Thank you for your answer and solution.
I just purchased a portable hard drive enclosure through Amazon for $9 to see if that works. Unfortunately I don’t have another computer to test the drive out on to see if it’s a connectivity/compatibility issue with my MacBook Pro.
My MacBook Pro is usb 2.0 and needed an external boost attached to the drive to get the lacie up & running. If I switch enclosures, will I run into the same power draw problem with my laptop? This
enclosure is usb 3.0 and is backwards compatible but again 3.0 draws more power and there is a fixed amount the 2.0 port can give.
I just feel like the Lacie rugged was pretty unreliable. It would randomly drop off connectivity during large file transfers. I really regret investing in one. I guess I don’t understand how it required an external power source whereas other portable external drives did not.
JaredDM :
If you've tried different wires and tried connecting to another computer, it's probably a hardware issue with the drive. Lacie drives are usually Seagate inside, so it's no surprise at all if an 8 year old Seagate drive has failed.
You can try removing it from the enclosure and using a SATA to USB dock or adapter to test the drive. Maybe you'll get lucky and the issue is only with the enclosure, but I highly doubt it. It's far and away more likely that the drive itself is bad.
If the data is important, your best bet would be to seek out a data recovery company in your area. If you PM me your location I can probably recommend a good lab. I run one of the top data recovery forums (just google "data recovery forum" to find it) so I know guys around the world in this business.