2 Hdds failed after new build?

Fin1977

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Apr 7, 2015
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Ok I have 2tb hdd's and a 500gb drive which has windows on.
I've rebuilt my PC over the last few months firstly motherboard cpu and ram. Fresh install of windows then played around with set ups.
A month or so later came a noctua cooler plus newer case, then a tier1 pay.... Somewhere around those items I got warning of hdd failure on windows drive (my oldest drive too).
This week I installed a new gtx 970 and a week later one of my 1tb drives flashed up wRnings of failing.

My question is: is there anything I need to check/ worry about before attempting to replace these drives as I'd hate to replace them only to get more failures...
Thanks in advance Finn
 
Solution
Hi there Fin1977,

I see that you have tried changing the SATA cables, but you need to try using different power ones as well. :)
Also, I wouldn't advise you to keep important files on the hard drives in this system until you sort this out. You can store some non important data on them, but they could fail at any time.

Another thing that could cause HDD failure, except for HDD power cables, is faulty PSU(could damage other components as well). Unfortunately, that requires some extra equipment. Most of the times, users just get another PSU or just borrow one from somebody in order to check whether the issue persists.
Check these tutorials out:
http://www.wikihow.com/Check-a-Power-Supply...
Changing out other parts really should not any effect on your HDDs. Check your power cables to see if there are any issues. I've had a HDD die on me because of a power cable. You could have just been REALLY unlucky and got bad drives though.
 
I've replaced sata cables in the past due to possible dead drives, these ones are actually flagging up as bad sectors in post OS and now getting urgent messages in windows telling me to back up drives and replace, non of my upgrades have been cheap parts as I wanted to build a future proof solid build. But I'm now questioning wether to spend good money on hard drives if I've done something to create errors within the drives...
Thanks again finn
 
Do you have another system to test the drives on? I don't want to say anything to early, but I've have an issue where my MOBO kept saying that I had faulty drives but they worked fine for the next 3 years.
 
Yes I built my son a system around the same Time but with different board I'll plug them in that and see what can be done.
It states I have bad sectors, so does that mean the whole drive will become unstable and cease to work at all or can it be trusted to hold less important files after replacing it?
 
Also may I ask, could these bad sectors have been damaged by simply pulling my pic in and out of the cabinet whilst it's running?
Sorry for a dumb question which I probably already know the answer.
 
Ok so tonight I've had a third drive flash up with warning of bad sectors? Is this a coincidence or should I look into possible other hardware faults here?
I'm transferring all data off the drive to an external atm then running a thorough format, is this a waste of time should I replace all 3 internals?
Sorry for more questions but it's ridiculous.
Again many thanks for any replies.
 
Hi there Fin1977,

I see that you have tried changing the SATA cables, but you need to try using different power ones as well. :)
Also, I wouldn't advise you to keep important files on the hard drives in this system until you sort this out. You can store some non important data on them, but they could fail at any time.

Another thing that could cause HDD failure, except for HDD power cables, is faulty PSU(could damage other components as well). Unfortunately, that requires some extra equipment. Most of the times, users just get another PSU or just borrow one from somebody in order to check whether the issue persists.
Check these tutorials out:
http://www.wikihow.com/Check-a-Power-Supply
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/f/powersupplytest.htm

Was the third drive a brand new one? Are sure all the drives were healthy? It may be a good idea to test all the drives with some HDD tools that will provide S.M.A.R.T. reports. Check this out: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility
I guess you can try writing zeros on your secondary drives and retest them.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD
 
Solution
Thanks for the mass of tips, my psu is my newest purchase I really hope it's not that as it cost me a fortune as its a tier 1, but sadly thinking back they've only started failing in or around the time of replacement. Even the best parts can be faulty eh? Will test as best I can and update this thread with any info I gain for future readers thanks again everyone for your input, Finn
 
Update: my hard drives have been emptied onto a replacement ssd and an external drive so all are empty and formatted. I ran system again and still got usual SMART: bad sectors during bios on all 3 (I've swapped out power cables too) my next mission will be to test in another machine. If still issues I'll use till I can replace them but obviously not full of important stuff, just games music etc. thanks again to you both, they're probably overdue replacing anyway just worried me I lost 3 in a very short space of time. Finn