Fried Hard Drive PCB

[aiden2211]

Wondering if anyone can help me out. After installing a new ssd today I was tidying up some cables whilst the power was still on when I hear a faint sound and saw a flashing light. The machine remained on but my first thought was that it was the hdd so i instantly unplugged power to the drive.

There was also a strong burnt smell coming from the HDD, specifically the PCB. Here is what the PCB looks like.


http://i.imgur.com/J5Wrs7e.jpg

From what I can see it looks like one of the small black squares on the right is damaged.

My question is... Is this a fault of my own being careless, not shutting down first or something else? And is there a chance my PSU is affected in any way?

I've been using the machine with just the ssd for a few hours now and had no issues.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[i7Baby]

"Is this a fault of my own being careless, not shutting down first or something else? And is there a chance my PSU is affected in any way?" Yes - "I was tidying up some cables whilst the power was still on " - don't touch ANYTHING inside the case while the power is on.

Buy a replacement HDD.

 

[azathoth]

"Is this a fault of my own being careless, not shutting down first or something else? And is there a chance my PSU is affected in any way?" Yes - "I was tidying up some cables whilst the power was still on " - don't touch ANYTHING inside the case while the power is on.

Buy a replacement HDD.

This, you should NEVER work with electronics when they are powered. Frying your Hard drive was nowhere close to what could have gone wrong. Even a cheap 300w PSU can output enough amperage to kill you if you aren't using safety precautions.

Always make sure you power off, and UNPLUG electronic devices from all power sources before handling!