[SOLVED] HDDs are not visible on PC only SSD can be used

[Marton_2]

Hi guys!

I have the following problem and im hoping someone can help me or reassure me in the possible ending of this case.

So yesterday i turned off the PC after a little gaming.
Today i turned it on and i noticed something unpleasant.

My HDD was missing.
Not just missing it was completely undetectable.
I tried Disk manager, Add new device, Scan for hardware changes, updating drivers (i was recently doing a clean windows install)
Even the BIOS couldn't detect it although it was plugged in via SATA and via power cable.
I tried to look at my power unit, but it all seems to work without issue since every other part of the computer is functioning flawlessly.
i touched the HDD i felt it spinning up and working so it was powered.
I swapped cables and it didn't solve the issue either.

Its an old 300gb Samsung HDD.
So i thought its the end for this HDD, i went and bought a new Toshiba 7200rpm 64mb 3TB HDD with a simple generic 6GB/s SATA cable.

Plugged in both the new and the old HDDs along with my SSD (from witch i run the OS)
Switched ports just in case one of my sata ports died.

When i restarted the computer with the new Toshiba HDD in it i was suprised that once again only my SSD was showing up, and even the new HDD was nowhere to be seen.

What i did next:
-Updated the BIOS ver.
-Updated the drivers of the MOBO
-Went to BIOS to see any option was disabled for SATA Ports but all were enabled.
-No RAID or any other SATA option was enabled.
-I tried switching the Power cables maybe it had some shortage in the one supplying the HDDs but nothing

So im like 90% sure its a MOBO SATA Slot related issue since:
-Windows has no way detecting them
-BIOS neither
-Power supply and cables are in perfect condition
-I dont think that they gave me a faultry HDD with a faultry cable as i opend both from a factory new sealed bag, from a company that sells brand new PC Hardware.

So im hoping someone has a fix or points out where i missed out, or atleast tells me a reliable MOBO manufacturer since ASUS didnt work out.

Peace.
-Martin

Spec:
OS: Win 10 Pro 64bit
CPU:Intel Core i5-7400 3.00GHz
RAM: 8GB
VGA: ASUS ROG STRIX 4GB RX560
MOBO: ASUS Z170-A
HDD#1: Samsung 300GB
HDD#2: Toshiba 3TB 7200rpm 64mb
SSD: Samsung EVO240 (OS drive)
PSU: Corsair VS550
DVD drive: ASUS DRW-24D5MT

 

[Ralston18]

Try a new CMOS battery.

For more information:

https://www.domstechblog.com/signs-of-cmos-battery-failure/

How old is the PSU?

Overall, the wattage requirements of your system are likely pushing the PSU limit's. Especially if the PSU is older and has been used for lots of gaming.

 

[Marton_2]

Will try the cmos battery! Thank you i didn't know what issues it could cause.

About the PSU... its almost 2 years old and its a 550W. It gathered some dust because I rarely turn off my system i usually put it to sleep or hibernate.

It might be the psu but its still weird that everything else is performing perfectly including the SSD and only the HDDs are suffering from pushing the limits. Also as I've written the HDD is spinning up so they have enough to function...but maybe not enough to work properly.

Anyways thanks for the CMOS heads up will buy a battery tomorrow and check back whats up !

 

[Ralston18]

Google "PSU problems symptoms". Use other words and phrases as you deem appropriate.

Limit the search to the last year or so. Still the search will result in multiple websites.

For example:

https://www.lifewire.com/fix-stopping-freezing-and-reboot-issues-during-the-post-2624441

Two objectives for you: 1) learn more about PSUs and 2) get a sense of how to proceed with diagnosing the problems with your system and drives. You may discover some other issue or problem that has been overlooked.

Do be careful about websites wanting to download and install software for whatever reason they claim. Some of those sites will show up no matter what problem you are trying to solve. Other websites are just glorified advertisements.

 

[Marton_2]

Google "PSU problems symptoms". Use other words and phrases as you deem appropriate.

Limit the search to the last year or so. Still the search will result in multiple websites.

For example:

https://www.lifewire.com/fix-stopping-freezing-and-reboot-issues-during-the-post-2624441

Two objectives for you: 1) learn more about PSUs and 2) get a sense of how to proceed with diagnosing the problems with your system and drives. You may discover some other issue or problem that has been overlooked.

Do be careful about websites wanting to download and install software for whatever reason they claim. Some of those sites will show up no matter what problem you are trying to solve. Other websites are just glorified advertisements.

I've found the problem. Its both the PSU and the HDD probably...

I changed up some power cables, took the one connecting to the SSD and the one that was connected to the disk reader. Pluged it into both HDDs to see if they work that way. Toshiba (the newer one) showed up finally in BIOS with 3TB without any errors. The older one the 300GB Samsung is not showing up still. I might try it with the new PSU (changed up from 550W to 700W) I dont think it will do the trick for that HDD. I didnt had any important data on itthe anyways so I dont mind.

To summarize
Thank you for the advice on the PSU it seems like that was something that would cause me some headaches sooner or later.
Also it didnt hurt me to buy a new mobo battery for like 80cents. Will reply to this as I tested the HDD on the new PSU.