Not quite - it might cause Explorer.exe to freeze if I try to access it from My Computer. But otherwise any command or thing I tell my computer to do involving the drive will not get done until I unplug the drive.
Several examples - If I try to bring up the drive's properties, it won't show up until I unplug it (at which point it's just an empty properties page anyway). If it by chance DOES show up in the computer (even then I can't access it), it will tell me that it's not working and 'needs to be formatted' AFTER I unplug it.
If I try to shut down my computer with it plugged in, it won't shut down until AFTER I unplug it. (the drive, I mean)
I tried booting with an Ubuntu Live CD. Tried force mounting it, tried ntfsfix, even tried to format it - it'll sort of start the process, but then it'll just stop and not do anything until I unplug it.
Do you get the same lack of response on both systems when the drive is plugged in ?
As of last night (after several plug-in and un-plugging attempts) the drive has just flat out refused to show up in My Computer, so you might be right that it could be an enclosure problem resulting in me vigorously jiggling the USB port.
Now how would I go about getting a new enclosure? From an electronics store, I presume?