First of all, if it is an external HDD you must have been running it thru USB. When you deleted all of the files, did you have it set up with another windows program like 98SE or ME? If not, then what you need to do is go to the Manufacturer's website and download a program that will allow the HDD to be recognized and also to write zeros to it. What this means is you are turning every bit of the binary code back to zero so that the HDD will not hav ANY information left on it. For instance, when I worked for Gateway Tech support and ran into this kind of problem with the customers, sowetimes it was necessary to take the external HDD to another computer to get it to be recognized...I know a lot of people may not have this option. I know of several different methods on how to fix this, but I will need a lot more info on the HDD and what Windows program you are using in order to tell you how to correctly troubleshoot it. you can email me at john_potter2@yahoo.com.
John