LinuxQuestions.org - External Hard disks

I'm using SUSE11.1, and connected to my system, a DELL 7500, a 1.5 TB Buffalo external HD. I partitioned it in 4 sectors.
After connection, nmediatly the mounted disk would appear on the screen,(each partition with its respective name), and could use it as any other folder.
To unmount the external Hard disk, I just ejected each partition, and had no problem. I used the same HD with my Mc, and things were all right, I used to backup automatically the Mc. However after having been using the system in this way for more than half a year, suddenly the hard disk began to rattle...and the SUSE system on the DELL, nor the Mc can mount the external hard disk any more
Thus, the partitions can not be mounted any more. When I cd to /media/ in the SUSE, the names of the partitions appear, but they seem to be empty...
On the Mc, going to /Volumes/, before the problem appeared, the names of the partitions were there... but now, they are no more and the automatic back up either...
So my question is, how to mount the disk, if it needs mounting... or how I can recover the partitions and the data therein... I am clueless, after two weeks trying to solve the problem...
Any assistance would be more than apreciated.
Thank you in advance.