Multiple hard drive failures...what could be causing it?

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Jake Maverick

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Mar 27, 2014
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This has been going on for about 6 weeks now. Just don't understand what has been going on....this is a high spec computer, AMD bulldozer 6 core chip....and i've had a whole bunch of hard drives fail on me one after the other :-( & not cheap one's....I've had several 2tb and 1 tb drives go down on me....managed to replace some on ebay, had to get a 1.5tb as funds are really tight....and that one had very low usage, only 20 hours on the clock or something...but last night the health just dropped str8 down to 15% on it with no warning...so disconnected now....i had only just finished recovering all my data to it :-(

I had suspected the sata card, but i've replaced that 3 times now also. But now I'm wondering....could a faulty motherboard or psu be killing my drives? I built this computer several years ago and never had a problem with it until recently....the psu is a good one, best i ever had...600 watt with detachable cables....wasn't cheap! but was 2nd hand when i got it but been in use for about 4 years now....doesn't seem to be any kind of detectable problem there? I am quite poor anyway and already spent all my money so not going to be able to fix now in the forseeable future....but any advice on what could possibly be causing this would be very much appreciated?
 
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psu is a iCute AP-600AS...and as for smart, id idn't look at the details exactly....when it dropped that quickly last night i just closed down the machine quick and disconnected the drive. think it said something about bad blocks....on the other failures they all been a bit different. I use Hard Disk Sentinel. One of the 2TB drives was still showing as 100% healthy, just the Performance indicator on it started to drop rapidly...hope that helps?
 
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Whilst it may not be the psu, I wouldn't touch that with someone else's bargepole. A certain type of error is caused by the data cable.
 
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that really a bad psu? seems like the best i ever had....+ i never had a problem with it....and i have swapped out the data cables, some of them anyway....they got new one's on the drives that have failed/ been replaced...i'm gonna try that drive that started to die last night in a different pc, just in case it's a misread somehow....
 
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oh, another strange thing i forgot to mention....i have been having problems where when i'm playing a video it fails to load and crashes, which wd suggest HD problem but that drive looked fine in HD sentinel...last night i was watching a film though and the sound kept going all screwey...thought it was corrupted until i rebooted, managed to play it to the end after that....? no idea what that suggests?
 
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hoping somebody can recommend which of these wd be best to buy....most i got is thirty odd quid right now :-( but feel i got to spend that...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Win-Power-Plus-730-Watt-PC-Power-Supply-MODEL-AD-E750AE-A5-A6/202170215541?hash=item2f1248ac75:g:SMcAAOSw3RZaS2TA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Quality-Evo-Labs-ATX-Silent-Power-Supply-750-Watts-BR750-12R-12cm-Red-Fan/282620628244?epid=2255818900&hash=item41cd808d14:g:OcYAAOSw4DJYmLaS

think that one has enough connectors, i think on some of them they don't.....i need at least 8 sata power connectors for drives and optical

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sumvision-Power-X3-PRO-800W-Power-Supply-800-Watt-ATX-PC-PSU-6Pin-PCI-E-4-x-SATA/192209213326?epid=584540820&hash=item2cc08fd78e:g:RGYAAMXQyY1TUFRa

dnt think that has enuff connectors :-( seems odd for such a powerful psu? just the one molex...wnt be enough to split off?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/850-Watt-HM-850-Gaming-PSU-Desktop-Gaming-PC/273007801932?hash=item3f9088764c:g:~NoAAOSwfHZaTA1T

looks good, but loath to take chance on 2nd hand again....+ long wait

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Win-Power-Plus-730-Watt-PC-Power-Supply-MODEL-AD-E750AE-A5-A6/202170215541?hash=item2f1248ac75:g:SMcAAOSw3RZaS2TA

that one could be the best bargain if it any good? i really dnt know on psus....really thought that modular one i currently have was pretty good :-( but yep definately leaning towards that being the problem now
 
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I would buy none of those, give us a shop and a budget. And a system spec.
 
