Constant failing HDD

[mosti]

Ever since I've upgraded to a gtx 770 card, I've had 3 HDD's blow on me. First one blew up 1 week after installing a gtx 770. Rma'd the psu and hdd and got a replacement of both. Plugged the HDD in, powered up and the hdd was dead. Went back to store and they over the counter swapped it just in case it was DOA. Made them test the new one before I left the store. Plugged it in....dead.

I'm just about ready to move away from cpu and turn to consoles but before I do that...I would appreciate any help.

Now, when I plug the HDD in, I use the same power sata that's already connected to the ssd. If there is a short, why does the ssd not also blow? Also, if there were a short...would I not hear some sort of bang? I hear nothing. Press the power button, everything's silent, go to disk management....no HDD. Put my hear against it....not even spinning.

I took it out and tested it on my brother's system. Same thing.

Would it be likely that I'm sitting on my absolute max limit of wattage ussage and when I plug in the HDD, I go over and the PSU can't supply and damages the HDD instantly? Is this possible??

Here is my full spec break down..

Asrock Z77 Extreme 6
Intel core i7 3770K
8GB Kingston Hyper X Predator
Gigabyte GTX 770 Windforce
128GB Samsung EVO SSD
Blu-ray / DVD writer combo
4 x 140mm Fans
1 x 200mm Fan
NZXT Phantom 530 case

The HDD that keeps blowing is a 2TB Seagate Baracuda

The PSU I'm using is a Corsair CX750M (750 watts)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Shaun o]

Well its a 12v single rail PSU.

So if the addition of a gtx 770 started to cause the problem.

Then I suggest, if you work backwards and take out the 770 card, and if the HD does not blow.

Then the PSU is in some way the culprit.
I suspect it`s not the wattage that is causing the problem, but the fact that because it is a single rail psu the amps on the 12v rail are out when connecting another 12v device.
To much amp load on a single rail.
An ssd over a mechanical drive uses less power consumption and amps off the 12v rail and why it has not blown.

So it says you are over the amp rating of the 12v rail by adding a HD. over or under voltage can damage an electrical device.

 

[mosti]

Well its a 12v single rail PSU.

So if the addition of a gtx 770 started to cause the problem.

Then I suggest, if you work backwards and take out the 770 card, and if the HD does not blow.

Then the PSU is in some way the culprit.
I suspect it`s not the wattage that is causing the problem, but the fact that because it is a single rail psu the amps on the 12v rail are out when connecting another 12v device.
To much amp load on a single rail.
An ssd over a mechanical drive uses less power consumption and amps off the 12v rail and why it has not blown.

So it says you are over the amp rating of the 12v rail by adding a HD. over or under voltage can damage an electrical device.

Some of this is and isn't making sense lol.
Here's how my psu is set up.

The PSU is modular.
I've got the 8pin ATX power cable which comes out of the psu and feeds into the motherboard for the cpu.
I've got the 24pin ATX which comes out of the psu and feeds the motherboard
I've got the pci-e Cable connected where it's marked on the psu which feed the gpu
Now in the peripherals. I have a Sata power which comes out and feeds the blu-ray combo only
And in the other slot for peripherals I have a sata power which comes out and feeds the SSD and the HDD which continuously seems to be blowing.

 

[mosti]

Now that I've calculated my wattage demand to be 590W... if I take that and divide by 12v, I should get the amperage I'm drawing on the 12V rail correct? This would give me 49.16amps.

Here are the specs of my psu http://imageshack.com/a/img835/521/9gee.jpg. It states that max load on the 12V rail is 62A correct? So my 49.16amps falls well beneath and I should not be having any dramas. Is this correct? lol

 

[mosti]

Now those are the calculations on paper. But if I had a short somewhere, maybe I'm drawing more then what I should be? However, if I had a short, can it be expected that I'm only going up say 15amps on this rail? Surely if I had a short, I'd be going well beyond the 62A and my pc would not currently be functioning?

Also, if I was drawing more then 62A on the 12V rail of my psu... wouldn't the psu crap itself along with the HDD?

