Won't recognise an external HDD.

[cheddar-caveman]

I have just bought a SATA to USB adapter to try to access my photo backup external HD. It was originally an Apple unit but inside is a Seagate 160Gb HD. When I connect the HD to the cable and the cable to the Mac Book I can feel the disc spin up, I get a Red power light and a Blue Access light on the adapter but the HD doesn't appear on my MBP.
Any suggestions what I can try to access this HD please?

 

[Raz0rEdge]

It was originally an Apple unit but inside is a Seagate 160Gb HD.

what does that mean? Was the external drive formatted for macOS or as FAT/ExFAT?

 

[cheddar-caveman]

It was sold as an Apple External HD with a standard USB cable. Pictures below.....
It stopped working. I tried it in several USB ports but nothing, the disc wasn't spinning up - you can feel a slight vibration when it does.
I thought maybe the little PCB inside was defective so I bought a SATA 22pin / USB cable adapter. Now the drive does spin up but still nothing comes up on the computer.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

OK, as far as I know Apple has never sold any external HD. So this likely someone just putting an Apple sticker on an external enclosure..

Anyway, the new SATA connector seems to providing power to spin the drive, but the drive might have failed in a manner in which it is not recognizable. Do you remember how the drive was formatted?

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Mac OS Extended (Journaled) I think.

 

[ferrarr]

Well, if the drive is just a "Photo backup" drive, the originals should be on another drive.

Also, look in Finder Preferences and make sure you have "Show External Disk on Desktop" checked.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Um, looks like a problem with the HD! I'll find a local computer shop near here and let them have a look at it. I've also got a 32Gb SD card that won't read! Not a good week for memory!
Thanks for the help.