2 HDs failed simultaneously

[BlueRidgeSue]

Hello,
I have two Seagate 500 gig HDs installed with an ABIT AN8Series moboard and an AMD64x2 CPU. It's dual boot, Windows 7 on one HD, Kubuntu on the other. I was only using this machine rarely until recently, when I began using it on a daily basis.

The other day when I turned it on, the hard drives had "disappeared," even from the BIOS.

Got any suggestions?

BlueRidgeSue

 

[almartin]

It is odd that 2 drives fail at the same time. I would check all the connections and make sure they are tight. Check the power supply for voltage. You could set the bios to its defaults to see if that helps.

 

[BlueRidgeSue]

Forgot to mention--the drives are SATAs. I tried one in my husband's PC. It wouldn't even get past the ASUS boot menu.

BlueRidgeSue

 

[BlueRidgeSue]

It is odd that 2 drives fail at the same time. I would check all the connections and make sure they are tight. Check the power supply for voltage. You could set the bios to its defaults to see if that helps.

Thx. Tried reseating the connections yesterday with no luck. The power supply's a 430W Thermaltake Purepower, newer than the moboard, maybe even still under warranty. I'll check it out, plus the BIOS trick. Also, my husband just found the Seagate utilities CD.

BlueRidgeSue

 

[mpagel]

do you have 4 SATA ports? If so, try ports 3 and 4. Any chance you have access to a PCI card with SATA plugins?

My guess: your power supply spiked in voltage output and cooked your drives. Or you have a problem on your motherboard near/at the solder junctions where the pins stick out of the board.

Have a friend plug your SATA drives into their computer and see if they are recognized by BIOS. I'd advise powering down the system (or unplugging his own drives to begin with) before windows loads though, just in case you have a boot sector virus on those drives.

If the drives works, it's your PS or MB. If they don't, your drives are busted and it could still be your PS's fault.

Don't know how much seagate utilities will do if the BIOS doesn't see the drives😛

 

[fzabkar]

What are the model numbers? Do your drives still spin up? Are you sure that one bad drive isn't hanging up the BIOS and making the other drive look bad?

Be aware that some versions of 7200.11 firmware were affected by a BSY bug with the symptom you describe. If yours is one of these, then Seagate offers free data recovery. Alternatively, there is an easy, low cost, DIY fix.

 

[almartin]

It sounds like the drives are dead if they will not work on your husbands computer either.

 

[BlueRidgeSue]

What are the model numbers? Do your drives still spin up? Are you sure that one bad drive isn't hanging up the BIOS and making the other drive look bad?

Be aware that some versions of 7200.11 firmware were affected by a BSY bug with the symptom you describe. If yours is one of these, then Seagate offers free data recovery. Alternatively, there is an easy, low cost, DIY fix.

Thanks. The HDs are the 7200.11--thanks for the info.

Initially, the DVD drive would work, but now the moboard code indicates the power supply has failed completely (and the fact that even the fans wouldn't function was an obvious clue). So I bought a new power supply and two 1 T hard drives--I was waiting for a good excuse. Of course I may need a new moboard and memory to go with the new drives

BlueRidgeSue

 

[fzabkar]

Do either of your faulty drives cause the power supply to shut down? That is, does the fan kick once and stop?

If so, then your drive will have a short circuit on either the +5V or +12V supply. The usual culprit is a shorted TVS diode. This can simply be removed by cutting it with flush cutters. Let me know if you need help locating the bad components.

 

[georgetok]

I had Exactly the same thing happen to my 2 brand new Seagate, 500 GB SATA Hard drives except just a few days apart. Bith were used only for few weeks & are under warranty but I can't return them because I have sensitive data on them.

I tried everything but they just wouldn't even get detected.

Thank God, I have a habit of clonning my HDD twice a week after one 8 GB crashed on me when I started using a PC way back.

I stopped buying Seagate Crap made in China & switched to WD. I have been using WDs for over 6 years without any problems.

 

[BlueRidgeSue]

Do either of your faulty drives cause the power supply to shut down? That is, does the fan kick once and stop?

If so, then your drive will have a short circuit on either the +5V or +12V supply. The usual culprit is a shorted TVS diode. This can simply be removed by cutting it with flush cutters. Let me know if you need help locating the bad components.

Thanks. The power supply stayed on. I would get a numeric code on the moboard--the code for insufficient power/PS issues.

So I got a new PS and HDs and swapped out the moboard with one I just took out of another machine. Then I did some research on the Seagate website and learned about the jumper settings for 1.5 GBS moboards with SATA 3 HDs.