Question Help about diagnosing fried HDD

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nufrit.488

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Nov 4, 2017
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Hey everyone,

I do have four sata drives that I've been using for some time now. It all started when i decided to swap my GPU for a better one hence i had to replace my PSU too.
They were all working smooth before. I gotta tell you that.
Yesterday I bought a Corsair RM850 and a RTX 3080Ti Ventus 3X.

When i replaced them i immediately realised that my HDD's was not recognised by the system. I tried many things including checking them externally too, I do have a USB 3.0 external sata converter so i can plug them in.
Something happened when i swapped my PSU because now none of my mechanical disks are spinning. BIOS doesn't recongnise them.
I thought maybe Mobo was faulty but when i swapped back to my Corsair VS550 & Rx6600 those "potentially fried" HDD's are not spinning but another one of my backup drive is working.

The thing is I have no idea if anything happened but what i am thinking is that the RM850 burnt the HDD's. I am really sad because i lost all of my personal files & memories back from 2010's.
Is there any way that i can diagnose this HDD's and see if there's anything i can do?
 
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COLGeek

COLGeek

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Make sure you only use cables than shipped with the new PSU when connecting to components.

Also, verify that the SATA power cables are firmly plugged into the PSU itself and to the HDDs. This sounds like a connection issue at first blush.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Let me guess...you used the modular cables from the original PC?

Yes, that will fry components.
Modular cables are NOT universally compatible.



Further, even if you do manage to "fix" these drives....you needed a good backup routine to protect against circumstances like this.
 
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nufrit.488

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COLGeek said:
Make sure you only use cables than shipped with the new PSU when connecting to components.

Also, verify that the SATA power cables are firmly plugged into the PSU itself and to the HDDs. This sounds like a connection issue at first blush.
Click to expand...
Yes they are firmly connected to the drives.
I was using a second hand RM850 and i guess it might be seller's doing...
 
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nufrit.488

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USAFRet said:
Let me guess...you used the modular cables from the original PC?

Yes, that will fry components.
Modular cables are NOT universally compatible.



Further, even if you do manage to "fix" these drives....you needed a good backup routine to protect against circumstances like this.
Click to expand...
I was using these cables. Are they the wrong ones? This PSU is second-hand... +

Photo of the PSU & cables.
 
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nufrit.488

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COLGeek said:
As previously noted, this seems like a cable mismatch mishap. You can check with Corsair regarding the actual cables your RM850 requires.

You must use the proper cables or the results can be catastrophic.
Click to expand...
Just checked it in, seems like i got the right cables for three of my sata extensions.
But two of them are not. I am guessing this is the problem.

USAFRet said:
You use ONLY the cables that come with that specific PSU.

If they were not included in the sale, then you needed to buy real ones from the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

I was not aware of that to be honest.


Is there any way that i can salvage my data from these drives? If i solder a better port to these hard drives would this catastrophy hurt my data too?
 
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COLGeek

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Did you try powering the HDDs with the proper cables (as indicated in your previous post)? Are you certain that the SATA data cables are properly connected on both ends as well?

Just trying to verify that the HDDs are connected properly before assuming they are dead.

If dead, soldering a new port isn't the solution.
 
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DSzymborski

DSzymborski

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From the picture, it also looks like there's a 6+2 pin PCIE connector plugged in the PSU side, which is backwards and also not good news. It might just be the photo though.

This is a real mess to unwind. You're going to have to have a known good PSU and cables to even start to sort it out. It's unfortunate that you spent a thousand dollars on a GPU and then saved $20 or $30 or so by buying used safety equipment.
 
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nufrit.488

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COLGeek said:
Did you try powering the HDDs with the proper cables (as indicated in your previous post)? Are you certain that the SATA data cables are properly connected on both ends as well?

Just trying to verify that the HDDs are connected properly before assuming they are dead.

If dead, soldering a new port isn't the solution.
Click to expand...

Yes. I've tried that and they're not working. Now i found out that I have five sata modular cables which makes two of them doesn't belong this PSU.
I've researched and found out two of them are not from this psu and those two burned my hdd's. I just plugged in and give it another shot with one of my hdds that was lying around. I've plugged it in with the proper cables and its working.

This is so bad.
DSzymborski said:
From the picture, it also looks like there's a 6+2 pin PCIE connector plugged in the PSU side, which is backwards and also not good news. It might just be the photo though.

This is a real mess to unwind. You're going to have to have a known good PSU and cables to even start to sort it out. It's unfortunate that you spent a thousand dollars on a GPU and then saved $20 or $30 or so by buying used safety equipment.
Click to expand...
PCI-E's are all correctly seated, I've rechecked them before plugging in because i knew that it would harm and fry everything but i really didnt think the SATA's...
 
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nufrit.488

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USAFRet said:
Summoning the resident expert on fried drives like this....
@fzabkar may be able to assist.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

DSzymborski said:
So you don't have a 6+2 connector in the PSU side? Because from the angle in the photo, that's what appears to be the case.
Click to expand...
Yep, it is just the photo's angle. Right now it is plugged in and it is feeding my 3080Ti with no problems.

COLGeek said:
I think that is just the way the connector looks (on the PSU end).
Click to expand...
True!

fzabkar said:
TVS Diode FAQ:

http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=86
Click to expand...
Thank you for the source. I'll get a multimeter on my hands as soon as possible and try to diagnose what might be the problem. I do have one more HDD lying around that has the bad turning disc problem. I can salvage those diodes from that hdd.

But I wonder if it would make a difference if I put a part from 2.5" to 3.5" HDD. As far as I know they require same amount of power to run.
 
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nufrit.488

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USAFRet said:
"a part"

No, they do NOT.
A 3.5" drive requires 5v and 12v input.

Most 2.5" drives only need the 5v.



Do NOT swap parts among different types of drives.
Click to expand...
More likely a component. Sorry English is not my first language so i sometimes make that wording mistake

Okay I'll be careful about the difference for 5v and 12v components.

fzabkar said:
A drive can work without its TVS diodes. It just won't have any overvoltage protection.
Click to expand...
Would that mean that maybe my HDD's TVS diodes sacrificed themselves and if i take them out the HDD might work? Or situation is worse than it seems like?
 
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