so I left it until i got back, not that I had much choice since I was not taking the desktop PC with me, so I had that pleasure to look forward too when I got back.
So once home I set about resolving the problem still thinking windows 10 was playing silly beggars with one of my external drives, no matter what I tried nothing worked it was looking like a possible problem between the drive an and the desktop, removing the drive everything was fine and running smoothly, but not so when I put it back on.
I tried it on the laptop since it was windows 8.1 still had problems the drive was there but vanished when I tried to open it "sigh" I still have my original laptop from 2003 and it has XP so that can't possibly fail WRONG!!!
My solution was simple or so I thought! it was just a matter of getting a new external drive and transferring everything from the dodgy one to the new one using the laptop and portable drive and memory sticks" Simples".
Well while waiting on the new external drive to arrive I distracted myself on Ffordes Photographics website (as you do) I was looking at Micro 4/3rd cameras,
Well after all I needed cheering up. in the few days I had been browsing the cameras the hard drive arrived, and by then my eyes were fixed on a camera, so I purchased a second hand Olympus E-PL2 camera which arrived the next day, this in turn distracted me from the drive that I had to set up to get the stuff from the dodgy one,
I mean I had to get out and about to try my new toy out Charging the battery well it takes 3 hours to charge it was like watching paint dry, but soon the problem drive was at the back of my mind and off I went to do the trial run, I was really impressed but had to take it out a few more times to make sure.
So this was with the new toy and I am well pleased, so the weather not so good the last few days I set up the new drive and prepared to do what I had to do with all the photos.
All did not bode well as the external drive seems to be, shall way say not healthy and it is looking like I have lost 2TB of mainly photos and some family tree stuff along with other bits, I am fortunate my daughter was trained in IT stuff although she has no call to use it in her present job but gave me assistance, the bottom line is she has got in touch with her IT guy that taught her to see what he suggests other than the one option that may be left. but never again will I store the only copies of my photos in one place and on a large drive without having it elsewhere, I will be storing it on memory sticks and cloud from now on, the 2TB hard drive has (had) the last 3 years photos and over a thousand folders, so fingers crossed, and another lesson learned