HDD drive light on permanently and IDE drives not seen

[martin.cantell]

Using Win XP Home SP2.

Everything has been running fine for a few yeart.
Doing nothing special (just selecting the start menu), the PC locked
up
totally with the HDD light on permanently. I waited for an hour
before
deciding that it was totally locked. Ctrl/Alt/Del would not work
either. The
HDD did not sound as if it was accessing, so I performed a hard turn
off
with the power button.

I now have the following. The HDD light comes on immediately power is
applied and stays on permanently. The BIOS now cannot see either the
DVD ROM
drive or my spare IDE HDD. The main drive is a SATA which is seen ok.
Not
sure if this went at the same time, but certainly not a long time
before.

It takes a lot longer to get through the splash screen at the start of
the
boot (ASUS SLI16N Premium BIOS motherboard splash screen) and takes
longer
to boot into XP, but it does get there. I can use XP as normal, but
things are a fair bit
slower than usual.

I have tried the following:
Checked device manager for items listed as failing - none (but DVD
drive not
listed)
Disconnected the IDE cable from the DVD and IDE HDD - no change to
HDD
light.
Replaced IDE cable with a spare - no change to light or devices
Tried the second IDE port (have both devices on one IDE cable) - no
change
to light or devices.

I cannot get my DVD or IDE HDD back and the HDD light stays on all the
time.

I have yet to try resetting the BIOS and cloning the SATA drive and
try with
the cloned drive, but thought I would try here first.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I have looked on Google, but have
not
managed to find a suitable answer yet.

Cheers

Martin

 

[Paul]

Using Win XP Home SP2.

Everything has been running fine for a few yeart.
Doing nothing special (just selecting the start menu), the PC locked
up
totally with the HDD light on permanently. I waited for an hour
before
deciding that it was totally locked. Ctrl/Alt/Del would not work
either. The
HDD did not sound as if it was accessing, so I performed a hard turn
off
with the power button.

I now have the following. The HDD light comes on immediately power is
applied and stays on permanently. The BIOS now cannot see either the
DVD ROM
drive or my spare IDE HDD. The main drive is a SATA which is seen ok.
Not
sure if this went at the same time, but certainly not a long time
before.

It takes a lot longer to get through the splash screen at the start of
the
boot (ASUS SLI16N Premium BIOS motherboard splash screen) and takes
longer
to boot into XP, but it does get there. I can use XP as normal, but
things are a fair bit
slower than usual.

I have tried the following:
Checked device manager for items listed as failing - none (but DVD
drive not
listed)
Disconnected the IDE cable from the DVD and IDE HDD - no change to
HDD
light.
Replaced IDE cable with a spare - no change to light or devices
Tried the second IDE port (have both devices on one IDE cable) - no
change
to light or devices.

I cannot get my DVD or IDE HDD back and the HDD light stays on all the
time.

I have yet to try resetting the BIOS and cloning the SATA drive and
try with
the cloned drive, but thought I would try here first.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I have looked on Google, but have
not
managed to find a suitable answer yet.

Cheers

Martin

It sounds like power to the IDE I/O pins has died for some
reason. Since your board is booting, the power supply is
probably not responsible.

About all I can suggest, is a cardboard test. That involves
setting up the motherboard outside the computer case, so no
standoffs are touching the bottom of the motherboard. Normally,
this is OK, because the plated holes on the bottom of the
motherboard, are at ground potential. And so are the
standoffs, so no harm when a standoff touches a plated hole.
When there can be trouble, is when you install a standoff where
it doesn't belong - then the standoff can touch something on
the bottom of the motherboard. By pulling the motherboard
from the case, that eliminates the potential for contact.
(Be careful when doing this, because plug-in cards are not
supported, and if you tug on a video card cable, the video
card would come out of its slot.)

The motherboard likely has a 3 year warranty, so you may be able
to get it fixed that way (RMA).

Paul

 

[david]

Using Win XP Home SP2.

Everything has been running fine for a few yeart. Doing nothing special
(just selecting the start menu), the PC locked up
totally with the HDD light on permanently. I waited for an hour before
deciding that it was totally locked. Ctrl/Alt/Del would not work either.
The
HDD did not sound as if it was accessing, so I performed a hard turn off
with the power button.

I now have the following. The HDD light comes on immediately power is
applied and stays on permanently. The BIOS now cannot see either the DVD
ROM
drive or my spare IDE HDD. The main drive is a SATA which is seen ok.
Not
sure if this went at the same time, but certainly not a long time
before.

It takes a lot longer to get through the splash screen at the start of
the
boot (ASUS SLI16N Premium BIOS motherboard splash screen) and takes
longer
to boot into XP, but it does get there. I can use XP as normal, but
things are a fair bit
slower than usual.

I have tried the following:
Checked device manager for items listed as failing - none (but DVD drive
not
listed)
Disconnected the IDE cable from the DVD and IDE HDD - no change to HDD
light.
Replaced IDE cable with a spare - no change to light or devices Tried
the second IDE port (have both devices on one IDE cable) - no change
to light or devices.

