Question Installed new HDD in computer, won't s

[Pathomeon]

Motherboard: MSI z790 Tomahawk max wifi
CPU: Intel i7-13700k LGA1700 13th gen
GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 Ventus 3x Plus 12GB GDDR6X OC edition
PSU: Corsair RM850x
RAM: 2 sticks of Trident Z5 DDR5 16GB
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro, Samsung 990 Pro, Samsung 870 EVO
HDD: WDC 1tb
OS: Windows 11
Cooling: Noctua nh-d15s

I need a new storage device so I plugged a new WD Blue 4tb HDD into my computer. I have two sata power cables that are connected to the two sata storage devices, (the other two are installed on motherboard). Because sata power cables have multiple connectors to connect multiple storage devices onto, I put this new HDD onto a power cable already connected to one of my SSD drives. When I went to turn on the computer the lights inside lit up for about 5 seconds, then shut off, then lit up for 5 seconds, then shut off. At that point I new there was something wrong and turned off the computer and disconnected the HDD. I started the computer and it had some problems so I reset the CMOS and it seems ok now. But I'm afraid to try the HDD again. Is the SSD and HDD sharing the same power cable causing this? If so why even allow multiple connectors on one power cable? What even did my computer do to turn on and off like that? Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[fzabkar]

Are the power cables the original ones that came with your PSU?

http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=2545

 

[Misgar]

Is the SSD and HDD sharing the same power cable causing this? If so why even allow multiple connectors on one power cable?

I have a computer with 4 spinning hard disks powered from one cable on an RM850x and they all work fine. N.B. I prefer to spread hard drives around separate power cables when possible, but when powering 8 or 10 hard disks in a server, you soon run out of cables.

There is a vague chance your Corsair SATA power cable is faulty, but it's more likely something is serously wrong with your WD Blue 4TB.

What even did my computer do to turn on and off like that?

If there is a short circuit from the +12V or +5V supply rails to ground (0V) in the WD Blue or the SATA power connector, this will cause the OCP (Over Current Protection) circuit to trip in the RM850x, shutting down the PSU and PC. It's not normal for a short circuit to occur in a brand new drive.

If you have another PC, you could test the WD Blue in that computer.

If you have a USB hard disk cradle, you could test the WD Blue outside the PC.

To see if the SATA data cable is involved, power up the computer with the SATA data disconnected, but leave the SATA power cable plugged into the WD Blue. The drive should spin up, but the BIOS won't detect the drive with the data cable unplugged. If it's a power-related fault, the PC will shut down.

You could also try using a different SATA power connector on the same cable to power the WD Bue, or use another power cable on the RM850x if you have one.

If you can't perform any of these tests or don't want to risk potential damage to your PC (perfectly understandable), return the drive and ask for a replacement.

Did you buy it from a reputable dealer or a more dubious source? There is talk of people selling "brand new" drives on the likes of eBay when in fact they're used drives which have been re-set to appear like new.

 

[Pathomeon]

I have a computer with 4 spinning hard disks powered from one cable on an RM850x and they all work fine. N.B. I prefer to spread hard drives around separate power cables when possible, but when powering 8 or 10 hard disks in a server, you soon run out of cables.

There is a vague chance your Corsair SATA power cable is faulty, but it's more likely something is serously wrong with your WD Blue 4TB.


If there is a short circuit from the +12V or +5V supply rails to ground (0V) in the WD Blue or the SATA power connector, this will cause the OCP (Over Current Protection) circuit to trip in the RM850x, shutting down the PSU and PC. It's not normal for a short circuit to occur in a brand new drive.

If you have another PC, you could test the WD Blue in that computer.

If you have a USB hard disk cradle, you could test the WD Blue outside the PC.

To see if the SATA data cable is involved, power up the computer with the SATA data disconnected, but leave the SATA power cable plugged into the WD Blue. The drive should spin up, but the BIOS won't detect the drive with the data cable unplugged. If it's a power-related fault, the PC will shut down.

You could also try using a different SATA power connector on the same cable to power the WD Bue, or use another power cable on the RM850x if you have one.

If you can't perform any of these tests or don't want to risk potential damage to your PC (perfectly understandable), return the drive and ask for a replacement.

Did you buy it from a reputable dealer or a more dubious source? There is talk of people selling "brand new" drives on the likes of eBay when in fact they're used drives which have been re-set to appear like new.

