Hey Loni,
Thanks for your sage advice - I have fully stopped thinking:) (I am a long time mac user after all!)
I have done as suggested …
Through Yast Partitioner removed the drive and fstab entry etc.
But … slide a disk drive in - nothing on the desktop, nothing in /media (or anywhere else), no messages or alerts 
The drive is in Yast and can be de/mounted that way but that’s a bit kludgy
Please help some more