I cannot get my DVD or IDE HDD back and the HDD light stays on all the
time.

I have yet to try resetting the BIOS and cloning the SATA drive and try
with
the cloned drive, but thought I would try here first.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I have looked on Google, but have
not
managed to find a suitable answer yet.

Cheers

Martin

I have had similar problems with an ASUS motherboard. I have RMAd a
particular motherboard twice (it's on the way back now). The first time
it was NTF. The board would power up maybe once every 25 hits of the
power button. Chilling the board in my freezer, and then connecting it
while it was cold allowed it to power on (until it warmed up, and then
the problem returned).

Disassemble your computer so you have nothing but the PSU, motherboard &
video card, outside of the case on a piece of cardboard, and try it then.
If it then works, then you have something shorting your motherboard
inside the case.

 

[John Doe]

Using Win XP Home SP2.

It takes a lot longer to get through the splash screen at the
start of the boot (ASUS SLI16N Premium BIOS motherboard splash
screen) and takes longer to boot into XP, but it does get there. I
can use XP as normal, but things are a fair bit slower than usual.

Before you do anything, make sure you have a backup copy of any
important files from your hard drive.

What hardware stuff have you done to the computer recently?

Try stripping the computer of everything you don't need to get into
Windows. In other words, remove all hardware except the keyboard,
CPU, video card, one stick of memory, and the hard drive. See the
strange behavior goes away.

By the way.
Removing the mainboard from the case and powering it up is asking
for more trouble, IMO. If the computer hasn't been dropped or
experienced any other jarring movement, there is no reason to
suspect that something physical has changed.

 

[Paul]

Before you do anything, make sure you have a backup copy of any
important files from your hard drive.

What hardware stuff have you done to the computer recently?

Try stripping the computer of everything you don't need to get into
Windows. In other words, remove all hardware except the keyboard,
CPU, video card, one stick of memory, and the hard drive. See the
strange behavior goes away.

By the way.
Removing the mainboard from the case and powering it up is asking
for more trouble, IMO. If the computer hasn't been dropped or
experienced any other jarring movement, there is no reason to
suspect that something physical has changed.

Some people place an extra standoff underneath the motherboard, where
it doesn't belong. It doesn't make contact at first, and maybe
a shift in the position of the motherboard, or tightening the
screws again, sets it off. The standoff may touch a copper track on
the bottom of the motherboard, such as a power track.

Removal and the "cardboard test", does two things. It removes the chances
of a short to the bottom of the motherboard, and it also avoids
bending stresses on the motherboard itself. Sometimes, if
there is a bad solder joint, removing mechanical stress from
the motherboard, temporarily fixes it.

Removal of the motherboard, is also part of preparation for RMA. So it
isn't effort wasted.

Paul

 

[John Doe]

John Doe wrote:

Some people place an extra standoff underneath the motherboard,
where it doesn't belong.

Sounds like bad motherboard design to me, they should consider
that in the design.

Removal and the "cardboard test", does two things.

It does lots of things, mainly providing an unstable foundation for
testing your mainboard. If you have a bench with a proper holder, go
for it.

It removes the chances of a short to the bottom of the
motherboard,

If that were possible, I would take a look and then put the
mainboard back where it belongs.

and it also avoids bending stresses on the motherboard itself.

Like what?

Sometimes, if there is a bad solder joint, removing mechanical
stress from the motherboard, temporarily fixes it.

I just don't get that one.

If there were ever any separation of the mainboard from the
standoffs here, I would have noticed. At least here, there's never
been any separation of the mainboard from the standoffs and no
mechanical stress caused by the motherboard being in the case. If
you think gravity is a potential cause for mechanical stress,
would you recommend holding the mainboard vertically or at some
angle on the cardboard while you power it up and boot into Windows?
But seriously.

A project holder, like a case, is a great thing.

Removal of the motherboard, is also part of preparation for RMA.
So it isn't effort wasted.

Removing the motherboard from the case and powering it up is a
potential hazard and wasted effort when troubleshooting, IMO. It's
probably also a good way to void your warranty, if it matters.

I suppose if after removing and replacing the mainboard, and the
replacement works, you wouldn't be risking much by messing around
with the old mainboard outside of the case. But then it's not going
to indicate much either unless you want to buy a new case for that
mainboard. Or, try sticking that old mainboard in a different case.

 

[Paul]

Like what?

When boards are manufactured, they aren't all perfectly flat.
Some has a slight bend to them. Screwing the board to the motherboard
tray, flattens the board, and applies a slight stress. If there
is a bad solder joint, it might be enough to make a difference.

Paul

 

[david]

John Doe wrote:


When boards are manufactured, they aren't all perfectly flat. Some has a
slight bend to them. Screwing the board to the motherboard tray,
flattens the board, and applies a slight stress. If there is a bad
solder joint, it might be enough to make a difference.

Paul

Heating and cooling cycles on a solder joint in tension can cause it to
crack over time.