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well, budget non existent :-( but all i got is 30 odd quid....i'm uk.

spec amd Bulldozer chip, 6 core 3 ghz
20 gb ram
ssd + 6 hard drives between 1tb and 2tb (think they basically take roughly the same amount of power?)
bluray writer
1gb radeon graphics
pci-e sata card x 2
 
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actually just went to http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/

and surprisingly it is recommending all i need is 424 watts.....i had figured 600 watts was plenty....but i guess i can look at 500/ 550s....? considering the money constraint that wd certainly help....
 
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thank you! that does look good for the money....i am limited to ebay though (reasons can't go into here) and i did just find

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVGA-White-500W-Power-Supply-80-Plus/282792044127?epid=1778520994&hash=item41d7b8265f:g:GWsAAOSwsFpaSUA8

BIN on ebay for that unit is more than i got :-( really don't want to wait though....

then again there is also

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVGA-600W-80-ATX-Power-Supply-PSU/332507548939?epid=14003308854&hash=item4d6afe8d0b:g:zFkAAOSwHYpaTQry

again long wait...i need to get this machine working asap.....but i am bit reluctant to buy a second hand unit now....if it really is the psu that is causing the problem. it still seems to work fine......i guess it's just 'spiking', or something most probably?

it is a dilemna as if i buy this...then still having probs....i've got nothing left to spend on it :-( but thanks for all the help guys!
 
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Load up a game and check your Voltage and temp levels with Speccy or similar program. Before buying something lets see if anything is out of spec.

About the PSU, it's garbage. And worse, you are loading up the minor rails high with all those HDD. Used drives at that from Ebay? And you wonder why you are having issues? I don't mean to be rude, but you can't buy used parts, and use an add on card to get enough ports, and not expect issues. My uncle works for THE post office. The one in Washington D.C. He told me a story about another tech who came to him and asked why a computer kept going through drives. They checked the 5V rail and found it was outputting 7.xV. It was high enough to physically fry the parts on the drive. It is very possible you have something similar going on here but we'll need to check things before buying new parts.
 
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i never thought to do that TBH....but just checked now and as far as i can tell nothing looks out of place....but alli got connected at the moment is the SSD...I've unplugged all my other drives as I can't risk killing them, especially considering I just had to replace most of them. Tried few other similar type progs as well....the only one that said anything was 'wrong' was Speedfan that outputs "WARNING: bad Winbond ($5CA3,$C1) identity (NCT6776 NCT6776F (ID=$C1) found (using Super0) on ISA at $29"

which means nothing to me?

I am pretty convinced it is the PSU now. It's either that or the motherboard...and the voltages/ temps (as far as I can tell) all look right going through that....just wish i hadn't spent all my money on drives that I have now killed now :-(

With regard to what else you say....I've only ever had second hand tech. Chiefly because I've never been rich and 2nd user tech is great value when you know what you look for. But also because....the most likely time of failure on newly manufactured tech is within the first 3 months. This applies especially to hard drives....I always thought that a drive that has already been 'bedded in' would be much more reliable in that regard. And the cost of hard drives is largely irrelevant when you consider the grief caused when they fail and you lose all kind of data....never could afford to back them up/ double up. But I've always had HD Sentinel running in background on my primary machine....so if there is ever a slight problem with a HD it would automatically flag up and I can do something about it before I lose it all.....that system has worked fine for years, never had a problem until now. So was bit shocked to discover these drives suddenly dropping from 100% health to 15% with nothing in between/ no warning. So they're getting fried is the only thing that seems to make sense now....

I've now even a bit reluctant to boot that machine even with just the SSD attached....can't afford to replace that if that gets fried. So all I can think now is to try and get a new psu....

I have just found an old 500 watt unbranded psu in my spares box though.....pretty generic, not even 100% sure it still works....but tempted to put that in now just to see if it will keep it going until i can get something semi decent.....but is it worth the risk?
 
