It seems - at least for the moment - to access the dodgy disk I have to do a cold boot.

It seems - at least for the moment - to access the dodgy disk I have to do a cold boot.

I then get some advice to back it up, but all the drives are accessible (more or less). If I do a warm reboot, no message, and no disk attached. I'm currently backing up everything I can from that. I have no idea how long that'll take. The last time I tried this was on the disk with my Masters on, and I'd left that too late. But best to attempt the backup RIGHT NOW (I just happen to have a spare external drive), and worry about replacing it later.

At least this is a (dare I tempt fate) simple procedure. I can set it in motion and come back later. Time for lunch.