xp crashes when file saved to external drive

XP crashes when some files (Excel, jpegs, accounting software, zip) are saved to an external drive (Western 500GB). The files can be opened and worked on without problems. I have scanned PC (CC, Sptdoctor and Norton).
Any ideas!

 

is this a new problem? have you done any recent changes (ie - new s/w, new, h/w, etc)? you didn't mention what os you have (ie - xp, vista). have you tried rebooting your comp w/o your external h/d plugged in? have you tried a thumbdrive to see if it works? if you've tried everything (above), have you tried removing the drivers from device manager (for your external h/d and rebooting)? g/l , sos