Question Second HDD (not new - been in use for years) Not Detected

[Locard]

My second HDD has been going strong for years and just recently after a brown out, unplugging, move, and then full on black out. Plugged everything back in the following day when power came back and no second drive detected. Check the BIOS - not there. Jostle it around a bit and after a few restarts BIOS detects it. Windows does not. It's in the hidden items in device manager. Says it's not connected with an error code 45 (not sure how it's showing up in hidden if it can't connect).

I've had problems with this HDD before and just didn't use it for months and it just magically came online one day and haven't had any problems since... until now.

So timeline of events is:
Brown out before i come back from work (don't realize it's a brown out)
Turn on pc to start playing games (installed on second drive)
Game loads
Tower cuts out
Try to turn pc on
Loads briefly
Repeat a few times
Check psu - it's on and powering mobo
Move tower out of bedroom with just psu cable to try another outlet
Still no tower power
See the kitchen stove light be dim af and realize it's a brown out, unplug psu
Go to bed/wake up
Power's back on
Reconnect everything
Windows boots and can't find second HDD
Restart, go into BIOS check HDDs
Second one isn't there
Reseat it and reboot
BIOS finds it but windows still won't.

Is my HDD just fried, or do i need to re-reseat it, or pray to some elder god that my second HDD will magically be found again like it has once before.

 

[kaehligj]

Sometimes a brown out makes a mess to electronic devices even when hidden behind protective low voltage PSU's.
Try let the HDD run idle for at least an hour, then try bios again.
Old mechanic drives may get a skew in the mechanism, requiring it to cycle back to the former operation temperature to work.

If that doesnt help, I'm afraid the drive went off-life.

 

[Locard]

Ok so follow-up question is: i tried installing the game through steam but it said that there's not enough disc space. I have 220 gigs on the main drive left. I checked where the download files are filling because i sometimes install on the secondary, but it says that the library is on my c: what gives?

 

[kaehligj]

Beats me - dont recall I had a similar problem.

 

[Locard]

Aaaand now after some moving and jostling neither hard drive is being detected by BIOS...fml someone help me please...

 

[kaehligj]

SATA drives right ?
These data cables are somewhat picky to jostling, simply losing connection in one or more leads.
Have just had one cable on my test PC disconnecting, losing the drive in bios and boot.

 

[Locard]

So how do i diagnose/fix this issue? As much as I'd like to get back to gaming as the new expansion just came out, I'd also just like a working computer at this point lol.

 

[kaehligj]

Replace the cables

 

[Locard]

Haven't replaced the cables yet (Been at work) but i was consulting a friend of mine who works IT and he thinks it might also be a shorted mobo. Figured I'd come here for a second opinion.

 

[popatim]

I hope those drives are off when you are moving and josling them. The don't like that when they are on.

 

[Locard]

I hope those drives are off when you are moving and josling them. The don't like that when they are on.

Yes, it was most definitely off. Also, I figured out and fixed the issue.

 

[popatim]

Grats! Can you share what the fix was?