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To be brutally honest, the PSUs you've mentioned I wouldn't even allow in my house. As a "rich" person I would say no. But I've got the money to buy new parts. I remember my old college days when I had to buy all my parts second hand. My general rule of thumb was I could get a part, but only if each part was <$75. $75 GPUs means I used a lot of lower end parts. 800GS instead of the 8800GT, etc. You can try using the second PSU, it should help if you are overloading the minor rails. If you stopped using it for a reason though it's bad to try and use it again.
 
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1. Based upon the description in your original post of the problems you've been experiencing it doesn't sound to me that the culprit is a defective PSU. Like anything else in this PC world it could be, of course. If the PSU is suspect the ONLY definitive way to determine such is the obvious one - another (presumably non-defective) PSU must substitute for the suspect one. You should do so with that PSU you also have available.

2. It's hard to imagine if it was a problem with the PSU you would have experienced "a whole bunch of hard drives fail on me one after the other". I just can't see how one would lead to the other.

3. I don't understand your comment that you "suspected the sata card, but I've replaced that 3 times now also". What SATA card? What precisely are you referrring to? Each drive in your system is connected to the motherboard's SATA data connector (port), are they not?

4. If I had to guess - and it would be only a guess - the problem is a defective motherboard or possibly another major component in the system, e.g., the CPU, memory, etc. But this is only a guess.

5. In lieu of running around in circles to change this or that component, at this stage of the problem there's really only one thing you can do. Start over.

6. Rebuild your system "from the ground up" as it were.

7. The basic approach would be along the following lines...
A. Get inside your desktop computer case (after disconnecting the A/C plug from your wall socket) and determine that the CPU, heat sink, memory modules & graphics card are all properly seated and all connections appear secure. Remove (disconnect) ALL peripheral devices including ALL HHD & SSD drive(s), optical drive(s), sound card, etc. Disconnect ALL storage devices, printers, and any other devices connected to the machine.

(As an aside, if it's not too onerous, it would be even better if your would remove the motherboard + components from the case and work with it outside of the case - perhaps on the cardboard case the MB was packaged in if you still have it or some other non-electric conducting surface, e.g., cardboard, wood, etc.)

B. In any event, all you'll be working with is your motherboard, processor, heat sink, RAM, graphics card, power supply, keyboard & mouse. Better yet, should your motherboard have onboard graphics capability, disconnect your graphics/video card from the system. Just ensure that following access of the BIOS/UEFI interface, if there is a BIOS setting for onboard graphics display that BIOS setting is enabled since that setting is frequently disabled as the default setting.

C. Reconnect your A/C cord and power on the system. What happens? Do you get a "normal" screen display? No error messages or strange notations from the system?

D. Can you access your BIOS/UEFI without any difficulty at this point and review the CMOS-BIOS settings? In particular, ensure that the SATA controller mode is set to AHCI (which should be the default setting). Check the hardware monitor/PC Health in the BIOS to determine that all temps are within normal range?

E. Assuming all is well at this point leave the system powered on for the next hour or so, checking to see if anything untoward shows up. Using your reset button, try powering down & up a few times to determine if there are any problems there.

F. Now you can install your graphics card in case it hasn't as yet been installed.

G. Along the way of the above steps if there's any indication of a faulty PSU, test that component with a PSU power tester (assuming you have one) or better yet, substitute a known non-defective PSU should one be available.

H. Should all appear well at this point this is an indication that there's nothing wrong with the basic components of your system. While not absolutely definitive this is so, it's a very strong indication that something else is amiss.

All this, of course, is to rule out at least to some degree) that the problem is not hardware-related insofar as the basic components currently installed in the PC.

Finally, install any BIOS update.

8. At this point install your boot drive in your system and boot to the OS. Hopefully the system will boot & function problem-free. Work with the boot drive as the ONLY drive installed for some time to determine no problems exist.

9. Install your secondary HDDs (one at a time) and similarly work with the system to determine all is well.

I just don't see any other practical series of troubleshooting steps at this point but perhaps you have some other ideas. In any event keep us apprised of your progress (or lack of!). Good luck.
 
