Rescue files from disconnecting Buffalo drive on M2 Mac

Given your description, if the drive malfunctioning, it may now be too late to recover any data from the drive. Mechanical storage drives ultimately have a useable lifespan, the older and more heavily used, the more likely failure will eventually occur.

If the data on the drive is your backup - and the original data is not available elsewhere - your data may have been irretrievably lost.

Always keep a backup of any important or irreplaceable files or data - best practice suggesting that you should keep three separate backups, using two different technologies, one of which should be kept off-line.

barubiito wrote:

Luckily, the next day the drive started cooperating again. But it put the fear of the data loss god in me -- I shelled out for cloud space and I'm backing it all up there...

This being the absolutely correct (and advisable) course of action. If a drive reliability issue is suspected, retrieving any data that is not backed-up elsewhere is a priority.

Having backed-ip your data, you may wish to consider forensically wiping the drive (using appropriate software) while you still have the capability to do so prior to "retiring" the drive. This will ensure that any personal or sensitive information cannot be recovered by anyone else after the drive is scrapped.

If you don't have the means to forensically wipe the drive, or the drive fails before doing so, consider taking the drive to a recycling specialist who will certify secure destruction of the drive.