dirve & place your questionable hd in the enclosure. So much for your warrenty maybe ))
2) Your going to have to get an external harddrive enclosure. This will have to be compatible with whatever hard drive is in you existing external drive. ( the drive could be bad hence not workie. ) ( You could copy the data to your computer. )
Entering:
mac data recovery
into Google will list some firms who specialize in recovering data. Data recovery isn't cheap.
Examples:
1) Ontrack Data Recovery is the world leader in data recovery services and data recovery software offering the fastest, most convenient and cost-effective solutions to clients who have experienced data loss.
http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.com/
2) Enter the world of DriveSavers Data Recovery…
    * Data Recovery Tools
    * Data Recovery Process
    * Data Recovery Cleanroom
http://www.drivesavers.com/

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http://www.macsales.com/
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http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/U2NV2SPATA/
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