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i've been building PCs on and off all my life/ 30 odd years....been forced to give that up :-( but i still have a few spare parts knocking about....hence couple of spare psu's....pretty sure they should still work, just been tucked away under my bed for last couple of years ;-)
I think the exchange rate has changed so much since then (u didn't say when that was) it's hard for me to compare anyhoo ;-) £75 sounds a lot anywy to me, even if it was ten years ago or something, or even 20....everything is cheaper stateside. I've long noticed we pay well over the odds over here in blighty :-( and that's likely to get worse with brexit :-( still quite a dilemna what to do...but i got some bits for sale at the moment....hopefully i will have few more squid to spend on it close of play 2moro....
 
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Thanks artpog- dat was quite a post and i appreciate your time!
I just don't have the space to do all that TBH....and i was getting pretty convinced that culprit is the PSU. But you've made me think now....I did get a NEW (only new part in the entire system) 4gb ddr3 RAM from China few months back.....I've just taken that out just to see....but with what i said further up and considering it is the only new part....could this possibly be the culprit? i just dnt see how that could be killing my hard drives though TBH....

Everything else is second hand and I've been using without problems for couple of years. Although I did replace the mummyboard 18 months back...but that has caused me no probs. I'm just bit reluctant to start attaching drives again now that the RAM is out....there's no way to tell immediately....typically i finish watching a film to find that one or more has suddenly shot right down into the danger zone.....:-(

I have no psu tester.

In answer to your Q....over time it's had various PCI and PCI-E sata cards put in for JBOD, just needed the extra ports...never raided them.

in answer to 2. if u had read the thread...the logic being that the psu is chucking out too much unregulated power to the HDs and it is that that is killing them...I didn't really want to change the psu, i was so chuffed when i finally managed to get my hands on a modular one....:-(

i do have an anti static mat to build up pcs on.....I just don't think it's worth it right now, and i'm so limited for space....basically i need half a day to re-arrange this room so i have space on my desk to do it, and then it's pretty tight....hardly ideal.

Never been able to use AHCI- has always caused me problems. Even on the new build i seem to recall....added in my data drives and then, i can't rememeber exactly what but either it didn't boot or something else happened, had to always be the other and it has never caused a problem.

But yep, you're right it could be anything :-( Including the graphics card as a possibility....but i'm am quite curious abt this new ddr 3 ram though....is there any possible way that that could be doing it? I just wish it was dead as then it wd be easy to troubleshoot and sort out....whatever i do at some point i'm going to have to start reconnecting my surviving drives again.....and then they could get fried without any warning at any point up to several days or longer after :-( i don't think God likes me y'know......
 
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I should add that's $75 used from a forum. While I usually mixed and matched new and used parts, I've bought used parts all the time. Ram is the possible sole exception. Boards, CPUs, drives, GPUs, even my first "high end" case was bought used. Last I know my used Antec EA500W is still in my Ex wife's PC, which also has my used X38 board and E6600 CPU. That setup has to be pushing 10yo by now.

Drives die. It happens. More so if they are used and came to you with less life than a new drive. Even new ones will fail. I had connection issues with both of my 4TB drives. I bought a new 8TB for Cmas and I'm going to see what can be saved from the old drives. I had those 4TB drives for only 3years or less, way less than drives used to last me. (My OS sits on a Samsung 120GB 470 drive, which I got used btw.) If you think that PSU is still good you can try it. But again considering the issues you've been having and the low quality of the PSU I think I'd just get a good new one.

2. It's hard to imagine if it was a problem with the PSU you would have experienced "a whole bunch of hard drives fail on me one after the other". I just can't see how one would lead to the other.
Click to expand...

If the 5V rail was too high, it would fry the drives. See my example above.

3. I don't understand your comment that you "suspected the sata card, but I've replaced that 3 times now also". What SATA card? What precisely are you referrring to? Each drive in your system is connected to the motherboard's SATA data connector (port), are they not?
Click to expand...