I'll try your suggestions. All the power cables I use came with the PSU I'm using. I already learned that mixing power cables from other brands can short out your hardware. I got this HDD from Best Buy but over a month ago, so I wouldn't be able to return it. If it's bad I'll just chalk it up to a learning experience. I'll update when I get the time to retry the HDD.

 

[Misgar]

I got this HDD from Best Buy but over a month ago, so I wouldn't be able to return it.

I've no idea about Best Buy, but where I live, brand new kit is covered for 1 year by the Sale of Goods act and even eBay offers some guarantees if second hand gear is mis-sold.

I already learned that mixing power cables from other brands can short out your hardware.

You even need to be careful when mixing cables from the same manufacturer. Corsair produce Type 3, Type 4 and Type 5 cables. Some are interchangeable, some are incompatible. See chart:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/s/psu-cable-compatibility

 

[evermorex76]

I got this HDD from Best Buy but over a month ago, so I wouldn't be able to return it

Even if Best Buy won't take the return this late as a courtesy (in the US, which hates consumers and likes corporations, they're fully allowed to limit your return period; federal law only requires that the goods be sold as "merchantable" and fit for purpose, so a product in a retail box is covered; state law can require certain return periods, but overall any retailer that allows returns of any kind is just doing so because it's good "optics" for business; they'd quit doing it in a heartbeat if they didn't think they'd lose sales over it), you should be able to RMA it with WD/SanDisk if it doesn't work in another system or an enclosure, and you try another drive in your PC and have no problems, proving that it wasn't your machine that caused the issue. Even if it was your machine, they don't need to know that. The drive just didn't work.

You even need to be careful when mixing cables from the same manufacturer. Corsair produce Type 3, Type 4 and Type 5 cables. Some are interchangeable, some are incompatible. See chart:
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/s/psu-cable-compatibility

That just seems like such arbitrary complexity for no reason, other than the Type 5 cables permitting them to be used with physically smaller PSUs which probably don't provide as much output or have as many connectors anyway.

 

[Pathomeon]

Thank you for your replies. To answer your questions about the power cords, they are the cords that were in the PSU box when I bought it. If these cords were defective then I wouldn't have been able to use them for the last year that I've had this PSU. I just took it to Best Buy and asked them to check the HDD for any problems and they came back saying it worked fine for them. They suggested what you guys have: to try a different power cord. This PSU came with three different sata power cables so I will get the third unused cable and plug the new HDD alone into the PSU. I'll update when I have the time to do so.

 

[evermorex76]

Thank you for your replies. To answer your questions about the power cords, they are the cords that were in the PSU box when I bought it. If these cords were defective then I wouldn't have been able to use them for the last year that I've had this PSU. I just took it to Best Buy and asked them to check the HDD for any problems and they came back saying it worked fine for them. They suggested what you guys have: to try a different power cord. This PSU came with three different sata power cables so I will get the third unused cable and plug the new HDD alone into the PSU. I'll update when I have the time to do so.

SSD's only use the 5V wire from the power supply, while HDDs use the 12V wire. So even though the wire worked with the SSD all this time, it is possible that the cable's 12V wire was bad, or even that the pin on the power supply for 12V is bad, or maybe just that one SATA connector was faulty, or there was an issue with the end that plugs into the PSU. Since the power supply has multiple ports for SATA cables you can try one of the others, either with a different cable or the same one. Once you get the HDD working, there really should be no issue with having both the HDD and SSD on the same cable so that you don't have to have two separate sets in the case.

 

[Pathomeon]

Ok so I got it working. The weird thing is that when I plugged in the new cord into its own port in the PSU, and into the HDD, then the computer shut down again when I powered it on. The thing is that this gen 13 CPU is very finicky. I have to change settings in BIOS to make it work without crashing. For some reason this HDD didn't like that and would reset the BIOS. This time I just let the BIOS stay at it's default and tried again and the computer started fine. I setup the BIOS after the HDD was accepted and then formatted and am now with a working new HDD. I probably can have multiple storage devices on one power cord because that probably wasn't the problem. Very weird and nerve racking. If anyone has a clue why my BIOS had to be default for the computer to accept the HDD, it would be welcome. Thank you all for your replies! (If anyone is wondering I have to underclock the CPU because the 13th and 14th gens run to hot and have issues with crashing. The CPU is at 3.4Ghz but boosts to 5.4Ghz. If I underclock it to 2.9Ghz and boost 4.9Ghz then I have no problems. It sucks and I may not buy Intel again because they made these chips too janky.)