Question HDD not recognized by Windows or BIOS

[ArkaneRonin]

Hi,

So I have a problem. My computer was running smoothly with an SSD as my main windows drive and 2 additional HDDs one for storage the other with a linux distro. Then the computer stopped recognizing the HDDs both windows and in the BIOS. I don't think any settings were modified before they stopped working.
I have changed all the SATA cables, they all work on the SSD and none work on the HDDs. Both HDDs work in other computers and USB adapter. I tried another HDD on the computer and it also doesn't show. I thought it might be some sort of deconfiguration in the bios but tried to changed the settings and still nothing... I also thought it might be the power input of the drives so I changed the order of the power cable to the drives and also nothing. I tried just connecting one HDD at a time and nothing.

Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance!

Motherboard: Asus Prime B450M-K II
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
Graphics: Nvidea GeForce GTX 960
SSD: S3+ 240GB
HDDs: Toshiba 1TB and Hitachi 350GB

 

[Ralston18]

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original, new, refurbished, used)?

 

[Aeacus]

Have you tried different SATA ports on MoBo itself? Since what you describe, looks like some SATA ports died on your MoBo. Hence why drives doesn't show up. But do show up, when using USB cable(s).

 

[ArkaneRonin]

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original, new, refurbished, used)?

CORSAIR CX500M 500W 80+ Bronze, must be 2 to 4 years old, it's 2nd hand from a friend and I never had problems with it.

 

[ArkaneRonin]

Have you tried different SATA ports on MoBo itself? Since what you describe, looks like some SATA ports died on your MoBo. Hence why drives doesn't show up. But do show up, when using USB cable(s).

I switched them all up. The SSD works in all of them. The HDDs work in none

 

[Aeacus]

I switched them all up. The SSD works in all of them. The HDDs work in none

Other than using different PSU to power HDDs, i'm lost of what happened. Since you've tried almost everything. And it doesn't make sense that MoBo is able to detect 2.5" SSDs just fine, but not 3.5" HDDs, given that HDDs work fine.

 

[Ralston18]

Unfortunately that PSU may nearing its' designed in EOL (End of Life) and is starting to falter and fail.

It simply may no longer be able to meet the power requirements of the drives and perhaps other system components.

Try another known working PSU with higher wattage and efficiency.

 

[ArkaneRonin]

Other than using different PSU to power HDDs, i'm lost of what happened. Since you've tried almost everything. And it doesn't make sense that MoBo is able to detect 2.5" SSDs just fine, but not 3.5" HDDs, given that HDDs work fine.

Couldn't it be a specific BIOS option that somehow got changed?

 

[ArkaneRonin]

Unfortunately that PSU may nearing its' designed in EOL (End of Life) and is starting to falter and fail.

It simply may no longer be able to meet the power requirements of the drives and perhaps other system components.

Try another known working PSU with higher wattage and efficiency.

In the BIOS the voltage settings are all set to auto. They appear stable to the set voltages. The HDDs were working fine with this PSU before for a long time... but if I can I will try another PSU

 

[Aeacus]

Couldn't it be a specific BIOS option that somehow got changed?

Unless you, yourself, didn't change anything in BIOS. Otherwise, No**

** Overall, there are 3 ways that result changes in BIOS:

1. User made
2. CMOS battery depletes <- this will revert BIOS changes back to factory default
3. Rootkit (malware) messed something up

Oh, installing M.2 NVMe SSD, may disable two or four SATA ports on your MoBo. But that doesn't explain why 2.5" SSD is found, while HDD is not.

The HDDs were working fine with this PSU before for a long time... but if I can I will try another PSU

HDDs working fine for a long time, is not an indicator of PSU's quality.

It's like saying tire blowout didn't cause you to crash your car, by stating that "but the car tires worked fine for a long time". It takes quite a lot of wear and tear, for a low quality tire to end it's life with a big blowout. Good quality tires instead flatten (don't explode). And same is with PSUs. Just because your PC "worked", doesn't mean that the used, mediocre quality PSU you have, didn't damage components over the years. E.g feeding out of ATX spec voltages to them. Which are;

+12V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +11.40V to +12.60V
+5V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V
+3.3V DC rail - tolerance ±5% ; +3.14V to +3.47V
-12V DC rail - tolerance ±10% ; -10.80V to -13.20V
+5V SB rail - tolerance ±5% ; +4.75V to +5.25V