Hard drives crashed

[Tom]

OS: WinXP Pro
PC: custom built
Motherboard: S3PRO-AU REV:1.0
I had 2 HDD installed (master and slave). The PC was
working a little bit slower than usual yesterday. Today it
even won't turn on. It has power, but no video signal. I
had the exact same problem a 2 months ago. Another HDD
crashed along with a video adapter. I installed the both
HDDs in another PC, the same result: the pc couldn't
recognize them. I suspect some short is causing the
problem but not positive. I need some troubleshooting
steps to figure out what causes the crash

 

[Alvin A Brown]

Hello Tom

I understand but check all contacts, maybe something is being shorted
which could be causing your problem.

Alvin

 

[Tom]

OK, I'll remove the Motherboard of the case, put it back,
reseating the all pci cards and check the all contacts
thanks again,

 

[Peter]

Hi,

I think it is very unlikely for short circuit as your
harddisk has perform well for the past 2 months and there
are nothing inside the case that is moveable to cause a
short circuit. I would think for power interruption may be
the culprit.
I would suggest you to check the power supply, from the AC
power cord to the ATX power pack. Make sure all the power
adaptors/connectors are connected tightly. You know, when
you started the computer, the harddisk is turning in very
high speed; also the case fans and CD-rom would also
produce some sort of vibration which may in turn produce
some force on the power connectors. If the power
connectors are not tightly connected, the implied force
might cause losen connection. It would not physically
disconnected, but in fact, it would cause some resistance
for the electric current. The current supplied by the 12
volt cable may then become unstable. Some harddisk is very
sensible for the power and current supply. e.g. the IBM
Deskstar(the famous deathstar) , any power interruption
may cause the harddisk to crash completly.

4 months ago, my 60GB IBM deskstar completly crashed
during the reboot after the windows update. I found out
the reason. It was because my son had unplug the AC power
cord to move out the PC and plug the USB cable to the USB
hub at the back of the PC. The AC power cord was not plug
back firmly to the power socket. So after 2 weeks time,
I'm became the victom.

Also, since you have 2 harddisk running at the time time,
make sure the power supplied by the ATX power pack is
sufficient. If the power supply is from one 12 volt cable
for the 2 harddisk, try to use only one 12 volt cable for
1 harddisk. Or, you can consider to change the ATX supply
for a bigger one, 400watts or more.

Pls post back and email me for the findings.

Peter

 

[Tom]

Thanks Peter,
I think that's the cause, I'll check the power supply, all
connections, and let you know.