Time Machine not recognizing seagate back up plus external hard drive

Please somebody save me!!! My computer was running really slow and decided to take in to the Apple store.  They recommended that i needed a new a hard drive.  I've beeen using the Seagate back up plus model srd0sd0 3tb drive and before i disconnected the drive i checked time machine and it said it was backed up within the last 15 minutes.  disconnected and went to the store.  At the apple store i told them to transfer over everything from the hard drive to the new one even though i backed it up.  Well they didnt (waiting to see if they can get the drive back) they figured it was back up and so did I.  Well i've tried connecting the seagate to my imac and it does not recognize the external drive.  i have 10.6.8 snow leopard and tried to reboot it using the install disk. that didnt work.  was on the phone with apple support and they could not get it to recognize the drive.  tried connecting the drive to a windows laptop and it did not recognize it either.  the drive powers on and we are wondering if it's the usb card that's faulty (heading to the store to get a new one) I hope that's it but i'm looking ahead and seeing what other ways i can get it to work.  He mentioned that i could replace the outer casing not sure how that works.  I did notice that the bottom of the seagate where the usb connects detaches.  could that be replace?  just trying to find out how to save my drive.  I have all of my family photos, videos etc.  you know the priceless memories.  sorry for the long message. just trying to provide as much info as possible.  Thanks in advance!

The genuis was probably referring to a hard disk enclosure…
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/MISC/3.5USB2ENCL/
Enclosures can fail, but the disk can be OK. It is usually possible to take the disk out and fit it into another case.
I'd suggest you take the disk, it's power supply & the USB cable with you the genius may be willing check it on another Mac it could be as simple as a bad cable. Swapping the disk can be delicate, have someone help you if you don't know how to use a screwdriver. Sometimes you can find a guide on the internet if you search for the model and 'take apart', most are simple enough not to need it.
I can't see how the iMac's USB card would effect a Windows laptop, has the Windows laptop ever shown the contents of the TM disk? I don't think they allow Apple formatted disks to mount without extra software?
Good luck with the Store, let us know if they resolve it for you.

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