 

[mosti]

What are the best ways I could possibly test for a short? Any places I can stick a multimeter? lol

 

[fzabkar]

It could be that the HDDs are being killed by overvoltages on the +12V supply. SSDs generally run off +5V only.

To confirm whether your PSU is responsible, measure the resistances of the TVS diodes and zero-ohm resistors.

See http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/ST2000DM001_TVS.jpg

... and http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

If there is no other damage, the fix is to remove the shorted diode and flow a blob of solder over each open-circuited zero-ohm resistor.

 

[mosti]

It could be that the HDDs are being killed by overvoltages on the +12V supply. SSDs generally run off +5V only.

To confirm whether your PSU is responsible, measure the resistances of the TVS diodes and zero-ohm resistors.

See http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/ST2000DM001_TVS.jpg

... and http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/HDD/TVS_diode_FAQ.html

If there is no other damage, the fix is to remove the shorted diode and flow a blob of solder over each open-circuited zero-ohm resistor.

Thanks for all the info mate! I've had a big read through and luckily im no stranger to diodes and soldering etc haha.

So if I confirm the diode is dead etc... it means I'm receiving over voltage from the psu therefore the psu is faulty? Keeping in mind the psu was replaced the first time the hdd failed (replaced to the exact same model).

Or could it be traced back to the gpu causing the psu to give off an over voltage?

I guess what im also wanting to establish is... if I do the diode fix... I shouldn't plug the hdd up till I replace the psu or figure out why there is an over voltage?

 

[mosti]

Okay so I'm getting an open circuit on the 12v TVS diode and closed circuit on the 5V TVS. Meaning I need to snip out the 12V TVS.

12v zero-ohm resistors are closed.
5v zero-ohm resistors are open.

So the 5v zero-ohm resistors have blown and I need to put a blob across those? Or am I soldering across just the 12v tvs diode? Or both? Sorry lol.

So now I'm one step closer and know for a fact that it's over voltage which is causing the problem! So this pretty much new psu is screwed or can it still be linked back to the gpu somehow?

 

[Szyrs]

The minimum recommended PSU for a GTX-770 is 600W.

When you did your calculations for your total power draw equalling 590W, did you take into account any overclocking that you'e done on your 3770K? I calculated your power draw from the hardware you listed and got 590W at stock but overclocking will raise that power draw much more than a HDD will...

 

[mosti]

The minimum recommended PSU for a GTX-770 is 600W.

When you did your calculations for your total power draw equalling 590W, did you take into account any overclocking that you'e done on your 3770K? I calculated your power draw from the hardware you listed and got 590W at stock but overclocking will raise that power draw much more than a HDD will...

Running stock clocks on everything.

Still wanting to know if a fault in the gpu can cause the psu to send an overvoltage.
So far im still confused to hell as the HDD is the only sign of anything wrong with the pc. Still able to run games at max settings and getting no problems what so ever. If the psu was faulty, wouldn't it be causing problems across the entire rail? God damn..

 

[mosti]

Have just removed my PSU and will now manually test and record the voltages I'm receiving from each port. This shouldn't take long thanks to the fact that the psu is modular.
If I get normal voltage ranges across every single psu port... I seriously don't know where the eff to go from here.
But...still if anyone know the answer to the following, it could be a pretty big help...

"can a fault in the gpu cause the psu to produce an overvoltage?"

Still it's unlikely the gpu is faulty because as I said... I run things fine...just constant dead HDD right out the fresh static bag lol. Maybe I should stear clear from seagate

 

[Szyrs]

It would seem logical but I won't pretend to hold an in depth knowledge of what is ultimately quite a complex feat of electrical engineering. A short does seem like the most logical culprit though, and the most logical place to start looking for one is on the power connector that you are using for this HDD. It may be that a small piece of wire has worked it's way in there during your build, it has become wet somehow, anything... Is the connector for this HDD on the same physical cable as your SSD? if not, the cable is the nect good place to look. I'm assuming that when you RMA'd your PSU they didn't give you a new set of cables, or if you are as slack as me, you just put them in the cupboard if they did. Try swapping the cable for another one.

