I bought an IDE to USB cable and I have a spare 80 GB hard disk. I have been using the hard disk for my important files and downloads. After months of using it, my hard disk stopped  responding and I can't access my files anymore.
How can I recover my files and downloads? Is there any way to fix them?
Let me answer your question.
What do you mean by  your question that your hard disk is not responding ?
As I've said, if the problem is in your disk, you need to go to a professional data recovery company to recover your data.
Thanks.
So, you are using your spare hard drive as an external hard disk using an IDE to USB converter cable. Sounds good, but you need to enclose your hard disk to an external drive casing so that the bottom part of your hard disk which exposes the circuit board won't be touched by hand or accidentally get wet.
Try checking the IDE to USB converter cable you are using if it’s still working or kind of faulty already. Try using that cable on your other hard drive that is working. If the other drive works, then just replace the cable with a new one.
If you tested the cable and it’s working, try detecting the hard drive in your computer’s BIOS. If the hard drive is still detectable by the BIOS, use hard disk utility software to recover all your data in it. But if it’s undetectable already, well, you can’t do anything  but replace it.
