This problem also happens quite frequently if you use USB HDD's that you swap between different computers.
The simplest solution in general is to go into Control Panel==>administrative tools==>computer management==>disk management.
You'll then see your drive without a drive letter.
Assign it a drive letter and after a little while you should see the disk in Windows explorer.
If you use the USB drive a lot and attach it to different machines this problem can get quite irritating so you can overcome it by "resetting the DiskID" - a unique number generated by Windows.
Once you've done this the USB drive should be seen automatically again.
USB disks are usually assigned internally by Windows a unique ID - so if the ID is "in use" already you won't automatically see the drive.
You can reset these but take care - I won't be responsable if you lose data !!!
How to Change the Disk Signature of a Drive Without Losing Existing Data or Reformatting (howtohaven.com)
Cheers
jimbo