[SOLVED] Two disks died at the same time. Why?

[Hyperlynx]

My desktop computer has two magnetic drives and and an SSD, with the SSD as the boot disk.

A few days ago, when I switched on my machine, it just said something to the effect of "I can't find any bootable media, please insert one". I booted off a live USB, took a look, and it was as if the SSD was completely gone.

I bought an NVME, installed it, installed Windows on it as a boot disk, and started getting things set up again. Then I noticed that only one of my two magnetic drives was visible!

My motherboard is a Gigabyte B150M-D3H. A colleague commented that I have two SATA controllers, and to try the other cluster of SATA ports. No luck. I also tried changing which port I plugged the good drive in, to check the ports, and they seem fine.

So, I have apparently had two hard drives fail at the same time, both SATA, one magnetic and one SSD. They were the older drives in the system, but I think the chances that they both happened to die of old age is extremely remote.

Is there anything I can do to figure out what went wrong, and prevent it? I'm concerned about my remaining hardware. I'm considering replacing the PSU just in case that was the culprit. Any advice?

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition?

Do you have the User Manual for the motherboard?

I found the following link:

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_ga-b150m-d3h(ddr3)(gsm)_e.pdf

Verify to be sure.

Physically numbered Pages 15 and 16 show the supported SATA configurations.

However if all was orginally working then there may be multiple problems: 1) maybe a loose connection that created the original "no bootable media" and then 2) after you installed the NVMe as second problem relating to supported configurations. Ensure that you are using a supported configuration.

Double check all cable connections, card seatings, RAM, jumpers etc. Check BIOS to determine if the settngs are correct.

Has the CMOS battery ever been replaced?

It could well be the PSU but do some additional investigation first. Be methodical and change only one thing at a time.

 

[fzabkar]

Does the HDD spin up? If not, then it's probably a PCB problem.

If you suspect your PSU, check the TVS diodes on your drives. If either is shorted, then this would point to an overvoltage from the PSU.

TVS Diode FAQ:
http://www.hddoracle.com/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=86

 

[Hyperlynx]

Thanks for the advice!

I ended up replacing the PSU. I also bought a multimeter, and at some point I'll have a go at looking at the diodes.

Thanks again.