External HDD not showing up in Finder

[warrencurrell]

Hi guys - usually I can figure this stuff out by myself but this is a rare exception.... I have a BUFFALO MiniStation Stealth HD-PCT1TU2/BK 1TB Portable HDD - USB 2.0 for my MacBook Pro... the mini USB cable short circuited and caught on fire. Seems the wire is cheaper than the recharge cables for iphones. Anyway, i bought a new cable and when I plug it into any computer, the drive light turns on, and I can feel the drive turning in the casing, but nothing is showing up in finder on the mac, or even on any windows device. I run the Disk Utility and it doesn't even show up as a disk option.

Given that the wire fried, do I need to replace any other parts of the drive to access all my pics and music? Does the length of wire impact the ability to access the data? What other options do I have to gain access to this drive?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Welcome to the TH community, warrencurrell!

Since Disk Utility is not recognizing the external on your MacBook, I'd recommend you to check if Windows is recognizing it in Disk Management. You won't be able to access it from there, but you could still try reading the content using a third-party utility. (There are tools online that will help you read Mac-formatted drives on your Windows OS)
The length of the USB cable usually matters, yes. The shorter it is, the better power supply it will have.
The fried wire might have done some other damage as well, though. I'd suggest you to try running your HDD manufacturer's diagnostic tool and check up on the health and SMART status of your external.

Keep me posted with the troubleshooting. Hope this helps.
SuperSoph_WD