osx 10.2.8 won't read maxtor external HD

[bongovernon]

I have an older Maxtor 250 gig HD, external and want to copy some files from it onto my ibook and vice versa.
I mount it and a message comes up that the files cannot be read.
Options seem like RAID and Partition. But I don't want to accidentally erase my external drive. I have like 50,000 songs and thousands of images on it.
Help!! The switch from PC to Mac has not been easy.