Can a faulty HDD stop computer turning on?

[grorgan]

Hey ya'll!

I have a laptop that will not turn on. Not even to BIOS, only the power light turns on for about 2 seconds then off again.

I removed the HDD and connected to my desktop to see if I could recover some data, same thing happened. (PC is okay after removal of laptop HDD)

Could a faulty HDD short circuit the power supply? Any way to resolve this? My thoughts are new HDD needed but would love to hear yours

Thanks!



Laptop
HP 15-r110tu
HDD: HGST Z5k500-500

Desktop
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 3.3GHZ
ASRock 890GM Pro3 R2.0
Corsair DDR3 1600 12GB
Aereon Asroc 460W PSU (ASC-460C)
Samsung 250GB SSD
Sapphire R9 380 4GB
Windows 10 pro 64

 

[Plumboby]

yes it can saved a couple tho because of it had 2 with win 10 home die until i worked it out change ur hdd reset ur cmos if you got to but try the hhd trick first as if it is reboot a new os on the hdd as ur os key be stored on the bios

 

[Seankay]

I agree! You need to try the new HDD trick first and if it doesn't work out then you know what needs to be done!

 

[Multipack]

Have never heard of a HDD stopping a PC from turning on, and there must be a dangerous short going on if so, so don't use it.. If your system boots to BIOS without the disk attached then you know it's that causing the problem.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, @grorgan!

It's totally possible that a system is failing to boot because of a faulty drive. This is due to the fact that the system is trying to read the data off the drive and since it's damaged - the system hangs or freezes. If you have important data on that HDD, maybe you should consider a professional data recovery company for assistance. Another thing you could try is plugging the HDD externally to your desktop via a SATA-to-USB cable or an enclosure. This way it should let your system boot up properly, even though once you plug it freezes might still occur. Once you get successfully into Windows, try running the HDD's brand-specific diagnostic tool and check up on its health and SMART status.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[Multipack]

Hey there, @grorgan!

It's totally possible that a system is failing to boot because of a faulty drive. This is due to the fact that the system is trying to read the data off the drive and since it's damaged - the system hangs or freezes. If you have important data on that HDD, maybe you should consider a professional data recovery company for assistance. Another thing you could try is plugging the HDD externally to your desktop via a SATA-to-USB cable or an enclosure. This way it should let your system boot up properly, even though once you plug it freezes might still occur. Once you get successfully into Windows, try running the HDD's brand-specific diagnostic tool and check up on its health and SMART status.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

Fails to boot yes. Fails to turn on at all no..

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

"Fails to boot yes. Fails to turn on at all no.."

I agree.

Something else is causing the power-on problem.

 

[grorgan]

Thanks for all the speedy advice! The EXACT same thing happened to the laptop, and another PC when I connected the HDD so there must be some connection right? So, I'll test the HDD in an external enclosure (thanks SuperSoph_WD) and report back! At the same time I'll test the laptop with a spare HDD if I can find one.

 

[grorgan]

Have never heard of a HDD stopping a PC from turning on, and there must be a dangerous short going on if so, so don't use it.. If your system boots to BIOS without the disk attached then you know it's that causing the problem.

Interesting! Laptop will not fire up even without the HDD installed...

 

[grorgan]

I'm thinking I will remove/refit the RTC battery next (reset CMOS), then see if it fires up. Just avoiding it because it's under EVERYTHING haha. Think that could work? Motherboard looks good too.

 

[grorgan]

The plot thickens.. Laptop won't start without the HDD. Reset CMOS did not help. Did just notice there is no fan installed, would the laptop start at all if it didn't detect the fan?

 

[grorgan]

Hey there, @grorgan!

It's totally possible that a system is failing to boot because of a faulty drive. This is due to the fact that the system is trying to read the data off the drive and since it's damaged - the system hangs or freezes. If you have important data on that HDD, maybe you should consider a professional data recovery company for assistance. Another thing you could try is plugging the HDD externally to your desktop via a SATA-to-USB cable or an enclosure. This way it should let your system boot up properly, even though once you plug it freezes might still occur. Once you get successfully into Windows, try running the HDD's brand-specific diagnostic tool and check up on its health and SMART status.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD

FYI I managed to save the data from the disk using an external enclosure, thanks for the idea!

 

[Multipack]

Your laptop has no heatsink?? Have you ever had the laptop working? If so, I'm sure you do have one or you have probably fried your CPU.