Did you see how many drives he's using? How many SATA ports are on a board? Guess what? He doesn't have enough port and instead of getting larger drives he bought a card so he can keep using them all. I bought the board I did so I had 8 ports, now I don't need as many because I broke down and bought larger drives.

4. If I had to guess - and it would be only a guess - the problem is a defective motherboard or possibly another major component in the system, e.g., the CPU, memory, etc. But this is only a guess.
Click to expand...

??? A bad CPU is causing his drives to die? His RAM is somehow killing the drives? How does that work? Options as I see it are they were bad used drives, which is very possible. The PSU has out of spec rails and it's physically frying the drives. Or possible some very odd failing board. I doubt it's the board or he'd have more odd things happening than failing drives? I just don't see how a CPU or RAM can kill a drive seeing as they aren't physically connected to the drive. Considering you have issues counting drives and SATA ports, I suspect you have zero clue.
 
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whad'ya know, i just bagged this one, which i hope will prove a bargain? next model up i think to the one that 13thmonkey recommended.....annoying thing is there is a 'new' one of those coming up on ebay tomorrow, less than 20 quid at the moment.....but it's sods law, if i waited for that one it wd shoot up to silly money i haven't got....(betya it goes for it's start price now :-( )

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EVGA-500B-500W-80-Plus-500-Watt-Bronze-Power-Supply-Braided-Cables-PSU-/332504811862?nma=true&si=pdlM%252B%252BKGViH%252FuAZcxsQ25DpYhUY%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
 
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4745454b

thanks, seems we not of too disimilar mind then ;-)

i've long had the suspicion that newer, higher capacity drives dnt last as long....it's the old joke, all electronic equipment has the auto destruct chip installed to make them die two days after the warranty expires....but it's certainly not in the manufacturer's interest to make them last forever!

and eggs and baskets you know? I can't really afford 4 TB drives....but if that dies you lose a lot! least if i got my data spread over 2 x 2 tb drives....i'm only likely to lose half in one go...is part of my reasoning. I also still use XP 64 bit a lot on that machine....I still like it, lets not get into a flame war about it....;-) and XP has problems seeing above 3 tb....2tb are the largest drives i ever owned.....glad i did now, can u imagine the state i wd be in if i had it all on 2 4tb drives, and my psu just blew both of them up? i'm fuming enough atm....best case scenario now (i won't know for sure until psu comes) is that i have lost 3 2 tb drives and a 1.5tb...the 1.5tb was a replacement (dats the one that has just dropped to 15%)

and it really is panic time when u have no income and technically homeless/ jobless :-(

8tb drive though? i hope u bought two...i never RAIDed, but i wd consider doing that- look at just what happened to me! but i heard that ex wives and current wives are also very expensive ;-) managed to avoid the bullets on that one so far....+ i'm 40 so i figure i probably free and clear by now ;-)

all my ssds 2nd hand to...just bought my third one....my first SSD was brand new, Hectron...worked fine for six months and then died/ completely dead, no warning whatsoever...i lost EVERYTHING. and that was my internet pc to, so all unrecoverable stuff :-( took me months to sort that one out....caused a lot more grief than the current problem actually, just nowhere near as expensive!

8 ports on a mummyboard? wow, dat must've cost ya.....u get a fault withthat controller though u may end up scrapping the board? ;-) way i see it....the slots are there for a reason so it is good to use them ;-) and a 4 port mummyboard and a pci-e sata card wd cost u half as much i'm sure.....i'm frugal as i have to be i know....

i'm pretty sure all my drives were good...used for few years without problems and always had HD sentinel running in background....which is only reason why i caught them failing in time! so it has got to be the psu, way i see it...i know taking a chance on a second user psu, but he swears only couple of years old....and it seems it is a good one? i do hope this solves it or i really am f******, no more money :-(

thanks for all the help guys- i'll update when the new kit gets here....
 
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