computer woes

[gilana]

A few days ago, my power went out and then came back on.  When my computer re-booted, my external hard drive declined to mount.  It seems to be getting power just fine, and I tried switching the firewire cable to the other port on the back, but nothing helps.  Thought maybe it was just the cable, but then I noticed that my iPod isn't mounting, either, so I think both firewire ports on my computer may be fried.  Does anyone know how I can tell, and what, if anything, I can do about that?  It's an old iMac G4.  I may just take this as a sign to finally get a new computer, something I've been wanting to do for ages, but thought I'd see if the LJ masses had any suggestions first.  Thanks!