It seems unlikely that you'd get two duds in a row of anything but people have been hit by lightning more than once, so lighting can strike twice. There may be a dodgy connection in your PSU and there may be a dodgy board on your HDD.

If the two drives are on the same power cable then a power surge seems unlikely. To the best of my knowledge an SSD will always draw less current and so would be logically the first drive to blow if a spike was the culprit...

Failing all of that, I do have trouble accepting that it's your GPU at fault. I run 3x660ti's and I haven't blown a single hdd or ssd in my gaming rig.

Corsair are also quite stable PSU's manufacturers.

I'm inclined to think that it's the cable or the connector at fault... Like I said though, I'm more of a tinkerer than an engineer...

 

[mosti]

It would seem logical but I won't pretend to hold an in depth knowledge of what is ultimately quite a complex feat of electrical engineering. A short does seem like the most logical culprit though, and the most logical place to start looking for one is on the power connector that you are using for this HDD. It may be that a small piece of wire has worked it's way in there during your build, it has become wet somehow, anything... Is the connector for this HDD on the same physical cable as your SSD? if not, the cable is the nect good place to look. I'm assuming that when you RMA'd your PSU they didn't give you a new set of cables, or if you are as slack as me, you just put them in the cupboard if they did. Try swapping the cable for another one.

It seems unlikely that you'd get two duds in a row of anything but people have been hit by lightning more than once, so lighting can strike twice. There may be a dodgy connection in your PSU and there may be a dodgy board on your HDD.

If the two drives are on the same power cable then a power surge seems unlikely. To the best of my knowledge an SSD will always draw less current and so would be logically the first drive to blow if a spike was the culprit...

Failing all of that, I do have trouble accepting that it's your GPU at fault. I run 3x660ti's and I haven't blown a single hdd or ssd in my gaming rig.

Corsair are also quite stable PSU's manufacturers.

I'm inclined to think that it's the cable or the connector at fault... Like I said though, I'm more of a tinkerer than an engineer...

You are a tinkerer but you are bang on the money

I removed my psu and put it on the bench. I bridged pins 15 and 16 on the 24pin ATX, plugged the psu into the wall and turned the power on. Fan started spinning and psu was powered up (due to bridging pins 15/16).

I tested the voltages That I was receiving from the 15pin sata.

I received 12V on the red, 3V on the orange and 5V on the yellow. I began swearing my head of and cursing corsair. The mother farkin voltages were wrong! I'm suppose to be getting 12V on the yellow, 5V on the red and 3V on the orange.
I grabbed my bro's psu and was given 12V yellow, 5V red, 3V orange. I got even more angry at corsair lol.

But then.... horror. Dumb ass that I am...I realized I was using a sata power cable that was from my brother's psu and not my own. So I ran upstairs, grabbed the box and pulled the brand new and wrapped sata power cable out.

The pins on the connection that plugs into the psu are in different positions!!!!

I've blown up 3 perfectly good HDD's rofl. Moral of the story....make sure you're using the friggen cables that came with your psu

 

[mosti]

Thanks to all of you for your input

Now fzabkar if you're around...can you please help me try and salvage this HDD

"I'm getting an open circuit on the 12v TVS diode and closed circuit on the 5V TVS. Meaning I need to snip out the 12V TVS.

12v zero-ohm resistors are closed.
5v zero-ohm resistors are open.

So the 5v zero-ohm resistors have blown and I need to put a blob across those? Or am I soldering across just the 12v tvs diode? Or both? Sorry lol."

 

[Szyrs]

Hahaha glad to be of service!

 

[fzabkar]

The 5V diode is bad. The 12V diode is OK.

You need to snip the 5V diode and bridge the 5V zero-ohm resistors. There is some chance that the preamp may have been damaged, but Seagate drives usually survive such mishaps. I would power up the board on its own before reattaching it to your drive.

As for the SSD, apparently it was powered from a correctly pinned cable and was not overvolted.